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Plessey v. Ferguson
Homer Plessy had been arrested for sitting in a coach marked: "for whites only". The court ruled in favor of a Louisiana law requiring segregated railroad cars. The court said that a law could require separate facilities, so long as they were equal. -
Founding of the NAACP
Blacks and whites in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) worked for equal rights for African Americans. -
Jackie Robinson integrates baseball
Branch Rickey, general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, wanted to break the "color line". He signed an African American army veteran named Jackie Roobinson. He paved the way for other African American athletes to compete in professional arts. -
The Military Integrates
President Truman ordered the integration of all units of the armed forces. -
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka
Oliver brown sued the board of education of Topeka, Kansas. Brown wanted his daughter to attend a school closer to home, which also had better facilities, but the principal refused, saying that the school was for whites only. -
The murder of Emmett Till
An African American 14 year old boy is caught flirting with a white girl. He was lynched. -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
No African American used the city bus. This was a boycott on the day of Rosa Parks' trial. She was on trial for refusing to give up her seat to a white passenger. -
Little Rock Nine
Eight students walk together, protected by ministers, to go to Central High. Elizabeth Eckford faced the mob alone. -
Greensboro Sit-in
Four African American college students sat down at a "whites only" lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, and ordered coffee. They refused to move unless they were served. -
Freedom Rides
13 Freedom Riders set out on two buses for a trip through the Deep South. They successfully integrated several bus stations before being violently attacked in Alabama. -
Birmingham children's march
Thousands of African Americans, including many children, protested discrimination in Birmingham, Alabama. -
March on Washington
250,000 peacefully asembled citizens stirred more Americans to support civil rights. Civil Rights leaders proposed the march to focus on the strongest civil rights bill in the nation's history. Martin Luther King's speech moved the crowd. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
Lyndon Johnson passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It banned discrimination in public facilities, and outlawed discrimination in employment. It also provided for faster school desegregation and further protected voting rights. -
Malcolm X Assassinated
Malcolm X who rejected the goal of integration was assassinated. Three Black Muslims were convicted of the crime. -
Selma March
King staged a mass protest in Alabama to draw attention to the issue of voting rights. Hundreds of marchers set out from the city of Selma to Montgomery, the state capital. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 banned literacy tests and other barriers to African American voting. -
Watts Riots
Watts, Los Angeles; Angered by what they saw as an act of brutality by police,residents of Watts burned cars and looted stores. More than 1000 people were killed or injured.
