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Brown v. Board of Education
This case stated that having "separate, but equal" facilities was unconstitutional, which reversed the outcome of the "Plessy v. Ferguson" case on May 18,1896. This lead to the Supreme Court ordering the integration of public schools and laws being passed to integrate public facilities and helped start of the Civil Rights movement. -
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Civil Rights Movement
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Montgomery, Albama
Rosa Parks was arrested for not giving up her seat to a white man after a day of work. The local African American community was enraged and led by Martin Luther King to start the Montgomery Bus Boycott. This boycott lasted for several months and eventually led to the Supreme Court integrating buses. -
Little Rock Nine
After the federal government demanded that schools be integrated, nine African Americans attempted to enroll at Central High School of Little Rock, Arkansas. Governor Faubus responded by using the Arkansas National Guard to prevent the students from entering the school. President Eisenhower responded by using federal troops to escort the students into the school. -
Greensboro, North Carolina
First Person ViewIn Greensboro, four college students started sit-ins in a Woolworth's store. They sat in until closing time, and the next day they came back with more students. This inspired neighboring cities to start sit-ins of their own, but the police started arresting demonstrators and this protest was successful at changing policies. -
Freedom Riders
Interview of Freedom RiderThe Freedom Riders was organized by CORE and was started because federal laws banned discrimination on service at public facilities. This law was not enforced though, so Freedom Riders rode buses from the capital towards the south to use "whites-only" facilities and faced white aggression so they were forced to stop. -
Birmingham, Alabama
BirminghamIn Birmingham, Alabama Martin Luther King Jr. led a protest that encouraged kids to participate. The Birmingham police led by Eugene "Bull" Connor used fired houses and police dogs against protesters. This was televised and the nation saw how brutal it was and the federal government stepped in and stopped it. -
Medgar Evers
Medgar Evers was the Mississippi NAACP leader that was assassinated on his front lawn. The KKK member, Bryon De La Beckwith, was tried three times, but the first and second trial led to the jury not reaching a verdict so he was set free. On the third trial he was found guilty and was sent to prison. -
March on Washington
March on WashingtonThis march was organized by leaders for the civil rights movement and was done at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. At this march Martin Luther King Jr. gave his "I Have a Dream" speech after being urged by listeners to speak from his heart. -
Voting Rights
The 24th made it so it was illegal to have poll taxes on voting, which restricted a lot of African Americans to vote, but the Voting Rights Act wasn't passed until 1965. Events that lead to this happening were Freedom Summer and the Selma March. -
Civil Rights Act
This bill was passed by President Johnson in 1964. This Act banned discrimination in employment and pay policies, but did not help African Americans get the right to vote. This was done after the four African American girls were killed by a bomb in Birmingham a church. -
Missippi Freedom Democratic Party
The leader of the representatives of the 68 delegates sent to the Democratic National Convention was Fannie Lou Hamer. Hamer represented the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party by presenting her testimony on live television. President Johnson tried to compromise by giving the MFDP two seats in convention, but Hamer refused -
Selma March
Selma MarchThis march was organized by Martin Luther King to get voting rights for African Americans. King planned a large march to get attention from the media, but was stopped by police aggression. The violence the police used against marchers caught media attention, so the march was protected by the federal government. -
Black Power
Black PowerBlack Power was started by the new leader of SNCC, Stokely Carmichael. Carmichael abandoned the idea of nonviolence and made speeches about black power and supported defiance. Carmichael didn't want integration, but wanted political and economical power for African Americans. The sign for Black Power was holding your fist in the air. -
Martin Luther King Jr.
MLK SpeechMartin Luther King was the leader of the SCLC and led many protests for civil rights. Some of these protests are the Albany Movement, March on Washington, Selma March, and the Montgomery Bus Boycott. In Memphis, Tennessee on April 4, 1968 he was assassinated on his balcony and the African Americans rioted.
