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The Emancipation Proclamation is signed
The Emancipation Proclamation is issued by President Abraham Lincoln freeing the slaves in the rebellious Confederate states. -
The 13th Amendment is passed
The Thirteenth Amendment is passed abolishing slavery in the United States. -
The 14th Amendment is passed
The Fourteenth Amendment is passed guaranteeing all African-Americans the rights of full U.S. citizens. -
The 15th Amendment is passed
The Fifteenth Amendment is passed guaranteeing the right to vote for all citizens regardless of race. -
Jim Crow Laws
Jim Crow laws become common in many southern states segregating blacks from whites. -
Jackie Robinson plays in the major leagues
Jackie Robinson becomes the first African-American to play major league baseball. -
Brown vs Board of Education case
The Supreme Court rules that segregation in the schools is unconstitutional in the Brown v. Board of Education case, overturning the earlier ruling in the Plessy v. Ferguson case. -
Rosa Parks is arrested
Rosa Parks is arrested for not giving up her seat on the bus. This sparks the Montgomery Bus Boycott which lasts for over a year. Eventually, segregation on the buses in Montgomery comes to an end. -
The Civil Rights Act is signed
The Civil Rights Act is signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson. It outlaws discrimination based on race, national origin, and gender. It also outlaws segregation and the Jim Crow laws. -
The Voting Rights Act is signed into law
The Voting Rights Act is signed into law making it illegal to prevent any citizen from voting regardless of race. -
Thurgood Marshall becomes the first African-American Supreme Court Justice.
Thurgood Marshall becomes the first African-American Supreme Court Justice. -
Martin Luther King, Jr. is assassinated
Martin Luther King, Jr. is assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. -
Colin Powell is appointed as the first African-American Secretary of State.
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Barack Obama is the first African-American elected President of the United States.