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Brown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education was a supreme court case that happened in Kansas it said separate but equal was unconstitutional. The vote was unanimous 9-0 and was a huge win for black history. Although it was passed most blacks still did not attend school because of the violence and riots that broke out. -
Murder of Emmett Till
Emmett Till was murdered by Roy Bryant and J.W. William and it happened in Money, Mississippi. He was accused of whistling at a white woman which was the motive of the two guys that decided to kidnap him and kill him. Emmett was found with an eye detached, ear cut off, bar wire wrapped around his neck, weighed down by a 75 pound cottongin fan, and thrown into the water. His funeral was an open casket because his mom wanted people to see how brutal it was. -
Rosa Parks and the Bus Boycott
Rosa Parks got arrested in Montgomery, Alabama for failing to move seats on the bus. She spent night in jail and was fined $10. MLK and church sent out flyers to boycott the bus on Dec. 5 and they ran empty for 381 days. The Supreme Court ruled that buses had to let black riders sit down wherever they would like. -
Southern Christian Leadership Conference
This conference was the one that started the bus boycott when Rosa Parks was arrested. Martin Luther King was elected President. They organized protests around the south to coordinate events such Greensboro sit ins, march on Washington and Selma. After MLKS assasination it declined. This still exists to this day. -
Little Rock 9
The NAACP chose black kids from Little Rock, Arkansas to go to school and they were trained how to handle the event. It started violent crimes so President Eisenhower brought in more than a thousand troops to escort the students to school. The next year the school was fully integrated. -
Greensboro Sit Ins
Four college students went to Woolworth’s to buy stuff. They are refused service and asked to leave but they ended up staying. Everyday they came back and did “sit ins” and over the days more and more students joined to send a message. -
Freedom Riders
There were 60 separate buses carrying 436 individuals, they started in Washington, d.c. and went south. Their goal was to desgrave bus stations, diners, and hotels. When they arrived in Anniston, Alabama the KKK slashed their tires, fire bombed, and the buses burned. The people were forced to get out of the buses but they were then beaten, town after town this happened. -
March on Washington
There was 250,000 people gathered in Washington, d.c. This was a peaceful and respectful protest. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his “I have a dream” speech and he was the last speaker. 70-80% of Marchers were black. It helped to pass the Civil-Rights Act of 1964. -
Civil Rights Act (1964)
This act forbid any employers and labor unions to discriminate against any person on grounds of race, color, religion, sex, physical disability or age in job related circumstances. It also says that you cannot refuse service based on any list previously. -
Assassination of Malcom X
Malcolm Little was murdered by Thomas Hagen in Audubon Ballroom in New York. Malcom wanted black people to believe in themselves first and start their own business. Malcom was hated by a lot of people which lead to him getting shot 21 times. -
Selma to Montgomery Marches (Bloody Sunday)
600 student marchers were going to walk 54 miles to Montgomery to register to vote. It is known as Bloody Sunday though because at the Edward Bridge troopers brutally beat them. There was a second march that MLK was part of along with 25,000 marchers. -
Voting Rights Act (1965)
This act was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson. The goal was to make it easier at the state and local level to vote for blacks. This act is considered one of the most far-reaching pieces of civil rights legislation in U.S. history. -
Assassination of MLK
MLK was shot at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. He was rushed to the hospital where he died at 7:05 pm. James Earl Ray confessed to the murder and was sentenced to 99 years and then later died in prison.