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The Supreme Court Decision Of Plessy v. Ferguson
The Court's “separate but equal” decision in Plessy v. Ferguson on that date upheld state-imposed Jim Crow laws. It became the legal basis for racial segregation in the United States for the next fifty years. -
The Tuskegee Airmen
They proved that Black men could fly advanced aircraft in combat as well as their white counterparts. -
The Integration of Major League Baseball
The end of segregation led to a golden age of Major League Baseball, where many of the biggest stars were African American, including several on pennant-winning Brooklyn teams, one of which won the World Series eight years after Robinson joined the club. -
The Integration of the Armed Forces
It was among the first federal actions of the modern civil rights era to counter discrimination against Black Americans and other racial minorities. -
The Supreme Court Decision of Sweatt v. Painter
The Sweatt decision helped pave the way for African-Americans' admission to formerly segregated colleges and universities across the nation, and led to the overturn of segregation by law in all levels of public education in the landmark case of Brown v. Board of Education four years later. -
The Supreme Court Decision of Brown v. Board of Education
The Supreme Court ruled that separating children in public schools on the basis of race was unconstitutional. -
The Death of Emmitt Till
Milam, kidnapped and brutally murdered Till, dumping his body in the Tallahatchie River. The newspaper coverage and murder trial galvanized a generation of young African Americans to join the Civil Rights Movement out of fear that such an incident could happen to friends, family, or even themselves. -
The Montgomery Bus Boycott
Rosa Parks invigorated the struggle for racial equality when she refused to give up her bus seat to a white man in Montgomery, Alabama. -
The Integration of Little Rock High School
On September 4, just 24 hours after a federal judge ordered the Little Rock Nine to begin attending Central High immediately, a belligerent mob, along with the National Guard, again prevented the teens from entering the school. -
The Civil Rights Act of 1957
The new act established the Civil Rights Section of the Justice Department and empowered federal prosecutors to obtain court injunctions against interference with the right to vote. -
The Greensboro Four Lunch Counter Sit-In
The Greensboro sit-in provided a template for nonviolent resistance and marked an early success for the civil rights movement. -
The Freedom Rides By Freedom RIders of 1961
Freedom Riders attracted the attention of the Kennedy Administration and as a direct result of their work, the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) issued regulations banning segregation in interstate travel that fall. -
The Twenty-Fourth Amendment
It abolished and forbids the federal and state governments from imposing taxes on voters during federal elections. -
The Integration of the University of Mississippi
James Meredith became one of the heroic figures in the American Civil Rights Movement, succeeding against every legal, political and bureaucratic obstacle that blocked his path to becoming the university's first African-American student. -
The Integration of the University of Alabama
opened doors not only to two Black students, but for decades of progress toward becoming an inclusive campus. -
The March on Washington & "I Have a Dream" Speech by MLK
It resulted in a new determination to move toward equality, freedom and greater employment for people of color.” According to Height, “The real significance of the march, and the speech, was that it changed attitudes. -
The Assassination Of JFK in Dallas , Texas
John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, was assassinated while riding in a presidential motorcade through Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas -
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 signed by President Johnson
President Johnson helped eliminate voting discrimination against African Americans. The act also abolished racial discrimination in public facilities and in public education. -
The Assassination of Malcolm X
His most notable contributions was his emphasis on Black Nationalism. -
The Selma to Montgomery March: "Bloody Sunday"
Helped spur passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 three months later. -
The Voting Rights Act of 1965
The Voting Rights Act is a landmark federal law enacted in 1965 to remove race-based restrictions on voting. It is perhaps the country's most important voting rights law, with a history that dates to the Civil War. -
The Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in Memphis, Tennessee
Black Americans were devastated, pained, and angered. Violence erupted in more than 125 American cities across 29 states. Nearly 50,000 federal troops occupied America's urban areas. Thirty-nine people were killed and 3,500 injured. -
The Voting Rights Act of 1968
The Voting Rights Act of 1965, similar to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, prohibited racial discrimination in voting. The Act was later expanded to help protect the right to vote for racial minorities throughout the country (mainly the South).