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13th Amendment
The 13th Amendment, made in 1865 in the aftermath of the Civil War, abolished slavery in the United States. The 13th Amendment states: “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.” Abraham Lincoln wrote it to finally allow slaves to get closer to freedom. This was a big step towards freedom for people before Civil Rights Act. -
14th Amendment
The 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, made in 1868, granted citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States; including former slaves and guaranteed all citizens “equal protection of the laws.” It's one of three amendments passed during the 'Reconstruction Era" to abolish slavery and establish civil and legal rights for black Americans. William Seward was the one who issued this amendment. The equality in this amendment was one of our first looks towards Civil Rights. -
15th Amendment
The 15th Amendment states: “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” This allowed all the colored people/ people who were in able to vote to vote. Congress passed this due to African American men not being able to vote. Only the men got this act of "freedom" not the women. This helped give many hope during this time of not having equal rights. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
A case that gained attention from an 1892 incident in which African American train passenger Homer Plessy refused to sit in a car for blacks. Rejecting Plessy’s argument that his constitutional rights were violated, the Supreme Court ruled that a law that “implies merely a legal distinction” between whites and blacks was not unconstitutional. As a result, restrictive Jim Crow legislation and separate public accommodations based on race became commonplace. -
NAACP
The NAACP or National Association for the Advancement of Colored People was established in 1909 and is America’s oldest and largest civil rights organization. It was formed in New York City by white and black activists, partially in response to the ongoing violence against African Americans around the country. In the NAACP’s early decades, its anti-lynching campaign was central to its agenda. The NAACP has gained a lot of attention since founded by people like, Du Bois & Ida B. Wells. -
19th Amendment
The 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, guaranteeing women the right to vote, is passed by Congress and sent to the states for ratification. This was a big step toward civil rights, especially for the women since they had been fighting for freedom for so long. This showed the reward for using your voice. -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
The Montgomery Bus Boycott was a civil rights protest during which African Americans refused to ride city buses in Montgomery, Alabama, to protest segregated seating. The boycott took place from December 5, 1955, to December 20, 1956, and is regarded as the first large-scale U.S. demonstration against segregation. Four days before the boycott began, Rosa Parks, an African American woman, was arrested and fined for refusing to yield her bus seat to a white man. This event lead to getting rights. -
The Little Rock 9
The Little Rock Nine were a group of nine black students who enrolled at formerly all-white Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, in September 1957. Their attendance at the school was a test of Brown v. Board of Education, a landmark 1954 Supreme Court ruling that declared segregation in public schools unconstitutional. President Dwight D. Eisenhower sent in federal troops to escort the Little Rock Nine into the school. It drew national attention to the civil rights movement. -
Chicano Mural Movement
The Chicano mural movement began in the 1960's in Mexican-American barrios throughout the Southwest. Artists began using the walls of city buildings, housing projects, schools, and churches to depict Mexican-American culture. -
Freedom Riders
Freedom Riders were groups of white and African American civil rights activists who participated in Freedom Rides, bus trips through the American South in 1961 to protest segregated bus terminals. Freedom Riders tried to use “whites-only” restrooms and lunch counters at bus stations in Alabama, South Carolina and other Southern states. The groups were confronted by arresting police officers as well as horrific violence from white protesters. -
Letter from Birmingham Jail
The Letter from Birmingham Jail, also known as the Letter from Birmingham City Jail and The Negro Is Your Brother, is an open letter written on April 16, 1963, by Martin Luther King Jr. The letter defends the strategy of nonviolent resistance to racism. It says that people have a moral responsibility to break unjust laws and to take direct action rather than waiting potentially forever for justice to come through the courts. -
I HAVE A DREAM SPEECH
"I Have a Dream" is a public speech that was delivered by American civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on August 28, 1963, in which he called for civil and economic rights and an end to racism in the United States. MILK sought to end inequality all his life and this was looked to be as his biggest milestone to get to that point. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is a landmark civil rights and labor law in the United States that outlaws discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. It prohibits unequal application of voter registration requirements, and racial segregation in schools, employment, and public accommodations. -
March from Selma to Montgomery
The march was part of civil rights protests that occurred in 1965 in Alabama, a Southern state with deep racist policies. In March of that year, protesters marching the 54-mile route from Selma to the state capital of Montgomery were confronted with deadly violence from local authorities and white vigilante groups. The historic march, and Martin Luther King, Jr.’s participation in it, raised awareness of the difficulties faced by black voters, and the need for a national Voting Rights Act. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
The Voting Rights Act of 1965, signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson, aimed to overcome legal barriers at the state and local levels that prevented African Americans from exercising their right to vote as guaranteed under the 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. This was another big voting act that lead to equality for colored people. While it seemed like a stretch it was soon known to play a major part in Civil Rights. -
BLACK PANTHERS
The Black Panthers, also known as the Black Panther Party, was a political organization founded in 1966 by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale to challenge police brutality against the African American community. Dressed in black berets and black leather jackets, the Black Panthers organized armed citizen patrols of Oakland and other U.S. cities. This was a big idea that lead to the black community fighting to gain all rights and not just rest on what they were at. -
Thurgood Marshall to supreme court
Was a very important milestone during this time of gaining civil rights. Thurgood Marshall was appointed to the supreme court with the votes being in his favor of 69-11. Nobody thought he'd be able to due it considering he is the great-grandson of slaves and he is African-American. This specific event change the perspective of colored people down the road. It gave them the mindset of achieving anything. -
MLK Assassinated
Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968, an event that sent shock waves reverberating around the world. A Baptist minister and founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, King had led the civil rights movement since the mid-1950s, using a combination of impassioned speeches and nonviolent protests to fight segregation and achieve significant civil rights advances for African Americans. King paved a way for ALL people to speak their mind. -
Equal Rights Amendment
The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was or is a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution designed to guarantee equal legal rights for all American citizens regardless of sex. It seeks to end the legal distinctions between men and women in matters of divorce, property, employment, and other matters. This was a huge step to equality after a very long time of fighting for equal & civil rights. -
Sandra Day O'Connor appointed as first female on supreme court
President Ronald Reagan nominates Sandra Day O'Connor, an Arizona court of appeals judge, to be the first woman Supreme Court justice in U.S. history. On September 21, the Senate unanimously approved her appointment to the nation's highest court, and on September 25 she was sworn in by Chief Justice Warren Burger. This was a big milestone for women everywhere and of all color. It completely changed the perspective on women of all types.
