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Brown vs. Board of Education
The US Supreme Court rules an end to segregation in schools. It overturned the Plessy vs. Ferguson court case that permitted "separate but equal" facilities for blacks. This new court case posted that separate facilities were not equal. -
Emmett Till Murder
14 year old, African American boy, Emmett Till was in a grocery store and was lynched after accused of whistling and flirting with a white woman, Carolyn Bryant. Bryant's husband and half-brother abducted Till , mutilated him before shooting him in the head and sinking him in the Tallahatchie River. Till's mother decided to keep his casket open to show what blacks go through. -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
It was a political and social protest against racial segregation of public transportation. It took place for 13 months and all African Americans refused to use buses and way of transportation. -
Albany Movement
It was the first mass movement in the modern Civil Rights Era to have as its goal the desegregation of an entire community. It resulted in sending more than 1,000 African Americans to jail. Martin Luther King was drawn to this movement but was arrested and later said he failed his mission of this local movement in Albany, Georgia. -
The Freedom Riders
The Freedom Riders were activists of civil rights. They rode interstate buses through the south of The United States. Even though the Supreme Court passes court cases that ruled segregation on public buses was unconstitutional, the southern states ignored it and the government did not care. The Freedom Riders encouraged people to stand up for African American Rights. -
Executive Order 10925
President John F. Kennedy issued the Executive Order 10925 which required government contractors to ""take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed and that employees are treated during employment without regard to their race, creed, color, or national origin." -
NAACP Leader Killed
Medgar Evers, African American civil rights activist was the secretary for NAACP in Mississippi. He was murdered by Byron De La Beckwith (member of the White Citizens' Council). His murder resulted in civil rights protests, and even inspired works of art, music and film. -
"I Have A Dream"
Martin Luther King Jr. held a speech in Washington DC, well known as "I Have A Dream". In this speech, King called for an end to racism and civil/economic rights. Over 250,000 civil rights supporters stood around listening to Dr. King as he spoke about the unequal rights of African Americans. -
1964 Voting Rights Act
Signed into by President Lyndon B. Johnson to overcome the debate on African Americans voting rights. It initially helped African Americans to exercise their voting practices as guaranteed in the 15th Amendment. -
Malcolm X Assassination
While speaking at a rally at New York City, Malcolm X was shot dead by three assassins of the Nation of Islam. Malcolm X was a African-American Muslim minister and human rights activist.
