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Brown v. Board of Education
Landmark Supreme Court Case
Schools for black children were not equal to schools for white kids—old buildings, no buses, not much learning equipment, and not modern. More money was spent on white kids for them to learn, while less money was spent on black kids.
Many cases combined. The school board refused to allow black children to enroll in the school closest to their homes, and many people sued the Board of Education with the help of the NAACP.
A major victory for the Civil Rights movement -
Rosa Parks & the Montgomery Bus Boycott
The Montgomery Bus Boycott lasted until 1956. A black woman named Rosa Parks got on a bus and sat in a spot for white people. She was asked to move to the back of the bus, but politely refused. She was later arrested.
In Montgomery, Alabama, black people refused to ride the bus as a protest.
These two events showed how much black people were going to fight for racial equality, and they would risk going to jail if it meant achieving racial equality. -
Emmett Till Murder
A black boy named Emmett Till was accused of whistling at or catcalling a white woman in Money, Mississippi. He was later kidnapped by white men who beat him, tied barbed wire around his neck, and murdered him with a firearm. He was thrown into the river and was later found. The white men were found not guilty of their crimes.
While this case was not a victory, it revealed the deep, malicious roots of racism in America. -
The Little Rock Nine and Integration
This was after segregation in public schools was declared illegal. The Little Rock Nine were the first nine black students to enter Little Rock's Central High School. The nine students were harassed, bullied, and even threatened. This was the start of integration in the schools.
This event encouraged black Americans to keep fighting segregation and discrimination. -
Greensboro Woolworth's Sit-ins
Ended in July.
Young African American students staged a sit-in at a segregated Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, and refused to leave after being denied service.
This protest spread across college towns in the south and later forced establishments to change their segregationist policies. -
Freedom Rides
Bus trips launched by civil rights activists to challenge interstate bus terminals and facilities in the Southern United States.
This gained more public support for Civil Rights. Led to the ICC to enforce desegregation on interstate buses. -
MLK’s Letter From Birmingham Jail
Martin Luther King Jr. was imprisoned in Birmingham after his peaceful protests. The letter was a public statement of criticism.
The letter was significant in the Civil Rights movement because it defended the use of nonviolent direct action and clarified King's philosophy on justice and civil disobedience. -
March on Washington
Over 250,000 people to the Lincoln Memorial to advocate for civil rights for African Americans.
This gathering was important because it helped pressure Congress into passing the Civil Rights Act. -
Birmingham Baptist Church Bombing
A white supremacist terrorist group called the KKK bombed the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. The KKK is an extremely racist group and believe white people are superior to black people. Four lives were taken.
This event pushed African Americans to keep fighting for civil rights. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
A law that completely outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin in the United States. Aimed to end discrimination in employment, voting, and public facilities.
This was the ultimate goal for the African American community, however racism and discrimination will not disappear with a single law. -
24th Amendment
The 24th Amendment forbids state governments from imposing poll taxes that prevented black people from voting in elections.
This was one of the first steps in making black people equal, but more had to be done. -
“Bloody Sunday”/Selma to Montgomery March
State troopers attack peaceful protestors marching across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama.
This event proved that black people were still not completely equal. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
Prevented states from setting qualifications and requirements to vote in elections. This allowed black people to vote freely. -
Loving v. Virginia
This Supreme Court case allowed people to marry interracially, forever changing the law of America.
This law allowed black people to love, date, and marry whoever they wanted no matter the state they lived in.