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Executive Order 9981
Executive Order 9981 abolished racial discrimination in the United States Armed Forces. This executive order was established by President Truman. -
Brown vs. Board of Education
The Supreme Court unanimously agrees that segregated schools are unconstitutional. -
Emmett Till
Emmett Till was a 14 year old boy that was kidnapped, brutally beaten, and shot to death after whistling at a white women. -
Rosa Parks
Rosa Parks was a civil rights activist. Parks refused to give up her “white only” seat on the bus. She was arrested due to segregation laws. Parks act of rebellion contributed greatly to the Civil Rights Movement. -
SCLC
Founded by Martin Luther King, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference lead many civil rights movements. -
Little Rock Nine
A group of African American students that enrolled in Little Rock Central High School. Before this time Little Rock Central High School was previously an all white school. The U.S supreme court issued the bill of Brown vs. Board ruling segregated schools as unconstitutional in 1954. -
Woolworth Sit-Ins
Four University students went to the Woolworth store and bought items from the desegregated counter with ease. They then sat down at the segregated lunch counter and were denied service and were asked to leave. But, they stayed until the store closed. The next day, more and more students showed up at the segregated lunch counter, but there was no violent protests. -
SNCC
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee was founded at Shaw University in order to give young African American kids a place in the Civil Rights Movement. -
Attack on Freedom Riders
The Freedom Riders were a group of Civil Rights activist who traveled in a bus to challenge how the new desegregated bus law was not being enforced. After reaching Birmingham, Alabama, a white mob attacked the bus and injured several of the riders. Local police let the brutal acts continue. It was not until the Alabama National Guard came in the next morning that the fighting finally stopped. -
Freedom Rides
The Freedom Riders were a group of Civil Rights activist who traveled in a bus to challenge how the new desegregated bus law was not being enforced. After reaching Birmingham, Alabama, a white mob attacked the bus and injured several of the riders. Local police let the brutal acts continue. It was not until the Alabama National Guard came in the next morning that the fighting finally stopped. -
James Meredith
He became the first black student to enroll at the University of Mississippi. Ross Barnett, the Governor of Mississippi, opposed his enrollment and President Kennedy has to send 5,000 troops to restore the peace. -
Letter from a Birmingham Jail
While he was in jail for leading anti-segregation protests in Birmingham, Martin Luther King wrote this letter arguing that individuals have the moral duty to disobey unjust laws. -
“Bull” Connor uses fire hoses on black demonstrators
The Birmingham Police Department started to realize that the jail was full of protests, so they changed their tactics. They started to spray the city water hoses on full blast at the children that were apart of the protests. The water pressure was so high that it ripped off clothing and knocked people over. White citizens stood by and encouraged the police officers to continue. -
"I Have A Dream" Speech
Martin Luther King Jr. presented his “I Have A Dream” speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. His speech was a major turning point in the Civil Rights Movement. Being a popular leader, over 250,000 people observed him speak. -
March on Washington
200,000 people congregate at the Lincoln Memorial in order to listen to Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream Speech”. -
16th Street Baptist Church Bombing
Four young girls were killed in a church bombing lead by the Ku Klux Klan. The church was known to be the meeting place for many civil right meetings. -
24th Amendment
The 24th Amendment to the United States Constitution states that there will be no poll tax when voting for federal officials. -
Murders of James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner
They had been working to register black voters in Mississippi during freedom summer and had gone to investigate the burning of a black church. They were arrested by the police on trumped-up charges, imprisoned for several hours, and then released after dark into the hands of the Ku Klux Klan, who beat and murdered them. It was later proven in court that a conspiracy existed between members of Neshoba County’s law enforcement and the Ku Klux Klan to kill them. -
Civil Rights Act 1964
Ended segregation in public places and banned employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. This event proposed by President Kennedy, is one of the crowning legislative achievements of the civil rights movement and was signed into law by LBJ. Later, Congress expanded the act and also aimed to bring equality to African Americans, such as the Voting Rights Act of 1965. -
Malcolm X Assasinated
Malcolm X was a Muslim minister and human rights activist. He was a very popular leader and had many followers. On February 21, Malcolm X was preparing for speech to the Organization of Afro-American Unity. There was distraction in the back of the crowd and while his bodyguards went to end it, someone came up and shot Malcolm X. -
Civil Rights Act 1965
Congress passed this Act to make it easier for the minority to vote. Things like poll taxes and literacy tests were made illegal. -
Los Angeles Race Riots 1965
Two white policeman suspect a black man of drunk driving, then a crowd of spectators gather to watch the arrest and soon grow to anger by believing in yet another police race abuse. A riot begins, gaining to over 50 square mile area, and was restored by thousands of National Guardsmen. -
Executive Order 11246
The Executive Order prohibits federal contractors and federally-assisted construction contractors and subcontractors, who do over $10,000 in Government business in one year from discriminating in employment decisions on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. The Executive Order also requires Government contractors to take affirmative action to ensure that equal opportunity is provided in all aspects of their employment. -
Black Panthers Founded
Patrol black ghettoes to protect residents from acts of police brutality. They developed into a Marxist revolutionary group that called for the arming of all blacks, the exemption of blacks from the draft and from all sanctions of so called white America, the release of all blacks from jail, and the payment of compensation to blacks for centuries of exploration by white Americans. -
Loving vs. Virginia
Loving vs. Virginia was a case about a married couple that was sent to jail due to the Racial Integrity Act of 1924 which prohibited people classified as “colored” and people classified as “white” to get married. Unanimously, the Supreme Court overruled the Act and ended all race-based legal restrictions on marriage in the U.S. -
"Black Power"
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee leader Stokely Carmichael named the phrase “black power”. It is defined as the blacks coming together and doing whatever they can to gain freedom. -
MLK is assassinated
He was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, and he was founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference as well as a Baptist minister. He led the civil rights movement since the mid-1950s, and his assassination led to an outpouring of anger among black Americans. It also caused a national mourning that helped speed the way for an equal housing bill that would be the last significant legislative achievement of the civil rights era. -
Civil Rights Act of 1968
This prohibited discrimination concerning the sale, rental, and financing of housing based on race, religion, national origin, and sex. -
Bloody Sunday
Twenty-Six civil rights protesters were shot by soldiers of the British Army. The incident occurred during a Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association march, and the soldiers were members of the First Battalion of the Parachute Regiment. -
Voting Rights Act 1991
President Bush signed this Act to enforce previous Civil Rights laws. Also, it enforced the rules on employee discrimination. -
1992 Los Angeles Race Riots
The first race riots in decades erupt in Los Angeles, after a jury acquits four white police officers for the video tapped beating of Rodney King.
