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Supreme Court Case, Plessy v. Ferguson
In the Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson, the Supreme Court ruled that, "seperate, but equal," was alright. This led to the Jim Crow Laws which created segregation in the South. -
NAACP
W.E.B. DuBois founded the NAACP, or the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. They had a victory in 1915, when the Grandfather clauses were ruled unconstitutional. -
Thurgood Marshall and the NAACP
Beginning in 1938, Thurgood Marshall became in charge of the NAACP's legal efforts. He worked to end segregation. -
Integration of the Armed Forces
President Harry Truman signs Executive Order 9981, which stated that there should be equal treatment and oppurtunity for everyone in the armed services regardless of race, color, religion, or national origin. -
Integration of Education
The Supreme Court rules the case Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, unanimously agreeing that segregation in public school is unconstitutional. They realized that the seperate schools were not equal and that the African American schools were inferior. -
Emmett Till Gets Murdered
African American fourteen-year-old Emmett Till from Chicago is brutally murdered for allegedly flirting with a white 21-year-old. His mother holds an open-casket funeral to show how brutally whites treat African Americans. The murderers are acquitted by an all-white jury after being arrested. They later boast about the murder in an interview. This becomes a huge cause of the Civil Rights movement. -
Rosa Parks refuses to give her seat
In Montgomery, Alabama, Civil RIghts activist refuses to give her seat up to a white man, which was required by law. She got arrested and this began the Montgomery Bus Boycott, where African Americans refused to take the buses until change. This is led by Martin Luther King Jr. -
Buses Desegregated
On this day, the Montgomery Bus Boycott comes to an end when buses are desegregated by the courts, after over a year of not taking the buses. -
The Little Rock 9
When nine African Americans attempted to attend Central High School after the Supreme Court ruled segregation in schools illegal. They are prevented from entering the school and the Mayor sent the National Guard to prevent them from entering. President Eisenhower sent armed forces to get the nine into the school, which they did. -
March on Washington
200,000 people march on Washington to convince Congress to pass laws to give African Americans rights and Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous, "I Have a Dream," speech. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
President Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1968 which prohibited segregation based on race, color, sex, or national origin. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
Congress passes the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which made it easier for African Amercans to register to vote. Literacy tests, poll taxes, and other things that could prevent African Americans from voting are made illegal. -
United Farm Workers (UFW)
Cesar Chavez helped form the United Farm Workers which was an labor for migrant farm workers, many of which were Mexican-Americans. -
Black Panthers
The Black Panthers Party is founded, which said that African Americans should arm themselves for the revolution. -
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
Congress passed the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990, which outlawed job discrimination due to mental or physical disabilities.
