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Brown v. Board of Education
Two supreme courts ruled against segregation, the NAACP fought for integration. The NAACP argued that the quality of the facilities did not matter because the students would still feel inferior and it violates the 14th amendment. The Board argued that it would prepare them for the segregated adult life. After failing to reach a decision, the court reheard the case. A unanimous decision decided that education is more important than ever and that separate facilities were unequal. -
Emmett Till is murdered
Emmett Till, a 14-year-old black boy was on a summer trip in Mississippi. After hearing that Till whistled at a white woman. The white woman’s husband and brother in law kidnapped Till. They proceeded to beat and shoot him until they threw his body in a river. Till’s mother felt is what important for the world to see what happened to him. -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat. By the time she was bailed out of jail, there was a boycott. The boycott became a long-term campaign. The city refused to give up so it became a court case. The case went to the supreme court and it was decided that the city would have to desegregate its buses. -
Central High School (Little Rock 9)
After a battle for integration, nine black students were allowed to enroll at Central High School. On their first day, the governor sent national guard so block the students from entering. A judge ordered the governor to remove the national guard. The next day when the students tried to enter school there was a mob waiting outside. So the president orders troops from the 101st Airborne Division to join the National Guard and assist with integrating Central High School. -
Freedom Rides
“Freedom Riders” traveled through the south to test the bus policies. The first group of riders stops in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia without much trouble. But they soon ran into an armed angry mob that attacked them. The second group of riders was also attacked by an angry mob. Photos of the attacks broke out and people were outraged. On May 29, the president announces that they will ban segregation in all of the facilities under its jurisdiction. -
The Children’s Crusade
In an attempt to re-energize the campaign in Birmingham, the SCLC leader proposes recruiting black children as demonstrators. On May 2, area black youth skip school to participate in a march downtown to protest segregation. Public Safety Commissioner orders police to arrest and jail hundreds of children. The next day, more than 1,000 black youth turn out for another peaceful march. This time, they decided to tell firefighters to blast the marchers with high-pressure fire hoses. -
March on Washington
An estimated 250,000 people marched to Washington for jobs and freedom and as demand for passage of the Civil Rights Act. This is where Martin Luther King Jr gave his famous speech. This event got lots of press making the civil rights movement national. The march was very orderly in contrast to the continuing chaos at many Southern protests. -
Baptist Church Bombing
Four black girls, ages 11-14 were killed when a bomb went off in the Baptist church on Sunday, injuring 20 others as well. The church was known for hosting civil rights meetings and after the bombing, no one was arrested. The nation reacted with outrage. More than 8,000 people attended the girls’ funeral. It wasn’t until 1997 that a KKK leader was arrested for the bombing. -
Freedom Summer
The NAACP, CORE, and SNCC work to make a black voting registration drive. the campaign establishes "Freedom Schools" for Mississippi children. On June 21, 1964, three of the program's CORE volunteers disappear. More than a month later, a tip leads agents to the volunteers' bodies; they had been beaten, shot and buried under a dam. More than 12 KKK members were arrested. Seven of the men are convicted and sentenced to up to six years in prison. -
Bloody Sunday (Selma)
On March 7, 1965, about 600 blacks begin a 50-mile march from Selma, Ala., to Montgomery, the state capital, in support of voting rights for African Americans, when the marchers ran into a group of police. The police told them to leave and when they didn’t, the Police used nightclubs and tear gas on the marchers, injuring dozens. Footage of it was aired and the event was dubbed ‘Bloody Sunday’. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 comes after President Lyndon B. Johnson and members of Congress realized that more laws are needed to support the 15th Amendment's promise of voting rights for all. The act bans racial discrimination in voting practices. It also allowed the government to monitor voting in areas that have a history of extensive voting discrimination.
