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Brown V. Board of Education
Supreme Court reverses Plessy by stating that separate schools are by nature unequal. Schools are ordered to desegregate "with all deliberate speed" -
Southern Manifesto urges resistance to desegregation efforts
Over 100 southern members of Congress sign document attacking the Supreme Court decision. Only Lyndon Johnson, Estes Kefauver, and Albert Gore refuse to join protest -
Little Rock Central High School desegregated Fall 1957
After Little Rock school board votes to integrate schools, National Guard troops prevent black children from attending school. 1000 federal paratroopers are needed to escort black students and preserve peace. Arkansas Gov. Faubus responds by closing schools for 1958-59 school year -
Montgomery bus boycott
Rosa Parks ignites 381-day bus boycott organized by Martin Luther King, Jr. -
Freedom riders oppose segregation
Blacks and whites take buses to the South to protest bus station segregation. Many are greeted with riots and beatings -
James Meredith enrolls at the University of Mississippi
5000 federal troops are sent by Pres. Kennedy to allow Meredith to register for classes. Riots result in 2 deaths and hundreds of injuries