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Brown vs. Board of Education
The Supreme Court ruling on the landmark case Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kans., agreeing that segregation in public schools is unconstitutional. The ruling started the way for desegregation. The decision overturns the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson ruling that sanctioned "separate but equal" segregation of the races, ruling that "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal." -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
5 December 1955 marked the beginning of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. On this day the citizens of Montgomery, Alabama boycotted the city's buses in protest to desegregate them. Instead of taking the bus to where they needed to be, they walked, stayed at home, carpooled or caught a taxi. -
Little Rock
On September 25, 1957, following a plea from Little Rock's mayor, Woodrow Mann, President Dwight Eisenhower federalized the National Guard and sent U.S. Army troops to the scene. -
Sit-Ins
Four college students in Greensboro, NC a sit-in at a segregated Woolworth's lunch counter. They were refused service, but were allowed to stay at the counter. The event started similar nonviolent protests throughout the South. -
March on Washington
The 1963 March on Washington attracted approx. 250,000 people for a peaceful demonstration to promote Civil Rights and economic equality for African Americans. Participants walked down Constitution and Independence avenues, then gathered at the Lincoln Monument for speeches, songs, and prayer. Most memorable speech of the day was the Rev Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
On July 2, 1964, the Civil Rights Act of 1994 was passed through congress and signed by President Lyndon B. -
Selma March
600 blacks begin a march to Montgomery in support of voting rights but are stopped at the Pettus Bridge by a police blockade. Fifty marchers are hospitalized after police use tear gas, whips, and clubs against them. Called "Bloody Sunday" by the media. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
Signed into law on August 6, 1965, by President Lyndon Johnson. It outlawed the discriminatory voting practices adopted in many southern states after the Civil War, including literacy tests as a prerequisite to voting. -
The Assassination of Martin Luther King
On April 4, 1968 at 6:00 P.M., Dr. Martin Luther King was shot while standing on the balcony outside of his room in Memphis. -
Fair Housing Act
Prohibits discrimination in residential housing based on all protected classes (Race, Religion, National Origin, Color, Familial Status, Sex, and Handicapped).