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Jackie Robinson Joins the Major Leagues
Jackie Robinson joins the Brooklyn Dodgers and becomes the first African American to be in the major leagues. He kick-started the desegregation of major league baseball. This helped the Civil Rights movement greatly. -
Executive Order 9981 Signed by Truman
This order, signed by President Truman, initiated the desegregation of the military. The signing of this order made it so there is equal opportunity within the armed forces and no one with be discriminated for race, religion, nationality, etc. -
Brown v. Board of Education
The Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional to have segregated schools and that although there were separate schools they were not equal. It helped fix racial inequalities in the schools system. -
The Murder of Emmet Till
Emmet Till was a 14 year old African American boy who was murdered in Mississippi while visiting relatives. He was murdered for supposedly flirting with a white cashier and was ultimately killed by her husband. His murder gave African Americans another reason for the civil rights movement. -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
The arrest of Rosa parks sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott. She was arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a white man and than led to a 13 month long protest where African Americans refused to use public transportation. -
Little Rock Nine Intervention
Nine African American students were chosen to enroll in a white high school in order to enforce desegregation in Arkansas schools. The backlash was tremendous, a crowd of hundreds gathered at the school every morning to harass the children. Even the national guard prevented the children from entering the school until Eisenhower intervened. -
Greensboro Sit-in Protest
African American Youth sat at a white,lunch counter and protested. They refused to leave after being denied service. This protest inspired many similar protests in the south. -
African Americans Introduced In the Space Race.
African American women such as Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, and Katherine Johnson were chosen to be computers for NASA. Katherine Johnson was the first African American scientist at NASA. The black computers established the desegregation of NASA and other facilities. -
Integration of Ole Miss Riot
James Meredith was enrolled at the University of Mississippi and was the first black student that attended the school. He had to be escorted to the University everyday due to riots that killed two and injured many more. -
The March on Washington
A march for jobs and freedom at the Lincoln memorial where thousands of Black Americans brought up important inequalities such as economic inequalities and a higher minimum wage. This march is where Martin Luther King Jr. said his famous "I Have a Dream" speech. -
16th Street Babtist Church Bombing
White supremacists bomb a black church in Alabama. The Babtist church played a very active in the Civil Rights movement and the Klu Klux Klan thought that getting rid of the church would encourage people to stop fighting for civil rights but it actually encouraged the opposite. -
The Civil Rights Act of 1964
Ended segregation in public places. It also made it so no one could be discriminated against for race, religion, sex, nationality, etc. In a public place. -
Freedom Summer
Black Americans encouraged voter registration to increase the number of black voters. They used this to fight against voter intimidation and discrimination. -
The Selma Marches
A peaceful protest turned violent when African American protesters are attacked by white state troopers. The Selma Marches were a way that Black Americans could fight for the right to vote and not be blocked by Jim Crow Laws. -
Black Panther Party
A radical African American group that formed to fight against police brutality. It was an Independent group that, although fighting for the right things, fought in the wrong way and it could have possibly given all African Americans a bad reputation. -
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Is Assasinated
His death started riots and protests throughout the country. Johnson encouraged people to stop the violence because that's not what King would have wanted but it continued on for another four days.