Fight for Civil Rights

By anarazzberry

  • Brown V Board of Education

    A bill is passed that officially rules that racial segregation violates the 14th amendment. This was monumental because it reversed the “separate but equal” ideology that was engrained in our country.

  • Emmett Till

    In Chicago, a 14 year old black boy is brutally murdered for allegedly flirting with a white woman. His murderers are acquitted of murder charges by an all white, all male jury. Emmett's mother holds an open casket funeral to help public understand the extent of the injustice, which triggers public outrage at both the murderers and the court ruling.

  • Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott

    A woman named Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat to a white man. Consequently, she was arrested. Shortly after, Martin Luther King Jr leads a protest against bus laws. Because 70% of bus riders were black, this demonstration made a massive impact.

  • Sit-In Movement

    A group of black students in North Carolina demonstrate peacefully by sitting at a whites only counter in a college café. The demonstration was broadcast by the media which triggered a series of similar protests at segregated establishments across the country.

  • "I have a dream"

    A quarter of a million people participate in the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. MLK Jr gives his famous “I have a dream” speech.

  • Malcolm X

    Malcolm X was a highly influential advocate for black rights who was shot by the NOI which he had previously been a member of before deciding that he wanted to push for a more inclusive journey on the road to black rights. He is shot and killed by a group of people who disagree with his methods.

  • Voting Rights Act

    Passing this act ensures black people's right to vote at a state AND local level.

  • Black Power Movement Begins

    Frustrated with their lack of true equality, black citizens begin to take it upon themselves to seize things that they believe they deserve such as better jobs, housing, and education. Soon the term “black power” is coined, and the Black Panther Party is created to patrol neighborhoods and protect black citizens from white brutality.

  • Martin Luther King Jr Assassinated

    Peaceful protest advocate Martin Luther King Jr is assassinated. Many moderate activists become radicalized and fight harder for civil rights.

  • Fair Housing Act

    Originally a follow up to the Voting Rights Act, this act addresses racial discrimination in sale/rental of housing.

  • Black Feminist Movement Begins

    Shirley Chisholm becomes the first major party black candidate AND the first female candidate for POTUS. “There can’t be liberation for half a race.” - Margret Sloan

  • Oprah Winfrey Launches Talk Show

    Oprah Winfrey launches her talk show and soon becomes the first black female billionaire. She uses her talk show as a platform to showcase the works of black women.

  • Million Man March

    Black men gather in Washington DC and march to renew their sense of solidarity and to help mend some of the negative connotations that black men carry.

  • Colin Powell

    Colin Powell becomes the first African American to be Secretary of State in the US.

  • First African American POTUS

    Barack Obama becomes the first African American president of the Unites States of America.