Civil Rights Timeline Project

Plessy v. Ferguson

May 18, 1896

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When Homer Plessy, a man who was only an eighth African American, sat in an all white zone of a public bus, a civil uproar began. Judge John Ferguson viewed his case, and in a vote of 7 to 1 against Plessy, he was brought down for breaking Louisiana state law. Judge Ferguson and the court stated that the purpose of the 14th Amendment was to enforce absolute equality of the two races before laws, but it did not imply the inferiority of races.

Congress of Racial Equality (CORE)

Period: Jan 1, 1942 to Aug 1, 1963

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After being founded in 1942, CORE began holding protests against segregation in public by having sit-ins. Soon, those protests began to expand nationally. By 1947, CORE had shaken the Supreme Court by testing their ruling that segregation in interstate travel was unconstitutional. In 1961, beatings were growing at such a fast rate against CORE, but they continued holding nonviolent means of action and focused their energy in the South.

Jackie Robinson

Apr 18, 1947

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Jackie Robinson became the first African American to ever reach the major leagues in baseball in 1947 when he became the first baseman for the Dodgers. He was shown just how racist southern white folk could be, but his first season, he stole more bases than anyone else in the game and became the Rookie of the Year. He later helped the Brooklyn Dodgers win the World Series. Jackie proved that determination always shines through.

Sweatt v. Painter

Jun 5, 1950

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Human Sweatt applied for admission into the University of Texas Law School in 1950, but was denied immediately because of his race. The unanimous court decision stated that the Equal Protection Clause required Sweatt to be admitted. All African American colleges were not held to standard of the all white colleges, and this was an unfair disadvantage to Sweatt and all other African American Pre-law undergraduates because they would not be ready.

Brown v. Board of Education

May 17, 1954

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This court case revised the provisions of the Plessy v. Ferguson case which allowed for "separate but equal" facilities. State-sponsored segregation was broken down almost completely, and a huge spark roared through the civil rights movement. The NAACP challenged the Plessy v. Ferguson case and ended up with the new revisions. It took decades to complete, but once the Brown v. Board case was publicized, the civil rights movement started to unfold rapidly.

Montgomery Bus Boycott

Dec 1, 1955

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On December 1, 1955, a woman named Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a public bus to a white man after a long day of work. She was arrested and fined in the town of Montgomery, Alabama. Four days later, the bus boycott began and did not cease until December 20, 1956. For 381 days, black leaders organized carpool and means of transportation to insure the boycott continued. The Supreme Court finally complied with the demands and the buses were integrated.

"The Southern Manifesto"

Mar 12, 1956

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The Manifesto was a speech given to inspire the hopes and dreams of those involved in the civil rights movement. The speech attacked the government, congressman Brown in particular, saying that he was an abuse of power and trespassed amount states' rights. It also urged southerners involved to resist unlawful regulations by any means. Several people were chosen to develop the speech, and it was given several times by those authors to inspire serious change.

Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)

Jan 10, 1957

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Sixty black ministers and civil rights activists met in Atlanta, Georgia to try and replicate the success of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. The SCLC struggled at first, but then they began to march in order to protest segregation and discrimination. Minister Martin Luther King Jr. was assigned the duty of being the first president of this committee and even after his death, continued to thrive in the civil rights movement, though not as influential as before.

Little Rock - Central High School

Sep 4, 1957

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To test the CORE and NAACP protests, in 1957 nine African American students enrolled at Central High School in Arkansas. The Governor of Arkansas sent for the National Guard to bar the students entry into the school, but President Eisenhower sent federal troops to escort the "Little Rock Nine" into the school. Their first full days started on September 25. Legal challenges continued and the students had to endure both physical and emotional abuse.

Greensboro Sit-In

Feb 1, 1960

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Four young students began a nonviolent protest that would soon spark a movement across the nation. At a lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, four young men sat to test the effectiveness of the newly integrated laws. The boys were refused service, but in return they refused to give up their seats. Police arrived on the scene, but could not act due to the lack of provocation. Soon, college students around the South began following and had immediate success.

Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)

Apr 1, 1960

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This new group formed in 1960 to give the younger African Americans more of a voice in the civil rights movement. The group played a large role in the Freedom Rides and directed a lot of the voter registration drives in the South. In 1964, three of its members died by the Klu Klux Klan, which only helped to drive further divisions between them. In 1966, the term "black power" was characterized to try and inspire self-reliance among young black people.

"Freedom Rides"

May 4, 1961

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A group of civil rights activists launched a series of bus trips through the south to protest segregation in interstate bus terminals. The freedom riders sought to test a Supreme Court decision that segregated seating was unconstitutional. The bus trip did not go as planned and mobs stood waiting for them in Anniston, Alabama. The passengers were beaten and the buses were burned. These violent actions caused hundreds of new freedom riders to come and support the cause

The Twenty-Fourth Amendment

Aug 27, 1962

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On August 27, 1962, the House passed the 24th Amendment, which outlawed poll tax as a voting requirement in federal elections. Not all states followed this rule, and instead showed "Jim Crow" laws to isolate African American voters from having that right. Since local elections could technically be in terms of the law, Southern states still discriminated against black voters. The 24th Amendment became a part of the Constitution on January 23, 1964.

James Meredith

Oct 1, 1962

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Chaos broke out on the Ole Miss Campus in Mississippi after an African man, James Meredith, attempted to enroll to the college. Meredith had been attempting to enroll at Ole Miss since 1960, but had repeatedly been denied. Meredith filed a lawsuit against the university and the Supreme Court ruled in his favor. On October 1, 1962, he became registered as the first black student. Riots were held just like when the "Little Rock Nine" went to school, but he never gave up.

"Letter From Birmingham Jail"

Apr 16, 1963

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On April 12, King and several other civil rights leaders were arrested after having a demonstration of the brutality shown against African Americans. King began working on a response to the newspaper hen he discovered a letter written against him and the demonstrations. A few days later, King released his letter and on April 20, he was released from jail. His letter soon made it into newspaper's across the globe and his words inspired people to intervene.

Medgar Evers

Jun 12, 1963

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Medgar Evers lived a heroic life, but with that comes consequences, such as death threats and unwanted attention. On June 12, 1963 Medgar was shot in the back on his own driveway in Jackson, Mississippi. Evers had attempted to apply to Mississippi Law School, but had been denied, so he worked to investigate discrimination crimes. The outrage over his death helped gain support for what would become the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and his brother became a major figure.

March on Washington

Aug 28, 1963

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More than 200,000 Americans gathered in Washington, D.C. for Dr. King's political rally for jobs and freedom. King's legendary "I Have a Dream" speech was delivered on this day and it became a key momentum changer during the 1960s in order to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Racial strife occurred afterwards, as expected, but the march's success outlived the racial hatred. The march clearly showed that blacks and whites can work together and get along peacefully.

Bombing of Birmingham Church

Sep 15, 1963

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On September 15, 1963 a bomb exploded inside the16th Street Baptist Church before Sunday services had began. Four young girls were killed and several other people were injured. The church as the site where most of the marches in Alabama began, and was a significant religious center for the city's black population. After the bombing, several black protestors gathered, but soon several were arrested. Support contented to increase for the civil rights movement.

Selma to Montgomery March

Period: Mar 7, 1964 to Mar 25, 1964

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The first attempt to march from Selma to Montgomery came on March 7, but the group was stopped by Alabama state troopers waiting for them. Then on March 9, Dr. King himself tried to lead the march, but again, state troopers blocked the road. On March 21, U.S. Army troops protected the group as they marched from Selma to Montgomery in four short days. This march ultimately led to the passing of the Voting Rights Act and achieved its goal to expand voting rights to all.

Mississippi Freedom Summer

Jun 15, 1964

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Freedom Summer was a voter registration project held in Mississippi to expand voting back to the South. On June 15, the first three hundred students arrived. Murders continued throughout the project, which only increased the rage of the civil rights activists. The Freedom Summer spread and allowed other communities to organize voting, but it just showed how separate people who believed in integration and those who didn't were; those who believed in it never gave up.

Civil Rights Act Passed

Jul 2, 1964

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The Civil Rights Act had been the bill that the activists and leaders had been pushing towards for years, and finally in 1964, they got it. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 ended segregation in public places and banned employment discrimination an all levels of life. The act had to go through several levels of the government to be approved, but on July 2, President Lyndon B. Johnson received full approval. The Civil Rights Act paved way for more provisions later to come.

Malcolm X Assassination

Feb 21, 1965

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After Malcolm was released from jail, he prided himself on being a self-defense advocate during the civil rights movement. He wanted the liberation of African Americans to happen by any means necessary. Malcolm made a Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca and when he returned, he held that racism, not white race, was the greatest enemy to the African Americans. His house was firebombed, and a week later he was shot to death by Islam members while speaking at his rally.

Voting Rights Act Approved

Aug 6, 1965

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The Voting Rights Act sought to overcome legal barriers that prevented African Americans their right to vote under the 15th Amendment. President Johnson signed the bill, which banned the use of literary tests provided at voter registration. Basically, it didn't allow white folk to discriminate due to a lack of education among other people. In the South, people were still discouraged and a few amount of people came out to vote, but the fear was soon overcome

The Black Panthers

Oct 15, 1966

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The Black Panther Party formed in 1966 due to their idea that the non-violent campaign of Dr. King was not successful, so they took it upon themselves to do whatever it took to gain black control. They had their own language, which was just as violent as their public appearance. The group called for revolutionary war as an African American group and had desires for change. The party was seen as a threat to national security and scared people who fought for civil rights.

Dr. Martin Luther King Assassination

Apr 4, 1968

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Dr. King was a extraordinary leader who believed in non-violent means of gaining civil rights. He lead and inspired so many people to get involved in the movement, and when the gun shot went off of April 4, the world stood still. At the age of 39, he was killed at his motel in Memphis, Tennessee. The aftershock was incredible, people rioted like crazy and new laws were later put into action because of this event. The black power movement increased and people intensified.