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Executive Order 9981
Under Executive Order 9981, segregation in the Armed Services is abolished by President Harry Truman. -
Brown v. Board of Education
With the Supreme Court's decision in Brown v. Board of Education, which combined five cases into one, racial segregation in public schools is essentially abolished. Segregation continued in many schools, nonetheless. -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
On a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat to a white man. A Montgomery bus boycott lasts a year as a result of her rebellious attitude. -
Peaceful Demonstrations
Atlanta, Georgia hosts a gathering of sixty Black pastors and civil rights activists from several southern states, including Martin Luther King Jr., to plan peaceful demonstrations against racial injustice and segregation. -
Little Rock Nine
The integration of Nine Black pupils, referred to as the "Little Rock Nine," into Little Rock Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, is banned. The students are still attacked even after President Dwight D. Eisenhower sent federal forces to accompany them. -
Civil Rights Act of 1957
To further protect voting rights, Eisenhower signed the Civil Rights Act of 1957. The law permits federal punishment of those who suppress the right of someone else to vote. -
"The Problem We All Live With"
Ruby Bridges, age six, is accompanied by four armed federal marshals as she enrolled in William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans, becoming the school's first integrated student. Norman Rockwell's 1964 picture The Problem We All Live With was influenced by her actions. -
I Have a Dream...
The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom draws about 250,000 participants. In front of the Lincoln Memorial, Martin Luther King delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech, which ended with the words, "I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal." -
The Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964, which outlaws discrimination in the workplace on the basis of race, colour, sex, religion, or national origin, is signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson. -
Selma to Montgomery Marches
In protest of Black voter suppression, 600 civil rights protesters traveled from Selma, Alabama, to Montgomery, the state capital, as part of the Selma to Montgomery March. The local police resisted and assaulted them violently. Martin Luther King, Jr., and other civil rights activists led two additional marches before arriving in Montgomery on March 25. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
In order to forbid the use of literacy tests as a prerequisite for voting, President Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965. It also made it possible for federal observers to keep an eye on voting sites and for federal examiners to evaluate voter eligibility. -
Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.
In Memphis, Tennessee, Martin Luther King, Jr. is killed on the balcony of his hotel room. In 1969, James Earl Ray is found guilty of the murder. -
Civil Rights Act of 1968
Equal housing opportunities are granted to all people, regardless of race, religion, or country of origin, with the signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 by President Johnson, commonly known as the Fair Housing Act.