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National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
The NAACP was created in 1909 for civil rights. This organization protected the civil rights of African Americans. Over the years they have been involved in many of the cases for the rights of African Americans,
http://www.naacp.org/ -
Medgar Evers
Medgar Evers was a civil rights activist that returned to the United States a hero after the war. He applied to the University of Mississippi, but his application was rejected. He then became an advocate to desegrate the University of Mississippi.
http://www.naacp.org/pages/naacp-history-medgar-evers -
Brown v Board of education
This court case was led by Thurgood Marshall. He was an attorney for the NAACP. He won the case of Brown v Board of education when the supreme court ruled to end segregation in schools.
http://www.biography.com/people/thurgood-marshall-9400241 -
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was an activist in the Civil RIghts Movement. He helped lead the Montgomery Bus Boycott of the 60's. He became the face of the movement and his "I Have a Dream" speech is one of the most famous speeches in history. In 1968, Martin Luther King Jr was assainated at his hotel in Memphis. His assasination sparked outrage and riots, and James Earl Ray was arrested for the assaination as a result.
http://www.biography.com/people/martin-luther-king-jr-9365086 -
Rosa parks
Rosa Parks started a huge movement towards civil rights. She started a nation wide movement. She refused to give up her seat in the back of the bus for a white man. She was arrested for this action, but her arrest sparked the Montgomery bus boycott. -
The Montgomery Bus Boycott
This event was a result of Rosa Parks arrest for refusing to give up her seat to a white man when she was on the bus in Montgomery Alabama. This lasted 13 months of African Americans refusing to ride the bus. This protest ended with the Supreme Court ruling segregation on the public buses was unconsitutional and therefore made illegal in the US. -
Southern Christain Leadership Conference (SCLC)
Martain Luther King Jr. was an activist in this group. The group coordinated peaceful protests thoughout the South. It got its start with the sucess of the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
http://mlk-kpp01.stanford.edu/index.php/encyclopedia/encyclopedia/enc_southern_christian_leadership_conference_sclc/ -
The Little Rock Nine
The Little Rock Nine were a group of nine African Americans that were trying to desegrate Little Rock High School. Most of the students, their parents, and even the Governor of Arkansas did not want them to enter. The Governor even went as far as calling the nation guard into Little Rock to prevent the nine from entering.
http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryid=723# -
Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee
The Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee orginized most of the sit-ins of the 1960s in the South. The group started as groups of students that thought they should have the right to be served. They would sit there untill the dinners or stores closed. At first the sit-ins did little. But as the word spread and groups got larger and larger the sit-ins became more effective.
http://www.watson.org/~lisa/blackhistory/civilrights-55-65/sit-ins.html -
Freedom Riders
In the heat of the civil rights movement, the freedom riders challenged the Jim Crow Laws in the South. Segregation of bussing had become illegal, but the Southern busses were not desegregating. The riders rode all through the south challenging the laws and were met with violence along the way,
http://www.npr.org/2006/01/12/5149667/get-on-the-bus-the-freedom-riders-of-1961 -
James Meredith
James Meredith made history in the '60s when he became the first African American to attend the University of Mississippi. This angered some people. State officals even went against the Supreme Court and tried to stop him from attending the University. He still was able to attend under the protection of federal marshalls.
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/375972/James-Meredith -
Fannie Lou Hamer
Frannie Lou Hamer was a civil rights activist in the '60s. She was involved with helping African Americans learn to read and write effectivly so they can register to vote and exercise their constituional rights. She spoke out about the conditons African Americans faced when it came to voting.
http://www.howard.edu/library/reference/guides/hamer/ -
March on Washington
The March on Washington for civil rights was a mass gathering of thousands of people. Speeches were given by civil rights activists including Martin Luther King Jr. This lead to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This act was about equal employment opportunities for all.
http://www.infoplease.com/spot/marchonwashington.html -
Freedom Summer
The Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee was responsible for this movement. The movement was meant to draw attention to the violence African American's faced in Mississippi when they tried to extercise their constituional rights as Americans. This movement was about standing up for African American rights, especailly the right to vote.
http://mlk-kpp01.stanford.edu/index.php/encyclopedia/encyclopedia/enc_freedom_summer_1964/ -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
This amendent was added to the constituion in 1965 and gave African Americans the right to vote. This action was met with violent protests and outrage by many whites. African Americans faced many problems, threats, and violence when they tried to register to vote. So although the law was passed, many African Americans still could not vote.
http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=true&doc=100 -
Malcom X
Malcom X was a civil rights leader that was tired of the nonviolence aproach that many African Americans took. He pushed for a seperate African American community, not a mixed one. He was assainated in 1965 for his views.
http://history1900s.about.com/od/people/a/Malcolm-X.htm -
Black Panthers
This group did not believe in the nonviolence approach of those like Martain Luther King Jr. They believed that this way of thinking would take to long to accomplish anything. They had four things they wanted: equality in education, housing, employment and civil rights. They called for a revolutionary war in the fight for civil rights. When the FBI caught wind of the activity, it was quickly shut down.
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/black_panthers.htm -
Plessey v. Ferguson
Homer was Plessey was arrested for sitting in a "white" car on the Lousiana railroad. His case went all the way to the Supreme Court. They ruled that they were equal under the law.
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/jimcrow/stories_events_plessy.html
