-
Brown vs. Board of Education
📖 Overview:
The Supreme Court ruled that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. This landmark case overturned Plessy v. Ferguson and stated that “separate but equal” was inherently unequal.
✊ Importance:
It laid the legal foundation for the civil rights movement and was a major victory against institutional segregation. -
The Little Rock Nine and Integration
📖 Overview:
Nine African American students integrated Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, under federal troop protection after facing violent mobs and resistance.
✊ Importance:
This event highlighted the federal government’s role in enforcing desegregation and the challenges of implementing Brown v. Board. -
Greensboro Woolworth's Sit-ins
📖 Overview:
Four Black college students sat at a segregated lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, and refused to leave. This sparked a nationwide sit-in movement.
✊ Importance:
It was a powerful, nonviolent protest tactic that inspired young people and helped desegregate public spaces across the South. -
Freedom Rides
📖 Overview:
Integrated groups rode interstate buses into the segregated South to challenge non-enforcement of Supreme Court rulings against bus segregation.
✊ Importance:
Freedom Riders faced violent attacks but succeeded in drawing attention to ongoing segregation and prompted federal action. -
MLK’s Letter From Birmingham Jail
📖 Overview:
While jailed for protesting segregation in Birmingham, MLK wrote a powerful letter defending nonviolent resistance to racism and injustice.
✊ Importance:
It became a key text of the movement, articulating the moral urgency of civil rights and the need for direct action. -
March on Washington
📖 Overview:
Over 250,000 people marched in Washington, D.C. for jobs and freedom. MLK delivered his iconic “I Have a Dream” speech.
✊ Importance:
This massive demonstration showed the strength of the movement and increased support for civil rights legislation. -
Birmingham Baptist Church Bombing
📖 Overview:
Four young Black girls were killed when white supremacists bombed the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama.
✊ Importance:
The tragedy exposed the deadly racism in the South and galvanized support for the Civil Rights Movement. -
24th Amendment
📖 Overview:
This constitutional amendment banned poll taxes in federal elections, which had been used to suppress Black voters.
✊ Importance:
It removed a major barrier to voting rights and set the stage for more expansive legislation. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
📖 Overview:
This landmark legislation outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin in public places and employment.
✊ Importance:
It was one of the most significant achievements of the movement, dismantling legal segregation. -
“Bloody Sunday”/Selma to Montgomery March
📖 Overview:
Peaceful marchers were brutally attacked by police on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama.
✊ Importance:
The violence shocked the nation and increased support for voting rights legislation. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
📖 Overview:
This law banned literacy tests and other discriminatory practices that denied African Americans the right to vote.
✊ Importance:
It was a major victory that empowered Black citizens politically and transformed American democracy. -
Loving v. Virginia
📖 Overview:
The Supreme Court struck down state laws banning interracial marriage, ruling them unconstitutional.
✊ Importance:
It was a key step in ending racial discrimination in personal and family rights. -
Emmett Till Murder
📖 Overview:
Emmett Till, a 14-year-old African American boy, was brutally murdered in Mississippi for allegedly whistling at a white woman. His open-casket funeral drew national attention.
✊ Importance:
The shocking visuals and media coverage ignited outrage and helped spark the growing Civil Rights Movement. -
Rosa Parks & Montgomery Bus Boycott
📖 Overview:
Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a segregated bus, leading to a year-long boycott of Montgomery buses organized by local activists, including a young Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
✊ Importance:
It was one of the first large-scale demonstrations against segregation and launched MLK as a national civil rights leader.