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Freedom for Equality: Civil Rights Movement
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Woolworth Counter Sit-in
Four black students from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College participate in a sit-in at a segregated Woolworth's lunch counter. Although they are refused service, they are allowed to stay at the counter. The event triggers many similar nonviolent protests throughout the South. -
Freedom riders test segregation laws
Student volunteers begin taking bus trips through the South to test out new laws that prohibit segregation in interstate travel facilities, which includes bus and railway stations. Several groups are attacked by angry mobs. -
First African American enrolls in college
James Meredith becomes the first black student to enroll at the University of Mississippi. Violence and riots surrounding the incident cause President Kennedy to send 5,000 federal troops. -
Martin Luther King is arrested and put in jail
Martin Luther King is arrested and jailed during anti-segregation protests in Birmingham -
Martin Luther King gives his 'I have a dream' speech
About 200,000 people join the March on Washington. Congregating at the Lincoln Memorial, participants listen as Martin Luther King delivers his famous "I Have a Dream" speech. -
The 24th amendment abolishes the poll tax
The 24th Amendment abolishes the poll tax, which originally had been instituted in 11 southern states after Reconstruction to make it difficult for poor blacks to vote. -
The Civil Rights Act is signed and prohibits segregation
President Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination of all kinds based on race, color, religion, or national origin. -
Executive order 11246 is signed
Asserting that civil rights laws alone are not enough to remedy discrimination, President Johnson issues Executive Order 11246, which enforces affirmative action for the first time. It requires government contractors to "take affirmative action" toward prospective minority employees in all aspects of hiring and employment. -
Voting Rights act of 1965 is passed
Congress passes the Voting Rights Act of 1965, making it easier for Southern blacks to register to vote. Literacy tests, poll taxes, and other such requirements that were used to restrict black voting are made illegal. -
The Black Panther Party is started
The militant Black Panthers are founded by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale.
