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Brown V. Board of Education Topeka Kansas
Brown V. Board of Education of Topeka was a landmark 1954 Supreme Court case in which the justices ruled that racial segregation of children in public schools was unconstitutional. This was one of the cornerstones of the civil rights movement and it helped established the "separate but equal" education. The Court's overturned the doctrine and set the legal model that would be used to overturn laws enforcing segregation in public facilities. -
Murder of Emmett Till
Roy Bryant was married to a woman who accused Emmett Till of ignorantly speaking to her. When Roy heard of this he was enraged and went to Emmetts great uncles house with his half brother J.W. Milam. They demanded to see Till and forced him into their car and after driving around, beating Emmett Till, they drove him down to the Tallahatchie River. Three days later, his corpse was recovered and was disfigured. -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
This event was a civil rights protest when African Americans refused to ride city buses in Montgomery, Alabama, to protest segregated seating. This was the first large-scale U.S. Demonstration against segregation. Prior to this, Rosa Parks was arrested and fined for refusing to yield her bus seat to a white man. The U.S. Supreme Court ordered Montgomery to integrate its bus system and MLK (one of the leaders of the boycott) became a prominent leader of the Civil Rights Movement. -
Little Rock Integration
The Little Rock Nine were a group of nine black students who enrolled at formerly all-white Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. Their attendance at this school was a test of Brown V. Board of Education. Their first day attending to this school, Governor Orval Faubus called in the National Guard to block the black kids from entering the school. Later that month, Eisenhower sent federal troops to escort the Little Rock Nine into the school. This drew a lot of attention. -
Sit-ins: Atlanta
Police arrested more than 75 students from Atlanta University Center at sit-ins across the country. The students began to join MLK's protests of the whites-only Magnolia Room at Rich's. This sit-in was to protest the cities legally sanctioned segregation. And local retailers agreed to negotiate with the representatives from the COAHR but neither side evinced a willingness to compromise. Protests expanded after negotiations stalled. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
This act ended segregation in public places and banned employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin. This was considered to be one of the crowning legislative achievements of the civil rights movement. This was first proposed by President John F. Kennedy and it survived strong opposition from southern members of Congress and was signed into law by Kennedy's successor, LBJ. Congress expanded the act and passed additional civil rights legislation. -
Malcom X's Assassination
Malcolm X was an African American nationalist and religious leader and was assassinated by rival Black Muslims while addressing his Organization of Afro-American Unity. Malcolm suggested that President JFK was a matter of the "chickens coming home to roost" provided Elijah Muhammad, who believed that Malcolm became to powerful. A few months later he left the organization and his philosophy became increasingly influential after his assassination. -
Dr. King's Assassination
MLK Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968, an event that sent shock waves around the world. King had led the civil rights movement since mid 1950's. He used a combination of impassioned speeches and non violent protests to fight segregation and achieve significant civil rights advances for African Americans. His assassination led to an outpouring of anger among Black Americans, as well as a period of national mourning.
