Civil Rights Timeline

By 21cgaughran

  • Segregation in the Armed Services abolished

    On this day, President Harry Truman issued an executive order to stop segregation in the armed services.

  • Brown vs Board of Education

    This ended segregation in public schools.

  • Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat.

    This was the day that kickstarted the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the Civil Rights movement.

  • Malcolm X assassinated

    Malcolm X, a civil rights leader was killed in a rally by members of the Nation of Islam.

  • Little Rock Nine

    After Eisenhower stopped segregation in public schools, the little rock 9 were 9 African-American students who entered a previously all-white school. They were not allowed in on the first day until Eisenhower sent in the national guard so 9 people could go to school.

  • Eisenhower signs civil rights act to help protect voter rights

    This act gave African - Americans rights to vote unsuppressed. They could vote without being heckled.

  • Sit-ins spark

    Four college students in North Carolina sat in an all-white bar and refused to leave. This sparked thousands of sit-ins across the country where African-Americans protested.

  • First black student enrolled at the University of Mississippi

    The first black student enrolled at the University of Mississippi was accepted

  • Two black students blocked off by governor

    On this day, Governor George C. Wallace blocked two black students from registering at the University of Alabama. John F. Kennedy sends the national guard to campus.

  • March on Washington

    250,000 people take part in the March on Washinton for jobs and freedom. Martin Luther King Jr delivers his I have a Dream Speech during this time.

  • Bomb at 16th Street Baptist church in Birmingham Alabama

    A bomb at 16th Street Baptist church kills 4 young African-American women. This happened before Sunday services.

  • Civil Rights Act of 1964

    President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This prevented employment discrimination due to race, color, sex, religion or national origin.

  • Selma to Montgomery March

    This walk held 600 civil rights marchers to travel to Montgomery. They were brutally attacked by local police forces. Soon MLK fought and won in court where they were allowed to march.

  • The voting act of 1965

    A literacy test was no longer needed to be able to vote. Also, federal examiners could view voting stations.

  • Martin Luther King Jr Assassinated

    MLK is killed on the balcony of his hotel in Memphis. James Earl Ray is convicted of the murder.

  • Fair Housing act

    President Johnson signs the fair housing act which provided equal housing opportunity for all races.