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Executive Order 9981
Truman signs Executive Order 9981, which states, "It is hereby declared to be the policy of the President that there shall be equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed services without regard to race, color, religion, or national origin." -
Birmingham Black Church Bombed
An all black church in Birmingham is bombed and 4 women are killed. -
Brown vs. Board of Education
The supreme court unanimously agreed that segregation in public schools is unconstitutional. The ruling paves the way for large-scale desegregation. The decision overturns the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson ruling that sanctioned "separate but equal" segregation of the races, ruling that "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal." -
Emmett Till Murdered
Fourteen-year-old Emmett Till is visiting family in Mississippi when he is kidnapped, brutally beaten, shot, and dumped in the Tallahatchie River for allegedly whistling at a white woman. Two white men, J. W. Milam and Roy Bryant, are arrested for the murder and acquitted by an all-white jury. -
Rosa Parks
Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat to a white man and move to the back of the bus. She is arrested for this -
Montgomery Bus Boycotts
A series of political and social protest campaigsn that started in 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama, United States, intended to oppose the city's policy of racial segregation on its public transit system. Many important figures in the civil rights movement were involved in the boycott. Started with Rosa Parks. -
SCLC Established
Martin Luther King, Charles K. Steele, and Fred L. Shuttlesworth establish the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, of which King is made the first president. The SCLC becomes a major force in organizing the civil rights movement and bases its principles on nonviolence and civil disobedience. -
Little Rock Nine
Nine black students are blocked from entering Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas by the governor. President President Eisenhower sends federal troops and the National Guard to intervene on behalf of the students, who become known as the "Little Rock Nine." -
Freedom Writers
Groups of students called "Freedom Writers" travel by interstate bus through multiple cities in the south. They would challenge local laws of segregation. -
James Meredith 1st Black Student at University of Mississippi
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. -
Letter From Birmingham Jail
Martin Luther King is arrested and jailed during anti-segregation protests in Birmingham, Ala.In jail he writes his "Letter from Birmingham Jail," arguing that individuals have the moral duty to disobey unjust laws. -
Protestors Hosed and Dogged
During civil rights protests in Birmingham, Alabama Commissioner of Public Safety Eugene Connor uses fire hoses and police dogs on black demonstrators. These images of brutality, which are televised and published widely, are pivotal in gaining sympathy for the civil rights movement around the world. -
Medgar Evers Assasinated
He was the head of Mississippi's NAACP and he was murdered outside his house. It shocking and devastating to many -
University of Alabama Enrolls Black Students
Governor Wallace stands in the school house door at the University of Alabama before being forced by Prez Kennedy to allow black students to enroll. -
"I Have a Dream"
About 200,000 people join the March on Washington. Congregating at the Lincoln Memorial, where participants listen as Martin Luther King delivers his famous "I Have a Dream" speech. -
24th Amendment
The poll tax that denied African Americans from voting is outlawed with this amendment -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
Forbid racial discrimination on the basis of hiring, promoting, and firing -
Ku Klux Klan Murders
Civil Right workers James E. Chaney, Michael Schwerner, and Andrew Goodman were murdered by the KKK. These men were important ativists. -
Malcolm X Assasinated
black nationalist and founder of the Organization of Afro-American Unity, is shot to death. It is believed the assailants are members of the Black Muslim faith, which Malcolm had recently abandoned in favor of orthodox Islam. -
Voting Rights Protest March Riot
Blacks begin a march to Montgomery in support of voting rights but are stopped at the Pettus Bridge by a police blockade. Fifty marchers are hospitalized after police use tear gas, whips, and clubs against them. The incident is dubbed "Bloody Sunday" by the media. The march is considered the catalyst for pushing through the voting rights act five months later.