-
Brown v. Board of Education
The U.S. Supreme Court's unanimously ruled in the Brown v. Board of Education case of Topeka, Kansas. The case was fighting public school segregation was unconstitutional. The ruling in the court case paved the way for desegregation. This case really marks the start of the fight for race equality in schools, without winning this case schools may have been segregated for awhile longer. -
Rosa Parks
In Alabama, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white man. She was arrested and the black community started a bus boycott that lasted over a year. It ended when the buses desegregated. Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was helping to lead the boycott. If Rosa Parks did not refuse to give up her seat then segregation may have never ended. This was really the start of the fight for race equality. -
Little Rock Nine
In Little Rock, Arkansas, nine black students were entering the all-white Central High School. They were blocked from entering the school by a group against blacks. President Eisenhower sent federal troops as well as the National Guard to help get the nine students to school. The nine were slipped in through a side door and once the crowd found out they were inside they started to revolt against the police. This was the first time there was no segregation in an all white school. -
Equal Employment Opportunity Committee (EEOC)
President Kennedy issued an Executive Order that prohibited discrimination in federal government hiring on the basis of race, religion or national origin and establishing the President's Equal Employment Opportunity Committee (EEOC). They were immediately directed to study and inspect employment practices of the US government and to consider or recommend additional steps for executive departments and agencies. This allowed African Americans to work and be paid equally, no more discrimination. -
I Have A Dream
Martin Luther King Jr. Gave a speech to a massive group of civil rights marchers while he stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. He was the most known civil rights leader. The 'I have a Dream Speech' is the most memorable of MLK's speeches and it was meant to make the government take a more direct approach to achieve racial equality. The speech influenced many people and really brought attention to the subject of racial equality. -
Birmingham Bombing
In Birmingham, Alabama four girls attending Sunday school were killed in a bombing. The church where this occurred was a popular place for civil rights meetings. Riots erupted in Birmingham and two more young blacks died. Robert Chambliss, the man who placed the bomb received a $100 fine and six-months in jail. In 1971 the case was reopened and Chambliss was charged with murder. -
Freedom Summer
The project, later named Freedom Summer, was to carry out a unified voter registration program in the state of Mississippi. COFO worked hard to make sure blacks could register to vote. More than 1,000 volunteers helped, both black and white. Freedom summer helped to push voting rights for African Americans along. Without this project, the Voting Act of 1965 may have not occurred. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. The act also banned segregation in public places. It was first proposed by President John F. Kennedy, and was heavily fought by the Southern members of Congress and was then signed into law by Kennedy’s successor, Lyndon B. Johnson. The Act brought African Americans closer to the Voting Act of 1965. -
Thurgood Marshall
Thurgood Marshall was a U.S. Supreme Court justice and civil rights advocate. He started as a legal counsel for the activist group National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Next, he became a US Supreme Court Justice, he was the nation's first black justice. Marshall voted to uphold gender and racial affirmative action policies in every case it was argued. The African American society benefitted from Marshall favoring all of their cases. -
Death of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
The civil rights activist was assassinated in Memphis, Tennesse. He led many movements and got African Americans the rights they deserved. His assassination really sped things up, the process of African Americans getting their rights. Martin Luther King Jr. was the most influential person throughout this era.
