Road to Equality

Civil Rights Era to Present

Period: Apr 1, 1890 to Apr 1, 2016

Plessy v. Ferguson

May 18, 1896

The Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson was the case that made segregation legal. The new law called it seperate but equal so basically it seperated whites and black by race and it was completely fine. This negetively impacted African Americans since they were going to be discriminated even more and it was something important in a bad way since blacks fight to end it for a long time.

Brown v. Board of Education

May 17, 1954

Brown v. Board of Education was a supreme court trial for the stop of segregation interfering with a childs education. Segregation said it was seperate but equal but in reality black schools weren't as good as white school thus eliminating segragation in schools allowing color skins to attend. People hearing about this spread the word thus allowing all schools to become desegregated faster.

The Murder of Emmett Till

Aug 28, 1955

Emmett Till a 14-year old African-American tried to flirt with a white cashier, and this was completly unacceptable to that times southern whites. The cashiers husband and brother then go fint Emmett beat him near death, gouged his eye, and finished him of with a shot to the head. This showed how bad the racist segregated south was thus opening eyes to many people to what is happening.

Rosa Parks & the Montgomery Bus Boycott

Dec 1, 1955

After Parks got off of work she went on the bus where she sat on the white section, so she was asked to move and she didn't move thus resulting in a $10 fine and her going to jail. Thus leading go MLK organizing the Montgomery bus boycott showing the bus companies how much they were losing if African Americans didn't use the busses. This was important because it eventually lead to the desegregation of busses which impacted the lives of the civil rights members.

Founding of Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) & Martin Luther King

Jan 1, 1957

This conference was made in order to try an replicate the Montgomery bus boycott. They choose MLK as their president and their first campaign was in Albany, Georgia where they marched to protest segregation and discrimination. This was important because it brought the them together to fight for civil rights and its impact was that the civil rights act was eventually passed due to this opening JFK's eyes.

Little Rock Nine & Central High School

Sep 1, 1957

Nine black students got enrolled in an all-white school since you couldn't be denied good education because of your race. The first day of school the governor called the national guard to prevent them from going to school, but then President Dwight D. Eisenhower sent in federal troops so they nine students could attend school. This was important because it allowed unsegregated education thus impacting African Americans since now they could get an education.

Greensboro Sit-In: (February-July, 1960)

Feb 1, 1960

The Sit-Ins commenced in February and lasted all the way up to July so they were for alomst a year. In these sit-ins both black and white protesters would go sit in the white section of ask to be served. This was important because it showed how powerful non-violent protest were and its impact was that these actions made immediate and lasting impacts.

Freedom Ride/Freedom Riders: (May-December, 1961)

May 4, 1961

The 13 African-American and white civil rights member traveled in a bus through the south to protest segregation. In their travel the bus group encountered many enraged southerners which led to violent fighs. This ride was important because it quickly drew international attention, and had a great impact on the lives of civil rights members since the Interstate Commerce Commission banned segregation in busses and trains.

The March on Washington

Aug 28, 1963

200,000 people gathered in Washington D.C for jobs and freedoms. It was made by religious and civil rights groups to show the things African Americans are going through. This march is also where MLK said his "I Have a Dream" speech. This shows many people the pain blacks have to endure and it spreads MLK's message of racial justice and equality.

Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) & Freedom Summer

Jun 15, 1964

Civil rights organizations such as (SNCC) made voting drives so African Americans in the south could vote. This was a project in Mississippi called Freedom Summer which the white Ku Klux Klan and police had violen attacks against the voters. This had an influence on the African American both good and bad since they were getting to vote but also being abused at the same time, so this is important because they were trying to giive blacks their rights.

Civil Rights Act

Jul 2, 1964

President Lyndon B. Johnson signed this really important act which did a couple of things. It stopped the segregation in public places and prohibited employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin. It heavily impacted all the races that weren't white because of its important facors the Voting Rights Act of 1965 which prohibited literacy tests, and the Fair Housing Act of 1968, which banned discrimination in the buying of property.

Assassination of Malcolm X

Feb 21, 1965

Malcolm X's house was firebombed a week before his assassination so he had an idea that someone was out to get him. He was murdered during one of his speeches by a member of the Nation of Islam the group he strongly promoted. This opens eyes to many people that do speeches and it lets them know the same can happen, but thats not all it also negetively impacts the civil rights member since they just lost a really important leader.

Voting Rights Act

Aug 6, 1965

This act removed the biggest obsticle in the voting for African Americans. This was due to the fact that they had to take a literacy test that was super complicated to deny them the right to vote and also the poll taxes. This act was important because it gave African Americans their right but its impact led to more violence in the voting registration.

Assassination of MLK

Apr 4, 1968

While MLK was at Memphis, Tennessee he gave a speech/sermon and a day after that a horrible tragety happened. The next day while MLK was standing at a balcony he was was sniped and took a fatal blow. This was an imporant event because his death showed people they could unitesince hundreads of thousands went to his funeral and also it was horrible impact since they lost a really important person leading the civil rights members.