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Brown v Board of Education
Brown V Board of Education was a supreme court case in which segregation in schools was ruled unconstitutional. The case was filed by Oliver Brown after his daughter was denied access to an all-white elementary school in Topeka, Kansas -
White Citizens Council
The White Citizens Council was a council of white supremacists who made an effort to further desegregate the US. Lead by Robert B. Patterson, the WCC had their first meeting two months after the ruling of Brown v Board of Education. The group was very popular throughout the south and would use violence and intimidation as a means of enforcing their beliefs. -
Brown v Board of Education ll
Brown v Board of Education ll was a supreme court case in which the supreme court ruled that schools must allow segregation. This was ruled after many schools did not follow the supreme court ruling of Brown v Board of Education. The ruling set expectations for schools and explained how the federal government would enforce this. -
Lynching of Emmett Till
The Lynching of Emmett Till was a homicide in which Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam brutally murdered Emmett Till after he allegedly harassed Bryant's wife. They took Till to a river, stripped him off his clothes and brutally beat him, shot him, and dumped his body in the river. This created an uproar from the Black community and it led to support for Till and the Civil Rights Movement as it was later proven all Till did was say "Bye baby" -
Rosa Parks Arrested
The arrest of Rosa Parks occurred after she refused to give up her seat to a white man. This act of courage helped inspire the bus boycotts and helped further push the Civil Rights Movement as a whole. -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
The Montgomery Bus Boycott was a boycott in which many African Americans boycotted busses in the city of Montgomery, Alabama. The boycott lasted 1 year and was lead by MLK. The boycott was monumental in advancing the Civil Rights Movement. -
Martin Luther King House Bombing
The bombing of MLK's house took place on Jan 30, 1956. The bombing was done by a white supremacist. The bombing caused no injuries or deaths but outraged the African American community. This incident tested MLK's commitment to non-violence. -
Bombing of Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth
The bombing of Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth took place at Christmas in the year 1956. During the bombing, Shuttlesworth's family was home and two members of his church. White Supremacists would attempt to hurt/murder Shuttlesworth many more times in the future. -
SCLC Founded
The founding of this group was monumental to the Civil Rights Movement. Led by MLK, the group's non-violent tactics helped further the Civil Rights Movement greatly. This group was opposite in the view of the SNCC in how to wait for Civil Rights, but both agreed for the same common goal, Civil Rights. -
Eisenhower sends in Federal Troops
President Eisenhower sent in these troops to help maintain order in the city of Little Rock, Arkansas. There was civil unrest in the city because of nine black students who were admitted to Central High School. This was met with heavy violence by white people and Eisenhower felt the need to send in Federal Troops. -
SNCC Formed
The group SNCC was formed by much younger Civil Rights protesters. They worked closely with the SCLC sometimes with certain events. However, sometimes the SNCC was much more daring with their tactics and conflict with the SCLC was created, but they always worked together for their common goal, Civil Rights. -
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Greensboro Sit-ins
The Greensboro Sit-ins were a group of protests in which African-Americans would sit-in at a segregated counter at Woolworth's lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina. These protests garnered a lot of support as it was another demonstration of non-violent protest. -
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Freedom Rides
The Freedom Rides were bus rides in which Civil Rights Activists would sit on busses and ride from the north to south. They were often met with violence but continued these protests until it was ruled legal for segregation in busses to be allowed. -
White mob attacks federal marshals in Montgomery
During a Freedom Ride in Montgomery, Alabama the Freedom Riders bus was attacked by a white mob. Federal Marshalls were sent in to restore order and were attacked themselves. The mob brought baseball bats, bike chains, and many other violent weapons. -
Albany Georgia “failure”
When the Albany movement was created, it was intended to desegregate the city of Albany, Georgia. Many groups joined the movement, including the SNCC and the NAACP. However, the movement was met with mass arrests and eventually died out. -
Bailey v Patterson
The supreme court case Bailey v Patterson ruled that it was unconstitutional to have segregation on public transportation. This was a massive win for the Civil Rights Movement and was greatly influenced by the Freedom Riders. The ruling helped further advance the Civil Rights movement. -
MLK goes to a Birmingham jail
On May 4th, 1963, MLK was arrested while protesting in Birmingham, Alabama. It was while MLK was in jail that he wrote his famous letter. In the letter, he stated that he will always prefer non-violence over anything else. -
Equal Pay Act
The Equal Pay Act was signed into law to abolish the disparity between wages in different sexes. It was signed into law by JFK as part of his New Frontier Program. -
Kennedy sends in Federal Troops
When two African American students enrolled in the University of Alabama, the governor of Alabama wouldn't allow them to enter. Kennedy found out about this and sent federal troops to force the blockade to end. The governor let the students in, and this led to many other African American students enrolling in primarily white colleges. -
Assassination of Medgar Evers
Medgar Evers was a civil rights activist who helped led many protests in the state of Mississippi. However, he was assassinated outside of his home by Byron De La Beckwith who was a member of the White Citizens Council. His murder trial could not be decided by an all-white jury, but 30 years later, a mixed jury was able to convict Beckwith with murder. -
March on Washington "I Have a Dream"
The March on Washington was a massive march in which Civil Rights activists marched to the Lincoln Memorial. It was here that MLK gave his famous "I Have a Dream" speech. This was one of the most famous marches of the Civil Rights era and continually inspired more people. -
Bombing of a church in Birmingham
On the morning of September 15, 1963, during a normal Sunday church service at the 16th street Baptist Church, a bomb went off inside. Four people were killed and twenty-two were injured. This was a major blow to African Americans as this was a popular meeting spot for Civil Rights leaders and now it was being attacked. -
Assassination of John F. Kennedy
President JFK was riding in a presidential motorcade through Dallas, Texas when he was shot by Lee Harvey Oswald. Kennedy was pronounced dead 30 minutes later. Oswald was charged with murder and shot himself by another man. This was a huge blow to the Civil Rights Movement as JFK was trying to help further advance rights for African Americans. -
Freedom Summer
Freedom Summer was a campaign in which people tried to get as many African Americans registered to vote. The campaign was met with violence from white people. These actions helped lead to the passing of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. -
24th Amendment
The 24th Amendment was the abolishment of the poll tax. This made it so you did not have to pay a fee to vote. This was largely beneficial for African Americans because the fee was originally designed to prohibit them from voting. -
Killing of Goodman, Chaney, Schwerner
The murders of Goodman, Chaney, and Schwerner were during the Freedom Summer. The three men were captured by a policeman who was part of the KKK and the policeman helped murder the men with other KKK members. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
This act, passed by Lyndon B. Johnson, made it so that it was illegal to discriminate against a person based on their race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. This act was significant because it was another legal action taken by the federal government in an effort to protect and help African Americans. -
Assassination of Malcolm X
The assassination of Malcolm X was during a speech in which he was shot by members of the Nation of Islam. The Nation of Islam was retaliating to his known disapproval of the group after he left it.. -
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Selma to Montgomery March
This march, led by MLK was a march from Selma, AL to Montgomery, AL. This march was one of the main reasons that the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was passed. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
This act made it so you could not discriminate someone from voting based on their color of skin. This was monumental for African Americans because although it was legal to vote for African Americans, it was met with criticism. However, this act made it possible. -
Black Panthers Formed
This group was founded on the idea of black nationalism and would use violence if needed. Although this group differed in how they handled things than a group like the SCLC, they both strived for the same goal. -
Loving v Virginia
This was a supreme court case in which it was ruled that it was legal for two different races to marry. This case was brought forward by an interracial couple after they were not allowed to marry according to Virginia state law. -
Minneapolis Riots
These riots started on the night of July 19, 1967. They started in retaliation to how Jews were being treated better, but African Americans were not. The riots showed how unequal African Americans were being treated. -
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Detroit Riots
These riots, in response to discrimination, led to 43 deaths, 342 injuries, and over 1,400 buildings had been burned. This was one of the biggest riots of the Civil Rights Era and spoke into existence the injustice African Americans were experiencing. -
Assassination of MLK
On April 4, 1968, MLK was shot in his hotel in Memphis, TN by James Earl Ray. Earl was eventually arrested. This was a devastating blow to the Civil Rights Movement as one of their most important members was dead now. -
Assassination of Bobby Kennedy
No more than two months after the assassination of MLK, Bobby Kennedy was shot after making a speech for his presidential campaign. The man who shot him, Sirhan Sirhan, was arrested and sentenced to life in prison.
