-
Brown v. Board of Education
Oliver Brown and Linda Brown were not able to enroll their daughter to the nearest public school in Topeka, Kansas. The U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas ruled against the Browns. They stated that is was constitutional. The NAACP chief counsel, Thurgood Marshall, appealed to the Supreme Court. Then stated by the Supreme Court “separate but equal” doctrine was unconstitutional. -
Murder of Emmett Till
A 14 year old black boy named Emmett Till was visiting his relatives in Mississippi. Till went to the Bryant store with his cousins and whistled at a white woman named Carolyn Bryant. Her husband, Roy Bryant, and his half brother kidnapped and killed Till. Then they later dumped his body into a river. The boy’s body was found with barbed wire around his neck attached to a 70-pound cotton gin fan. -
Period: to
Rosa Parks and the Bus Boycott
Rosa Parks didn’t give up her seat to a white man on a public bus and was later arrested for it. She is later fired by her job for being an activist. Martin Luther King Jr and church sent out flyers for the bus boycott. The buses ran empty for 381 days. The bus companies ran bankrupt and bus drivers lost their jobs. Supreme Court ruled that African Americans were allowed to ride buses. -
Southern Christian Leadership Conference
Established by Martin Luther King Jr. ,and other civil rights activists, assisted with organizations working for the full equality of African Americans. It was organized through churches. It taught people about personal responsibility to ensure economic justice and civil rights. It wanted to eradicate racism wherever it existed. This all took place in Atlanta, Georgia. -
Little Rock 9
Nine African American students went to Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. They were insulted and objects were thrown at them. When they arrived at the front door the National Guard prevented them from entering. The students came back a few weeks later with federal troops, and they were allowed to enter. -
Period: to
Greensboro Sit Ins
The Greensboro Sit ins were a civil rights protest. Young African American students staged a sit-in at a segregated Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina. They refused to leave after being denied service. The Sit-in movements were spread throughout the South. Many of the protesters were arreste, but they made an lasting impact. Woolworths and other establishments changed their segregation policies. -
Freedom Riders
The freedom riders were a group of white and black civil rights activists who volunteered in freedom rides, bus rides through the south. They tried to protest against the segregated bus system. The freedom riders used white only restrooms and lunch counters at the bus stations in Alabama, South Carolina, and other southern states. They were arrested and faced violence from white protesters, but the group gained international attention to the civil rights movements. -
March on Washington
The March on Washington was a very large protest. It had over 200,000 people gather in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. It focused on drawing attention to the challenges and discrimination that African Americans still faced. This is also where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his ionic “I Have a Dream” speech. -
Civil Rights Act
The Civil Rights Act was first promoted by John F. Kennedy. Southern Congress members were highly against this Act. It was later signed into law by Kennedy’s successor, Lyndon B. Johnson. The act was later then expanded by congress. The Civil Rights Act ended public segregation and banned employment that discriminated: race, sex, religion, or national origin. -
Assassination of Malcom X
Malcom X was a civil rights activist who was assassinated while giving a speech at the Audubon Ballroom in Manhattan. He was only 39, had a wife, and had six daughters. Thousands of people came to view his body at the Unity Funeral Home in Harlem. -
Selma to Montgomery Marches
The Selma to Montgomery Marches were civil rights protests that happened in 1965 in Alabama. At the time, Alabama was one of the southern states that had very racist policies. March, of that year, they protested for voting rights by marching a 54-mile route from Selma to the state capital of Montgomery. Martin Luther King Jr. was involved. The event raises awareness for what Blacks faced during that time. -
Voting Rights Act
The voting rights act of 1965 wanted to prevent any legal challenges that African Americans faced. The act is the 15th amendment. Lyndon B. Johnson was the president who signed it into law. -
Assassination of Martin Luther King
Martin Luther King Jr. was shot while standing outside on his second story room balcony at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis,Tennessee. He was shot in the jaw and his spinal cord was severed. Later, he was pronounced dead at the Memphis Hospital at just age 39. All traces of evidence led to James Earl May, an escaped convict. He plead guilty but then later he mentioned a man named Raoul. He said he was the fall man for assassinating King Jr. Conspiracies spread. Some thought the government did it.