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Separate but Equal legalized
The U.S. Supreme Court decision that upheld the racist policy of segregation by legalizing “separate but equal” facilities for blacks and whites. -
Jackie Robinson
Robinson breaks color barrier by being the first black to play major league baseball for the Brooklyn Dodgers. -
Armed Forces integrated
President Harry S. Truman issued an executive order integrating the U.S. armed forces -
Separate but Equal Overturned
The U.S. Supreme Court unanimous decision that overturned the “separate but equal” doctrine in public schools. -
Emmett Till Killed
Emmett Till was murdered in Money, Mississippi. -
Rosa Parks Arrested
Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery City Bus and was arrested. -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
The Montgomery Bus Boycott begins. -
Little Rock 9
The Little Rock 9 enter Central High School as federal troops oversee the situation sent by President Eisenhower. -
Woolworth Store Protest
4 black college students sat at an all-white lunch counter and started a sit-in protest at a Woolworth’s store. -
Ruby Bridges
She was the first African-American child to desegregate the all-white William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans, Louisiana -
Freedom Riders
Freedom riders begin a bus ride through the South to protest segregation. -
James Meredith
5000 federal troops were sent by Kennedy to allow Meredith to register for classes and resulted in riots -
MLK arrested
MLK Jr. was arrested in Birmingham protesting in the "most segregated" city in America. -
Federal Law Tested
Kennedy sends National Guard to the University of Alabama to help after the governor stood in a doorway to block two black students from registering. -
Medgar Evers Killed
The president of the NAACP, was shot and killed outside of his home the same night that president Kennedy addresses the nation on race. -
March on Washington
More than 250,000 people march on Washington to demand immediate passage of the civil rights bill. -
Birmingham Church Shooting
4 black girls are killed by a bomb that was planted in a church. Hate Crime -
24th Amendment
The amendment bans any and all poll taxes -
Summer Freedom Project
Civil rights workers in Mississippi seek to register blacks to vote and result in buildings being burned and people being killed. -
Civil Rights Law
President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the premier legislation for Civil Rights into law. -
March on Selma
A march from Selma to Montgomery to fight for voting rights begins. -
Literacy tests outlawed
President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act into law outlawing literacy tests. -
The Black Panthers
Huey Newton & Bobby Seale founded the "Black Power" political group known as the Black Panthers. -
MLK Jr. is Killed
Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated by James Earl Ray in Memphis. -
Lynching of Michael Donald
The Ku Klux Klan members beat and killed Michael Donald, a 19-year-old African-American, and hung his body from a tree.
