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Brown v Board of Education
The African American community was fed up that black students were unable to attend public schools due to their race. They argued that the segregation of public schools denied their 14th amendment rights. The supreme court would rule that the segregation of public schools did violate the 14th amendment and that “separate but equal” facilities gave white Americans an unfair advantage in society. -
Brown v Board of Education II
After much deliberation, the supreme court ruled unanimously that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. They finally determined that many states “separate but equal” policies were not very equal at all. This court case was important because states finally had to follow the federal government's decisions about civil rights. In the past they were not forced too or they found ways around the laws. -
White Citizens Council
Shortly after the Brown v Board decisions were made, The White Citizens’ Council was formed in Mississippi. Their main goal was to maintain segregation and racism in America. Soon, multiple branches and similar councils popped up all throughout Mississippi and the south. -
Lynching of Emmett Till
One summer day in Mississippi, Emmett Till, a 14 year old boy, had reportedly “flirted” with a white woman in a store. Just a few days later, he was tortured and beaten to death by two white men. At his funeral, Emmett’s body was shown in an open casket to display what racism in the US had done. This lynching was a catalyst in the start of the civil rights movement. -
Rosa Parks Arrested
One night in Montgomery, Alabama, Rosa Parks took a seat near the front of the bus on her way home from work. When the bus became crowded, the driver instructed her to move to the back and give up her seat for a white person. When she refused to leave her seat, the police came and arrested her. Little did Parks know that she had begun a revolution against bus segregation with the Montgomery bus boycotts. -
Montgomery bus boycott
The Montgomery Bus Boycott was a protest where African Americans refused to ride the city buses in Montgomery, Alabama. A few days before the boycott began, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white person. After nearly a year of boycotting, the supreme court finally forced the Montgomery bus system to become integrated. -
Martin Luther King House Bombing
One night, while MLK was speaking in support of the Montgomery bus boycott, his house was bombed by angry segregationists. His family was not injured but many people who were upset about the incident surrounded his house. He was able to talk to them and ultimately reduce their frustration. This led many more people to support MLK. -
Bombing of Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth
Civil Rights Activist Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth was inside his home with his family and a few members of his church when a bomb was thrown into his house. It destroyed his home and damaged his church but luckily, no one was seriously injured. Shuttlesworth would continue to face violence from white supremacists in the south. -
SCLC Founded
The Southern Christian Leadership Conference was formed after the Montgomery Bus Boycott ended. Their main aim was to advance the Civil Rights Movement with non violence. The conference was very centered around the church due to the African American culture in the south at the time. They looked up to their president, Martin Luther King, to lead them in their endeavours. Over the years, the SCLC led many demonstrations and encouraged the African Americans to continue to fight for Civil Rights. -
Eisenhower sends in Federal Troops
When the Little Rock Nine tried to enter school, President Eisenhower ordered the 101st Airborne Division to accompany the National Guard to ensure the student’s protection at school. Eisenhower wanted to make sure that the rulings of the supreme court, would be upheld. -
SNCC
The Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee- was a civil rights group that was formed with the aim to give teens and younger African Americans a voice in the civil rights movement. SNCC was a branch very similar to the SCLC. SNCC played a major role in many marches and protests especially the freedom rides. -
Greensboro sit ins
The Greensboro sit ins were a civil rights protest led by African American students against segregation of lunch counters. The students would sit down at the lunch counter and when denied service, they would not give up their seat. They were inspired by the peaceful protests of Gandhi and used many similar tactics in their protests. Soon enough, the movement spread all throughout the country and many restaurants became integrated. -
White mob attacks federal marshals in Montgomery
Throughout their journey, the freedom riders faced a lot of violence and hate from those who were in disagreement with them. At one of their stops in Montgomery, they were met with an angry mob of white people who attacked the riders with clubs. Bobby Kennedy sent federal troops to them in order to stop the violence. The next night, while MLK was giving a speech inside a church, a riot was taking place and MLK asked Bobby Kennedy for protection. -
Albany Georgia “failure”
The desegregation campaign in Albany, Georgia began in 1961. They challenged racial segregation and discrimination. MLK and the SCLC stepped in to help. This movement led a lot of marches and protests in ALbany. The movement was considered to be a failure because they faced a lot of resistance and did not accomplish much over a long period of time. Eventually, even MLK had to remove himself from Albany. -
Freedom Rides
The freedom rides were a protest against segregated bus terminals and the lack of enforcement of rulings such as Morgan v. Virginia and Boynton v. Virginia.
The freedom riders expected much opposition as they rode integrated buses into the Deep South and encountered many violent riots and attacks. To prevent the attacks, both state police and the federal government were forced to intervene. -
Bailey v Patterson
In Mississippi, African Americans were yearning to have their constitutional right to desegregated transportation enforced. They had been denied of this right for years. In this court case, the court ruled that no states could have segregation in any transportation facilities. -
MLK goes to a Birmingham jail
After leading a protest, Martin Luther King was thrown into jail in Birmingham, Alabama. MLK used his jail time to write his critics a letter. In his now famous letter “The Letter from Birmingham Jail”, MLK responds to what some people have said about him and responded to those who might disagree with him. -
Equal Pay Act
The Equal Pay Act is a labor law that was signed by President John F Kennedy. The Act prohibits gender based wage discrimination for jobs where men and women have the same skills and responsibilities. A weakness of this act was that it allowed for employers to decrease employees’ pay based on a number of other factors, as long as the decision was not made on the basis of sex, allowing for employers to claim the rejection of a female employee was made as a result of a different factor. -
Kennedy sends in Federal Troops
After Alabama Governor had stood in the doorway of the University of Alabama for an extended period of time in protest of black students attending the school, President John F Kennedy sent in federal troops. This forced Wallace to comply with the orders and step aside from the door and allow the students to enter. -
Assassination of Medgar Evers
Medgar Evers was an African American civil rights activist. He served in WWII and became the field secretary for the NAACP. He had been subjected to numerous threats in the past but in June of 1963, he was shot and killed by a white man who disagreed with Evers’ viewpoints. His assassination angered many and increased support for even more civil rights action in the US. -
March on Washington “I have a Dream”
Thousands of protesters gathered in Washington DC to draw attention to the racism and the hate that black people were facing in the US. Martin Luther King made an iconic speech while standing at the Lincoln Memorial. MLK explained that he had a dream that people of all races and cultures would be able to come together and live as one, with equal freedoms. -
Bombing of a church in Birmingham
One evening, the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham Alabama was bombed. It killed four young African American girls and left many others injured. This event shows the increasing amount of violence that was used towards African Americans, especially in the south. -
Assassination of John F. Kennedy
While on a riding in a convertible through Dallas, the sound of 3 gunshots were heard and President John F Kennedy was hit. His wife, Jackie Kennedy was quick to assist him but it was to no avail as he would be pronounced dead just 30 minutes later at the age of 46. Lee Harvey was convicted of the crime. Later on the day of the Assassination, Lyndon B Johnson was sworn in as the 36th president on the runway of a Dallas airport. -
Freedom Summer
The Freedom Summer was a campaign in Mississippi that was trying to increase voter registration for African Americans. Those who supported the movement were targeted by those who were against it. 3 civil rights activists were killed for showing their support. Those who killed them hoped it would scare other African Americans and keep them from voting. -
XXIV (24th) Amendment
Amidst the craziness of the civil rights movement, the 24th Amendment was ratified. The amendment prohibited the poll tax from any elections for federal officials. Congress enforced the law and made sure that the 15th amendment was also being fulfilled. -
Killing of Goodman, Chaney, Schwerner
Schwerner, Goodman and Chaney were civil rights workers who had traveled to Mississippi to help the CORE in organizing civil rights efforts. All three of them were reported missing and their bodies would later be found buried in a dam. They had been attacked and shot by members of the KKK in Philadelphia, Mississippi. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was signed by president Lyndon B Johnson. It prohibited discrimination in public places. The act faced lots of opposition from both House and Senate members but president Johnson’s support for the bill lead it to become a law. -
Assassination of Malcolm X
While delivering a religious speech in New York City, Malcolm X was gunned down and killed. Malcolm X had a different approach to the civil rights movement. He advocated for the liberation of all African Americans. He was adored by many but some feared that he had become too powerful after joining the Nation of Islam and influencing many. -
Selma to Montgomery
The Selma to Montgomery Marches were a set of three protests that took place in March of 1965. They occurred in Alabama. During these marches, protesters walked a 54 mile stretch from Selma to Montgomery, fighting for voting rights in the south. After three days of walking non stop, the protesters finally made it to their destination. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
The main goal of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was to eliminate both state and local barriers that prevented African Americans to vote. The many barriers, such as literacy tests and poll taxes, were made illegal. This act was signed by President Lyndon B Johnson in August of 1965.The impact of this event increased the proportion of voter turnout amongst blacks in the U.S., specifically in the South. -
Black Panthers Formed
The Black Panthers was a civil rights group formed in Oakland California. They worked to protect African Americans from police brutality. Their main message was for blacks in America to stick together and support one another, no matter their social class and economic positions. -
Loving v Virginia
Richard and Mildred Loving, the plaintiffs in this court case, were an interracial couple whose marriage had been declared illegal by the Virginia state law. They took their case all the way to the supreme court. Loving v Virginia was a court case that shut down state laws against interracial marriage. This case was one of the defining cases in the break down of the Jim Crow laws -
Minneapolis Riots
After racial tension in North Minneapolis reached an all time high, a riot erupted along Plymouth Avenue. Rioters were assaulting others and vandalizing the city. The three night riot was one of many race riots that broke out in the United States during the “long hot summer” of 1967. -
Detroit Riots
The Detroit Riot on 12th street was the bloodiest race riot of the “Long Hot Summer” in 1967. It was mostly black people confronting the police and starting fights with those around them. In the end, 43 died and over 1000 were injured. -
Assassination of MLK
One evening after meeting with civil rights activists Ralph Abernathy and Jesse Jackson, MLK stepped out onto the balcony of his hotel room in Memphis, Tennessee. Then, he was shot in the neck by a sniper. King was rushed to the hospital immediately but was pronounced dead at the age of 39. His assassination put people in shock all throughout the nation and the event caused many riots to break out. -
Assassination of Robert “Bobby” Kennedy
After winning the California Primary in the presidential election and delivering a speech in Los Angeles, Bobby Kennedy was shot to death by a Palestinian man. The next day, he was pronounced dead at the age of 42. He was beloved by many and was supported because of his plans to unite the minorities. He was just a few steps away from winning the Democratic nomination and run against Nixon for the next presidency until this fateful moment.
