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Brown v. Board of Education
Oliver Brown's daughter, Linda Brown was denied entrance into Topeka's all white elementary school. Brown sued the school saying that the segregation violated the "equal protection clause" of the 14th amendment. The case was put in front of the supreme court. They then said that segregation was unequal and unconstitutional, which ended up overruling Plessy v. Ferguson which stated "separate but equal". -
Emmett Till Murder
Emmett was a 14 year old boy from Chicago where it was okay if he spoke to a white woman, but he moved to the deep south in Mississippi to stay and visit some family. He was joking around with his friends and saying that the woman was his girlfriend. They dared him to talk to her and he did, he also whistled at her. Her husband and brother in law came to his house, kidnapped him, and beat him to death, he was found at the bottom of a river tied to a motor fan. They could hardly recognize him. -
Rosa Parks & The Montgomery Bus Boycott
The whole civil rights movement essentially started when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white man. Since she refused to move she was arrested and fined $10. This started many of the civil rights movements one being the Montgomery Bus Boycott. The boycott was started in hope of black passengers getting the same equal rights as the white passengers. The boycott was only supposed to last a few days maybe even a week, but it ended up lasting a year. -
The Little Rock Nine
The Little Rock Nine were a group of 9 black students who were being enrolled into a former all-white school in Little Rock, Arkansas. The 9 students were the first ones to integrate since they declared segregation unconstitutional because of Brown vs, Board of Education. The Governor had called the national guard in prevent them from entering the school because he insisted that there would be bloodshed and violence if they did. They tried to walk through but were forced to leave and go home. -
Greensboro Woolworth's Sit-ins
The Greensboro four were a group of black students who sat down at a lunch counter where the policy was to not serve anyone unless they were white. The students refused to give up their seats until they were served. The police were called which had alerted the media. The students stayed until the place closed and even came back the next day with more people. The sit-ins then spread nationwide. The lunch counter was later integrated and the original Greensboro four were the first to be served. -
Freedom Rides
The Freedom Riders were a group of white and black civil rights activists who did freedom rides. The original riders were a group of 13 people (7 blacks and 6 whites). Their plan was to go through all of the states to challenge the segregation rules on buses. As they went through the states people started making violent actions toward them. After things got violent they called a "cooling off period" where they went on trial. The Interstate Commerce Commision terminated the segregation on buses. -
March on Washington
The March on Washington was protest where about 250,000 people attended. They were protesting jobs and freedom. Their goal was to draw attention to how African Americans are being faced with challenges and inequalities. This was also when Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous "I Have a Dream" speech. -
Birmingham Baptist Church Bombing
In 1963 in Birmingham Alabama a church was bombed. It was a normal Sunday and they were having their church service. There were five young girls in the basement of the church while waiting for their time to go upstairs because it was youth day. As the bomb exploded people went under pews to stay clear or things falling and in the basement four of the young girls were killed. They think that this was a racially motivated attack since they targeted a primarily black church. -
24th Amendment
The 24th amendment prohibits any poll tax in elections for federal officials -
Civil Rights Act
The civil rights act prohibited discrimination in public places. This was made for schools and other public places that were being integrated. It also made employment discrimination illegal. -
Selma to Montgomery March
The march was apart of several civil rights protests that happened in Alabama in 1965. It was a very civil protest. The march was to ensure that African Americans could use their right to vote. -
Voting Rights Act
The voting rights act was signed to end discrimination in voting that started in southern states after the Civil War like making people take literacy tests before they would be able to vote. It ensured that African Americans could use their right to vote. -
Loving v. Virginia
A black women and a white man got married in the district of Columbia and then they later returned to their home in Virginia. The couple was charged with violating the inter-racial marriage law. The couple was found guilty and had to serve a year in jail. The judge said that they would suspend the sentence if the couple would leave the state and not return for 25 years.