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Plessy v. Ferguson
Plessy v. Ferguson was a U.S. Supreme court case in which the court ruled in favor of the controversial "separate but equal" doctrine that assessed the integrity of the then racial segregation laws.It was the first case that tested the 14th Amendment's equal protection clause that prevented states from denying "equal protection of the laws" to any person who lived there. This case is important because it was used to control and justify the separation of blacks from whites. -
Brown v. Board of Education
The Brown v. Board of Education was a important Supreme Court case in which it declared state laws that made black and white students go to different schools illegal. This decision overturned the earlier supreme court case Plessy v. Ferguson. This is important because the case effectively ended the "separate but equal" doctrine which separated blacks from whites. -
Murder of Emmett Till
On August 8th, 1955 a 14 year-old boy named Emmett Till was murdered for allegedly flirting with a white woman. Roy Bryant, the woman's husband, took Emmet from his home and beat him to death, later dumping his body in the Tallahatchie River. This is important because the trail of his murder led to Roy being found not guilty, highlighting the brutality of Jim Crow segregation in the South. -
Rosa Parks & the Montgomery Bus Boycott
On December 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, a woman named Rosa Parks was arrested for not giving up her seat on a bus to white folks. The bus driver James Blake ordered her to move, when she did not move, he promptly called the police to have her arrested. This event is important because it helped lead to events, like the boycotting of the Montgomery buses, that helped fight Jim Crow segregation. -
Little Rock Nine & Central High School
The Little Rock Nine were a group of black students who enrolled at a formerly all-white high school in Little Rock, Arkansas. Their attendance tested the Brown v. Board of Education ruling which declared segregation in public schooling illegal. This event is important because it played a significant role in the civil rights movement. -
Founding of Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) & Martin Luther King
The SCLC was founded to abolish legalized segregation and ending the disfranchisement of black southerners in a non-violent way. In 1963 the SCLC claimed its first victory, the campaign in Birmingham, Alabama, that led to John F. Kennedy to call for a national civil rights act. This organization is important because it helped to contribute to the desegregation of blacks and whites. -
Greensboro Sit-In
The sit-in was a civil rights protest that started in 1960, when a black student staged a sit-in at Woolworth's lunch counter in North Carolina, and refused to move after being denied service. The sit in spread to many college towns in the South. This event is important because it helped desegregate schools in the South. -
Freedom Ride/Freedom Riders
The Freedom Riders were a group of white and black civil rights activists who participated in Freedom Rides, bus trips in the South in 1961 to protest segregated bus terminals. The groups were confronted by arrests as well as violence from white protesters. This event is important because it drew international attention, which helped their cause. -
March on Washington
The march was a massive protest where some 250,000 people gathered in front of the Lincoln memorial to draw attention to continuing challenges and inequalities that black people still faced. Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous "I Have A Dream" speech took place here. This event is important because it rallied a lot of people towards a certain cause and drew national attention. -
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) & Freedom Summer
The Freedom Summer was a 1964 voter registration drive sponsored by civil rights organizations including the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). Its goal was to increase black voter registration in Mississippi. This event is important because it deepened the division between those in the civil rights movement whol believed in nonviolence and others, especially young black people, who doubted whether racial equality was achievable by peaceful means. -
Civil Rights Act
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 ended segregation in public places and banned employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin. The Act was proposed by John F. Kennedy and was signed into law by Lyndon B. Johnson. This event is important because it outlawed legalized discrimination. -
Assassination of Malcolm X
Malcom X was assassinated by rival Black Muslims while addressing his Organization of Afro-American Unity in the Audubon Ballroom in Washington Heights. His new movement steadily gained followers, and his more moderate philosophy became increasingly influential in the civil rights movement. -
Voting Rights Act
The act aimed to overcome legal barriers at the state and local levels that prevented black people from voting. Although the act was passed, state and local enforcement of the law was weak. The event was important because it finally gave the black people a right to vote. -
Assassination of MLK
Martin Luther King, Jr. was killed in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968. His death led to anger among black people as well as national mourning that led to an equal housing bill being passed. This event is important because it led to the rise of the Black Power movement and the Black Panther Party.
