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Denial of Rights to African Americans
When white plantation owner died in 1843, a black slave sued for freedom on grounds that he had previously lived in a state where slavery was abolished. His claim was struck down on the basis that blacks were not citizens, could not vote or sue, and had no rights. -
Birth of Jim Crow Laws
Homer Plessey, a black man, was arrested for boarding a whites only passenger car in Louisiana. He appealed this conviction on the grounds that it violated the 13th amendment and 14th amendment which had abolished slavery. His appeal was struck down, legally sanctioning racial segregation by establishing the “separate but equal” doctrine in the USA. -
Rosa Parks
Rosa Parks, an african american woman, was arrested in Montgomery, Alabama for violating racial segregation laws by refusing to give up her seat on a bus. -
Bloody Sunday
Police used clubs, whips, and tear gas to attack hundreds of black protesters in a peaceful march for civil rights from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. Dozens of protesters were hospitalized with severe injuries.
