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Joseph McCarthy- McCarthyism
The 1950 events sharply increased the sense of threat from Communism in the U.S. -
The Korean War
Was a war between the Republic of Korea (South Korea), supported by the United Nations, and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea), at one time supported by the People's Republic of China and the Soviet Union. -
Brown V board
Brown v. Board decision declares segregation in public schools illegal.Court declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students to be unconstitutional. -
Emmett Till's Murder
A 14-year-old African American teenager was brutally murdered by white men while visiting relatives in Mississippi. -
Vietnam War
Was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. The U.S. government involved in the war as a way to prevent a communist takeover of South Vietnam as part of their wider strategy of containment. -
The Montgomery Bus Boycott
Rosa Parks is arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a white man on the bus. This boycott lasts 381 days and ends with the desegregation of the Montgomery, Alabama bus system on December 21, 1956. -
Southern Christian Leadership
The Southern Christian Leadership Conference establishes and adopts nonviolent mass action as its cornerstone strategy to gain civil rights and opportunities for blacks. Working initially in the South under the leadership of Martin Luther King, by the mid 1960's King enlarges the organization's focus to address racism in the North. -
little rock nine
When nine black students attempt to desegregate all-white Central High School in
Little Rock, Governor Orville Faubus orders that they be blocked from attending.
President Eisenhower sends federal troops to intervene on behalf of the students. -
Sit-in
Four black students begin a sit-in at a Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro,
North Carolina. Six months later the same four students are served. Student sit-ins
continue throughout the South and succeed in desegregating swimming pools,
parks, theatres, libraries, and other public facilities. Founding of the Student Nonviolent
Coordinating Committee (SNCC) providing young black people with a
place in the Civil Rights Movement. John F. Kennedy, the first Catholic, elected to
President of the -
Freedom rides
Freedom Rides organized by the Congress on Racial Equality (CORE) brought
black and white protesters to the South to protest segregation in public
facilities. -
The Berlin Wall
Was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic (GDR, East Germany) that completely cut off (by land) West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin. -
James Meredith
James Meredith is the first black student to enter University of Mississippi, under
federal guard. President Kennedy sends in 5,000 troops to quell white violence -
Letter from Birmingham Jail
King's Letter from Birmingham Jail inspires a growing national civil rights movement. In Birmingham, the goal is to end the system of segregation completely in every aspect of public life (stores, no separate bathrooms and drinking fountains, etc.) and in job discrimination. This same year, he delivers his I Have a Dream Speech on the Washington Mall, which becomes an enduring symbol of King's legacy and influence. -
Lyndon B. Johnson
Succeeded to the presidency following the assassination of John F. Kennedy. -
Great Society
President Johnson announces the "Great Society" with "abundance and liberty for all", and declares a "War on Poverty." Congress authorizes the Civil Rights Act, the most far-reaching legislation in U.S. history to ensure the right to vote, guarantee access to public accommodations, and the withdrawal of federal funds to any program administered in a discriminatory way. -
Economic Opportunity Act
Economic Opportunity Act allocates funds to fight poverty.
President Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964, outlawing discrimination
in jobs and public accommodations based on race, color, religion,
or national origin and providing the federal government with the power to
enforce desegregation. -
War Protest
Vietnam war Protest began small but in 1965 it gained national Prominence. On this day it was organized by professors against the war at the University of Michigan -
Civil Rights Movement
The first March from Selma to Montgomery was held on this day. Also known as "Bloody Sunday" — when 600 marchers, protesting the death of Jimmie Lee Jackson and ongoing exclusion from the electoral process, were attacked by state and local police with billy clubs and tear gas -
Voting Rights Act
Voting Rights Act is passed, authorizing direct federal intervention to enable blacks to vote.
Malcolm X is assassinated by members of the Nation of Islam (Black Muslims) in New York City. -
Chicago campaign
King begins Chicago campaign to organize against landlords who discriminate.
The Black Panther Party is founded in Oakland, California.
Muhammed Ali refuses to fight in “white man’s war” and his boxing title is
taken away -
Robert C. Weaver/Edward Brooke
Robert C. Weaver is appointed Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. He is the first black to hold a Cabinet position in U.S. history.
Edward Brooke (Massachusetts Republican) becomes the first black to serve in the Senate since Reconstruction. -
James Earl Ray
James Earl Ray assassinates Martin Luther King, while he is standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. In outrage of the murder, many blacks take to the streets in a massive wave of riots across the U.S. -
Assasination of Robert F. Kennedy
Was killed at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, California. -
Woodstock, 1969
Was a music festival, billed as "An Aquarian Exposition: 3 Days of Peace & Music". -
Bakke v. University of California t
the Supreme Court outlaws quotas but uphold action in university admissions. allowing race to be one of several factors in college admission policy. -
Jimmy Cater
In the third mile of a tough 6.2-mile race through the Catoctin Mountains in Maryland, Jimmy Carter suffered from heat exhaustion. -
Refugee Act
President Carter signs the Refugee Act of 1980, creating the Federal Refugee Settlement
Program to provide for the effective resettlement of refugees and to help
them develop economic self-sufficiency. -
HIV/ AIDS
First case of AIDS was found in San Francisco. Started because of the Hippie Movement. -
Cold War
Reagan's anti-communist position had developed into a stance known as the new Reagan Doctrine which, in addition to containment, formulated an additional right to subvert existing communist governments. -
Immigration Reform
The Immigration Reform and Control Act criminalizes the employment of
undocumented workers; establishes one-year amnesty for undocumented workers
living in the U.S. since 1982; and mandates intensification of the Border Patrol.
