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Brown Vs. Board of Education
Brown Vs. Board of Education was a landmark decision made by the U.S. Supreme Court that ruled U.S. state laws that contained racial segregation was unconstitutional. -
Murder of Emmet Till
Emmet Till was kidnapped, beaten, shot, and tied up with a piece of a metal fan around his neck after he had allegedly whistled to a white woman. He was lynched at 14 years old. -
Rosa Parks and the Bus Boycott
Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to move to the back of a bus to allow a white man to sit in the seat she was sitting in. After she was arrested, many blacks began to protest in anger and eventually successfully boycotted the buses. -
Southern Christian Leadership
SCLC was an organization linked to black churches. They focused a non violent strategy on citizenship, schools, and efforts to desegregate individual cities. It played an important role in the March on Washington in 1963, the Selma Voting Rights Campaign, and March to Montgomery in 1965 -
Little Rock 9
9 black students were to attend the Little Rock Central High school to allow integration. As soon as they started, the students were harassed daily by people refused to have them attend the same school as white kids. They harassed them by standing outside, trying to block entrances, and by calling them names. Soon after, the students were given National guardsmen to accompany them to protect them from harassment. -
Greensboro Sit Ins
Nonviolent protests that were carried out by four black men who would sit at a segregated lunch counter in Greensboro. Its success led to many blacks to join. The protest eventually led to blacks being served in sit-ins. -
Ruby Bridges
An African American girl was to integrate into an all-white elementary school. The six year old was harassed by angry protesters who sometimes denied her entry into the school. -
Freedom Riders
13 civil rights activists were riding a bus to other cities to fight racial divides in southern states but were attacked by the Klu Klux klan on their way to a city with fire bombs. The Klu Klux Klan were given permission from local authorities to attack the riders without fear of being arrested. -
March on Washington
The March on Washington was a civil rights event where thousands of people gathered to listen to Martin Luther King Jr’s famous "I Have a Dream" speech. Many people of all races came to listen to his speech hike protesting against racial divide. -
Civil Rights Act (1964)
President Lyndon B. Johnson signed a Civil Rights Act to stop discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. He signed this Civil Rights Act in front of a crowd which Martin Luther King Jr. was in. -
Assassination of Malcolm X
Malcolm X, who was a popular figure in Muslim and black communities and was a minister and activist, was shot multiple times and ultimately died from his injuries. -
Selma to Montgomery “Bloody Sunday”
Police and state troopers violently attacked civil rights marchers who were attempting to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge. More than 15 marchers were hospitalized. -
Voting Rights Act (1965)
President Lyndon B. Johnson signed The Voting Rights Act of 1965 to end racial discrimination in voting. -
Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. was shot dead while standing on the balcony outside his second floor room at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. His death sparked racial outrage and caused many deaths nationwide.