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Brown V. Board of Education 1
Brown V. Board of Education was a decision made by the U.S. Supreme Court. The court ruled that U.S. state laws making racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. -
White Citizens Council
The White Citizens Council was a group that kept segregation and white supremacy all throughout the South. They were a group concentrated in the South that believed in discrimination. They were against all African Americans. -
Brown V. Board of Education 2
In Brown V. Board of Education 2, the Supreme Court decided to integrate schools with blacks and whites. It led to many people resisting this decision, because supporters and opponents of integration were not pleased with the decision. -
Lynching of Emmett Till
14-year-old Emmett Till from Chicago was murdered in a racist attack that shocked the nation and encouraged the civil rights movement. Emmett Till was accused of harassing a white woman in a store while he was visiting some relatives in Money, Mississippi. Soon after, he was lynched because of this accusation. -
Rosa Parks Arrested
Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama bus to a white person. This occurrence started the Montgomery Bus Boycott that went on for 11 months. -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
The Montgomery Bus Boycott was a civil rights protest where African Americans refused to ride city buses all around Montgomery, Alabama. It started in December of 1955, and went on for a little longer than a year. It was known as the first large-scale U.S demonstration for civil rights. -
Martin Luther King House Bombing
A white supremacist bombed Martin Luther King Jr.'s home in Montgomery, Alabama. While this occurred, MLK was speaking at at a church near his home. -
Bombing of Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth
The Alabama home of civil rights activist Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth was bombed and destroyed by members of the Ku Klux Klan. Shuttlesworth, his family, and 2 members of his church, Bethel Baptist church, were home when the bombing occurred. -
SCLC Founded
The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) was a branch of the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA). It was founded in Atlanta by Martin Luther King Jr. SCLC was an African American civil rights organization. -
Eisenhower sends in Federal Troops
Executive Order 10730 was signed by President Dwight Eisenhower and called for Federal Troops to go to Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas to keep peace among everyone while integration was happening. In the summer of 1957, Little Rock, Arkansas decided to desegregate the cities public schools for good. -
SNCC Formed
The Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) was created in order to give younger African Americans a voice during the civil rights movement. It was formed by Martin Luther King Jr., who wanted the movement to make fast progress, so he included students who were in school. It was founded at Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina. -
Greensboro sit ins
The Greensboro sit ins was a nonviolent protest against segregation at a lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina. It led to a very effective larger sit-in movement by the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. -
Freedom Rides
Freedom Riders were civil rights activists who rode buses into the very segregated South in 1961 to protest change. They protested segregated bus terminals. There were many ups and downs on their rides through the South. -
White mob attacks federal marshals in Montgomery
In May of 1961, a white mob of more than 3,000 white people attacked a bunch of Freedom Riders in Montgomery, Alabama. There were some people from the U.S. Marshals service that attempted to protect the church from assault and from the fire bombs that went off. -
Bailey V. Patterson
Bailey V. Patterson ruled that no state required racial segregation of any transportation facilities. The principle of non-segregation was said to be a liable issue. -
Albany Georgia “failure”
After Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested for the 3rd time in Albany, Georgia, he decided to leave Albany. Albany demonstrations and the Albany movement both came to a halt. -
MLK Goes to Birmingham Jail
MLK was arrested and soon after was sent to jail for protesting segregation in Birmingham, Alabama. While in jail, he read a letter from 8 white clergymen in the local newspaper. The letter criticized MLK and his activists. So, MLK decided to write back. This was known as the "Letter From Birmingham Jail". -
Equal Pay Act
The Equal Pay Act was signed by President John F. Kennedy and became a law in June of 1963. It was one of the first laws that helped fix gender pay differences. The law made it illegal for men and women to be paid different salaries if they were in similar work. -
Kennedy sends in Federal Troops
In June of 1963, President John F. Kennedy sent National Guard troops to the University of Alabama for the purpose of desegregation. Governor of Alabama George Wallace ended the blockade of the University of Alabama while also allowing 2 African American students to enroll in the school. -
Assassination of Medgar Evers
African American civil rights leader Medgar Evans and former member of the U.S. army was assassinated in Jackson, Mississippi in the driveway right outside his home. He was shot by a white supremiscist named Byron De La Beckwith. -
March on Washington "I Have a Dream"
The "I Have a Dream" speech was delivered by African American civil rights activist, Martin Luther King Jr. He gave the speech during March on Washington at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. It expressed MLK's hope for change and equal rights for all people. -
Bombing of a church in Birmingham
A bomb went off at the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. 4 African American girls were killed in the middle of a church service. At least 14 other African Americans were injured in the bombing. -
Assassination of John F. Kennedy
John F Kennedy was assassinated while travelling through Dallas, Texas, in an open top convertible. A man named Lee Harvey Oswald committed the murder, and fired 3 shots. Jacqueline Kennedy was right next to John F. Kennedy when it happened. -
24th Amendment
Before this Amendment, some citizens from different states had to pay a fee to vote in a national election. With the passing of the 24th Amendment, there was no poll tax in federal official elections. -
Freedom Summer
Freedom Summer, also known as the Mississippi Summer Project, was a voter registration aiming for increasing the number of black registered voters in Mississippi. Many white volunteers helped African Americans fight against voter discrimination at this event in 1964. -
Killing of Goodman, Chaney, Schwerner
Goodman, Chaney, and Schwerner were civil rights workers who were found dead and buried in an eastern dam near Philadelphia, Mississippi. Schwerner and Goodman were both white men from New York who went to Mississippi in 1964 to help fight for civil rights on behalf of the Congress of Racial Equality. Chaney was an African American man who joined the Congress of Racial Equality in 1963. Many years later, on June 21 2005, A man named Edgar Ray Killen was found guilty of murdering the 3 men. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was first suggested by President John F. Kennedy. It ended segregation in public places and ended all employment discrimination. It is one of the biggest legislative achievements of the civil rights movement. -
Assassination of Malcolm X
While addressing his Organization of Afro-American Unity at Audubon Ballroom in Washington Heights, New York he was shot. He was assassinated by few rival black Muslims. Malcolm X had previously received death threats because of his controversial beliefs. -
Selma to Montgomery March
In March of 1965, the Selma-to-Montgomery protesters fought for the right to continue their protest. President Lyndon Johnson spoke with Congress, and decided on a federal voting rights legislation to protect African Americans from barriers that prevented them from voting in the first place. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson. It attempted to stop legal barriers at both the state and local levels so African Americans could vote smoothly, as guaranteed in the 15th amendment. -
Black Panthers Formed
The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense (BPP) was founded in Oakland California in 1966. It was founded by 2 college students, Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale. It encouraged black nationalism, socialism, and self-defense while armed. -
Loving V. Virginia
Loving V. Virginia was a Supreme Court case that ended the ban of interracial marriage in the United States. A white man named Richard Loving and a black woman named Mildred Loving's marriage was illegal under Virginia state laws (they lived in Virginia for some time). -
Minneapolis Riots
On the evening of July 19, 1967, tension regarding race occurred in Northern Minneapolis on Plymouth Avenue. There was acts of arson, assaults, and vandalism. The violent riots lasted for 3 nights straight. -
Detroit Riots
The Detroit Riots were a series of violent confrontations of residents of Detroit neighborhoods and the city's local police department. It lasted for 5 days straight. The result of the riots were that 43 people died- 33 African Americans and 10 whites. -
Assassination of MLK
Martin Luther King Jr. was shot at a hotel in Memphis, Tennessee. The shot was fired by James Earl Ray from over 200 feet away. The shot strung Martin Luther King Jr. in the neck. He passed away an hour after he was shot at St. Josephs Hospital. -
Assassination of Robert "Bobby" Kennedy
Robert Kennedy was shot at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angelas, California after winning the California president primary. Right after telling his supporters that he was going to end the division of the United States, he was shot multiple times by a 22-year-old Palestinian man named Sirhan Sirhan. Robert Kennedy died the next day.
