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Brown v Board of Education
This was the landmark court case that banned segregation in schools. It resulted in the little rock nine attending a formerly all-white high school in Arkansas. -
White Citizens Council
A group of white supremacists who opposed integration. Changed their name in 1956 to the Citizens' Councils of America -
Rosa Parks Arrested
Rosa Parks worked for the NAACP and was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a bus to a white passenger. Her protest sparked the Montgomery bus boycott and much of the greater civil rights movement. -
Brown v Board of Education II
The Brown v Board of Education II decision was a follow up to the lack of response to the first Brown v Board decision. It ordered schools to be integrated more quickly. -
Lynching of Emmett Till
Emmett Till was a 14-year old African American boy who was beaten and murdered for talking to a white woman. Emmett Till's death and his mother's decision to do an open casket at the funeral helped spark the entire civil rights movement. -
Montgomery bus boycott
The boycott that was sparked by Rosa Parks started on this date and ended on December 20th of the following year. Until segregation was banned, African Americans refused to ride the buses in Montgomery, Alabama. The protest worked and this event became crucial in the civil rights movement. -
Martin Luther King House Bombing
In retaliation for the Montgomery bus boycott, MLK's house was bombed by segregationists. King was in the middle of speaking at a black leaders meeting when it happened. -
Bombing of Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth
KKK members bomb the home of civil rights activist Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth. He became a popular target for white supremacists and was attacked four more times in the next seven years. -
SCLC Founded
A large and important civil rights organization called the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. It is best known for its first leader: Martin Luther King. -
Eisenhower sends in Federal Troops
Violent riots by whites took place in an attempt to stop the little rock nine from entering the high school. Eisenhower sent in the 101st airborne division to protect the nine high school students. -
SNCC Formed
The SNCC stands for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee which helps students to have a voice in the civil rights movement. Before their more radical turn in the mid-1960s, they followed MLK's practices. -
Greensboro sit-ins
The sit-ins began in February and lasted until July 25th. They were a series of nonviolent protests where African Americans would sit at segregated lunch counters. -
Freedom Rides
Groups of black and white civil rights activists went on bus trips in the south to protest segregation. The first ones were to test the ruling of Boynton v. Virginia and they keep going until December 10 of the same year. -
Albany Georgia “failure”
Also called the Albany movement, it was an attempt to desegregate public spaces in Georgia that didn't gain much. The movement was a collaboration with the SNCC, NAACP, and the SCLC. -
Bailey v Patterson
Decided that it was unconstitutional for transportation facilities like bus and train stations to be racially segregated. Was a result of the Montgomery bus boycott. -
White mob attacks federal marshals in Montgomery
RFK and Alabama governor negotiate for federal marshals to protect a group of freedom riders. They are still attacked in Montgomery and MLK holds a service in support. -
MLK goes to a Birmingham jail
During a protest in Birmingham, Alabama, King is arrested and taken to jail. It was there that he wrote the infamous "Letter from a Birmingham Jail". -
Equal Pay Act
The equal pay act makes it illegal for women and men to get paid different amounts for the job. Though this law is still not as enforced as it could be to this day. -
Kennedy sends in Federal Troops
Governor Wallace of Alabama stood in the doorway of the University of Alabama in an attempt to stop two African American students from enrolling. President Kennedy sends in federal troops to force him to move. -
Assassination of Medgar Evers
Medgar Evers worked for the NAACP as a field secretary for Mississippi. He was assassinated by a member of the White Citizen's Council named Byron De La Beckwith, a man who opposed the desegregation of schools and fought against equality for African Americans. -
March on Washington “I have a Dream”
The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom was an enormous march held to advocate for the civil and economic equality of African Americans. MLK gave the very famous "I have a dream" speech at the Lincoln Memorial at the end of the march. -
Bombing of a church in Birmingham
White supremacists bombed an African American Baptist church. The four suspects who caused the attack were members of the KKK. -
Assassination of John F. Kennedy
The 35th president was in Dallas, Texas, in a convertible accompanied by a 10-mile motorcade when her was shot. He didn't die immediately and was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead within 30 minutes. -
Freedom Summer
Freedom Summer was based in Mississippi and also called the Mississippi Summer Project. This volunteer campaign was an attempt to register as many African American voters as possible. -
XXIV (24th) Amendment
This amendment is the abolition of poll taxes. Before the ratification, five states had poll taxes which disproportionately affected African Americans. -
Killings of Goodman, Chaney, and Schwerner
During the Freedom Summer protests, three activists were kidnapped and murdered in Neshoba County. Two of the activists worked for CORE. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
This law outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin. It also prohibited unequal voter registration requirements and segregation in schools, public accommodations, and employment -
Assassination of Malcolm X
Malcolm X was assassinated while giving a speech at the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem. He was killed by Thomas Hagan, a former member of the Nation of Islam -
Selma to Montgomery March
The march from Selma to Montgomery lasted from March 7 to March 21. This march in protest of continuing discriminatory legislation directly caused the passing of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
The voting rights act outlaws racial discrimination in voting. It abolished things like literacy tests that were a part of Jim Crow laws and meant to keep African Americans from voting. -
Black Panthers Formed
The Black Panther Party was formed in Oakland to combat police brutality. The Party's followed Malcolm X's practices and organized armed marches in protest. -
Loving v Virginia
This case ended the ban on interracial marriages. They found it was in opposition to the fourteenth amendment. -
Minneapolis Riots
Violent demonstrations occurred because of the racial tensions as a result of injustice in Minneapolis. Storefronts and streets were set on fire and the national guard was sent in. -
Detroit Riots
The Detroit riots were a series of confrontations between African American residents and the Detroit police department. The riots were caused by resentment and anger over constant unemployment, poverty, racial segregation, and police brutality. -
Assassination of MLK
Martin Luther King was fatally shot in Memphis, Tennesee while standing on a motel balcony. He was killed by a man named James Earl Ray who pled guilty and was sent to prison. -
Assassination of Robert “Bobby” Kennedy
RFK was shot shortly after speaking to a group of supporters at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. He was shot by a Palestinian named Sirhan Sirhan allegedly because of his support for Israel.
