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Plessy V. Ferguson
Advanced the controversial “separate but equal” doctrine for assessing the constitutionality of racial segregation laws. This case started by an incident in which an African American train passenger Homer Plessy refused to sit in a car for blacks.The Supreme Court rejected Plessy's argument on how his constitutional rights were violated. -
Brown V. Board of Education
The Supreme Court strikes down segregation in public schools, sparking the Civil Rights Movement. This was one of the cornerstones of the civil rights movement. It helped establish the precedent that "separate but equal" education and other services were not equal at all. Some states agreed African American students should be admitted to the white public schools because of their higher quality facilities. -
Murder of Emmett Till
The murder of 14-year-old Emmett Till in 1955 brought nationwide attention to the racial violence and injustice prevalent in Mississippi.Till l was brutally murdered for allegedly flirting with a white women. The woman's husband and her brother made him carry a 75 pound cotton-gin all the way to Tallahatchie River, as well as making him take off his clothes where they ended up beating him up nearly to death. He was shot and his body was thrown in the river. -
Rosa Parks & the Montgomery Bus Boycott
The Montgomery Bus Boycott was a civil rights protest during which African Americans refused to ride city buses, to protest segregated seating. Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat in a bus in Montgomery. She got arrested and fined for not giving her seat to a white man. That's where the pastor Martin Luther King emerged as the leader of the American civil rights movement. -
Founding of Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) & Martin Luther King
Is a civil rights organization which successfully staged a 381-day boycott of the Montgomery Alabama's segregated bus system. Martin Luther King was one of the people who found SCLC in order to have a regional organization that could help the civil rights protest activities across the south. The direct action included boycotts, marches, and any other non violent protest. -
Little Rock Nine & Central High School
Nine brave Arkansas teenagers broke through racial barriers to become the first black students to attend Little Rock High School. This was a test of Brown V. Board of Education. When this occurred, they sent national guards to block the black students entry into the school but that didn't stop them because later that month President Dwight D. Eisenhower sent in federal troops to escort them inside the school. -
Greensboro Sit-Ins
The Greensboro sit-in was a civil rights protest that started in 1960, when young African-American students staged a sit-in at a segregated Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, and refused to leave after being denied service. This movement later started spreading throughout the South. Many of the protesters were arrested but their actions made a huge impact that caused changes to their segregationist policies. -
Freedom Riders
Freedom Riders were groups of white and African American civil rights activists who participated in Freedom Rides, bus trips through the American South in 1961 to protest segregated bus terminals. They drew international attention to their cause.This caused a lot of violence including beatings ending up with deaths. -
March On Washington
The March on Washington was a massive protest march that 250,000 people gathered in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. It was meant for Jobs and Freedom and as well the event aimed to draw attention to continuing challenges and inequalities faced by African Americans. It was also the occasion of Martin Luther King, Jr. “I Have A Dream” speech. -
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee & Freedom Summer
Freedom Summer, also known as the the Mississippi Summer Project, was a 1964 voter registration drive sponsored by civil rights organizations. Freedom Summer marked the climax of intensive voter-registration activities in the South that had started in 1961. Yes this was a nonviolent act but still violence ended up included. -
Civil Rights Act
After years of struggle and setbacks, advocates for equality celebrate the passage of sweeping legislation that prohibits racial discrimination. This ended segregation separation and any other discrimination going on. This act was one of the achievements to the end of the racism problems. -
Assasination of Malcolm X
African American nationalist and religious leader, is assassinated by rival Black Muslims while addressing his Organization of Afro-American Unity. He was one of the known leaders who tried standing up for his people but in different actions compared to MLK. He was really admired by the African American community. -
Voting Rights Act
Aimed to overcome legal barriers at the state and local levels that prevented African Americans from exercising their right to vote as guaranteed under the 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Helped many African Americans to being able to do things they couldn't before. This act prohibited discrimination for voting. -
Assasination of MLK
His assassination angered a lot of African Americans, mostly the people that agreed with him and joined his activities. He was one of the known leaders in the civil rights movement. He was always against violence, tried to join every race together and become one whole group. -
