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Brown v. Topeka Board of Education
The Brown v. Topeka Board of Education was a landmark United States Supreme Court case in which the Court declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students to be unconstitutional. This unanimous decision handed down by the Supreme Court on May 17, 1954, ended federal tolerance of racial segregation. -
Murder of Emmett Till
Emmet Till an African American boy from Chicago, Illinois who was murdered at the age of 14 in Money, Mississippi after reportedly whistling at a white woman. The murder opened Americans' eyes to the racial hatred plaguing their country, and helped spark a massive protest movement for racial equality and justice. -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
A period of time in the United States civil rights movement, that set political and social protest campaign against the policy of racial segration on the public transit sytem in Montgomery, Alabama. It began with Rosa Parks, an African-American woman, who refused her seat to a white person. This led to a United States Supreme court decision declaring laws requiring segregated buses to be unconstitutional. In fact the movement led to the rise of civil right activist Martin Luther King Jr. -
Little Rock Crisis
A group of nine African-American students enrolled in Little Central High School. Little Rock Crisis was due to Governor Faubus sending the Arkansas National Guard to prevent the nine Black students from entering Little Rock Central High School. However, Eisenhower sent in U.S. paratroopers to ensure the students could attend class. -
Greensboro (NC) sit-in
A non-violent protest by young African-American students at a segregated Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, sparked a sit-in movement that soon spread to college towns throughout the region. These actions led to the creation of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). Over the years the SNCC served as one of the leading forces in the civil rights movement, organizing so-called “Freedom Rides” through the South in 1961 and the historic March on Washington. -
Freedom Riders
A gruop of African-American civil rights activist who rode a series of interstate bus trips into the segrated Southern United States to protest segration. Over a period of time, African-American Freedom Riders tried the use of "white people restroom" and etc. resulting in tremendous violance from white protestors. These actions drew an international attention leading to the Interstate Commerce Commission issuing regulations prohibiting segration is bus and train stations accross the nation. -
March on Washington
A massive crowd, 250,000 people, walked from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial, where they listened to speeches from representatives. The last speaker was a former Reverend, Martin Luther King Jr., delivering his powerful and memorable "I Have a Dream" speech. The assembly demonstrated to the public the influence, unity, and optimism of the civil rights alliance. -
16th Street Bombing
On a regular Sunday at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama was bombed as an act of racial motivated terrorism. In result, at the African-American church, four girls died. Prior to this scene, the bombing marked a turning point in the United States 1960s Civil Rights and lead to the support of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
Lyndon B. Johnson passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ending public discrimination of black people and other minorities. This essentially marked a huge step politically in the Civil Rights Era because it allowed blacks to interact with the white people and called an end to segration. -
Voting Rights Act
President Lyndon B. Johnson passed the Voting Rights Act aimed to overcome legal barriers at the state and local levels that prevented African Americans from exercising their right to vote under the 15th Amendment (1870) to the Constitution of the United States.
