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Brown v. Board of Education
In 1896 the ruling of Plessy v. Ferguson allowed separate but equal facilities. In Topeka, Kansas Oliver Brown's child was one of many African American children denied education in all white schools. She filed against the Topeka school board, because she claimed "separate but equal" was unconstitutional. The ruling of Brown v. Board of Education was that separate but equal was not constitutional. -
Emmett Louis Till Murdered
Emmett Till was murdered after flirting with a white woman while visiting his family in Money, Mississippi. He was a northerner and unaware of the severe Jim Crow laws in the south. He was kidnapped from his room in the middle of the night, and beaten to death. He was then tied to a cotton gin fan and thrown into the river. When he was discovered his body was so mangled that he could only be identified by a ring he wore with his initials engraved on it. The men who killed him were acquitted. -
Segregated Buses Ruled Unconstitutional
After 13 months of boycotting, the African American citizens of Montgomery Alabama got what they had been walking for. The supreme court ruled that segregated seating on buses was unconstitutional. For the first time, African Americans could sit wherever they wanted on the bus. This was a momentous occasion for the Civil Rights Movement, and for the African American citizens of Montgomery. -
Rosa Parks Arrested
Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white man in a segregated bus system in Montgomery, Alabama. She was arrested because this brave act broke the Jim Crow laws of the south. -
Montgomery Bus Boycott Begins
The arrest of Rosa Parks sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which was a 13 month mass protest. The African Americans in Montgomery refused to ride the segregated buses. They buses were practically empty for over a year, and the buses lost much business. Eventually the buses desegregated and African Americans were allowed to sit wherever they pleased. -
Congress Passes Civil Rights Act
President Dwight D Eisenhower signed the Civil Rights Act of 1957. This new law protected the voting rights of citizens. The Civil Rights Act of 1957 created the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department. This also gave federal officials power to prosecute any who tried to revoke another individual's civil right to vote. This act also established a Civil Rights Commission of six members. Their task was to investigate voter infringement. -
Federal Troops Contain the Situation in Little Rock
9 African American students had volunteered to desegregate Central High School in Little Rock. The students were met with violent mobs of white protesters. Gov. Orval Faubus refused to allow the 9 in, and told his state officers to force the 9 out. Then Eisenhower stepped in. He sent in federal troops to escort the 9 in, and essentially enforce desegregation. The federal government had to contain the situation because the state government was not enforcing the law. -
Attack of The Freedom Riders
African American and white activists called the Freedom Riders were testing the new laws of desegregated buses in Alabama. The Greyhound bus arrived in Anniston Alabama. A mob of over 200 white people were awaiting their arrival. The bus was bombed, and though the Freedom Rides escaped the fire, they were brutally beaten by the mob outside the bus. The next bus, also carrying members, were beaten with metal poles upon exiting the buses. The police were not involved because it was Mother's Day. -
Rioting Ensues After James Meredith Enrolls at Ole Miss
James Meredith sought to be the first African American to attend Ole Miss University in Mississippi. He was originally refused, but after being accepted, he had to be escorted to class by federal marshals. Hundreds of white rioting students and others crowded around Meredith and the officers. They were furious with the desegregation of their beloved university. -
Birmingham Children's Crusade
Thousands of children left school in Birmingham Alabama to march for civil rights. The police in Birmingham responded with painful high pressure water hoses, billy clubs, and attacking police dogs. The children were arrested. This opened the eyes of the nation, showing that the situation in the south was getting out of hand. The law was not on the side of African Americans, especially the children of the Birmingham Children's Crusade. -
Medgar Evers Assassinated
Medgar Evers was a civil rights activist during the 50's and 60's. He lead demonstrations and organized voter-registration efforts. He boycotted companies that were segregated. Byron De La Beckwith, a southern white supremacist shot Evers to death in his own driveway in front of his home. -
The March on Washington
On this day in history, 250,000 Americans marched on Washington in a peaceful march for civil rights. Martin Luther King's famous "I have a dream" speech was delivered at the end of the march. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law on this day. The law prohibited discrimination of public places, including public schools. This act also made segregation of employment illegal. -
March to Selma
Thousands of Americans marched from Selma to Montgomery for voting rights. The marchers encountered a police blockade where the officers were going to force them to turn around. The marchers refused, and the officers began beating the non-violent protesters with such force that over 50 citizens ended up hospitalized. This day became known as "Bloody Sunday", and it was televised all over the nation. -
Wharlest Jackson Murdered
Jackson worked at the Armstrong Rubber Company in Natchez Mississippi. He was a 36 year old combat veteran of the Korean War. He was also treasurer of the NAACP. He was offered a high promotion, a "white man's job". His wife begged him to deny the promotion, but the $0.17/hour raise would help his family, so he took the promotion. He began receiving threats. As he was driving home from work a bomb exploded in his 1958 Chevrolet truck. He was killed instantly. -
Thurgood Marshall Becomes First Black Supreme Court Justice
Thurgood Marshall was the lawyer that won the Brown v. Board of Education. He went on to become the first African American to be a supreme court justice. He essentially desegregated the legal system. -
Martin Luther King Jr. Assassinated
MLK Jr was shot in front of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis Tennessee. He was rushed to St. Joseph's Hospital where he was pronounced dead. He was only 39. His assassination had an effect on African Americans and Whites because he was such an influential civil rights activist.
