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Nathan Bedford Forrest
In 1867, Nathan Bedford Forrest became the Ku Klux Klan's first “Grand Wizard”. He was a general during the Civil War, and was known for his violence against black Union soldiers. -
Ku Klux Klan
The KKK were a violent, opressive, secret society formed in the South. They wanted to keep newly freed African Americans from voting, even if that meant by force. The group dressed in white robes and pointed hoods to represent the ghosts of Confederate soldiers. -
KKK Murders
Over 300 Republicans were murdered in Alabama at the hand of the Ku Klux Klan in 1868. An uncounted amount of black citizens were often harassed, kidnapped, tortured, and murdered to stop them from voting or seeking equality. A common practice in the South was lynching, which by the dictionary means 'to seize somebody believed to have committed a crime and put him or her to death immediately and without trial, usually by hanging'. African Americans were hunted down by groups of whites and hung. -
Enforcement Acts
The Enforcement Acts were passed by Congress in 1870 to outlaw the use of force or intimidation to prevent people from voting. -
The Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute
Founded on July 4, 1881, the Tuskegee Institute had the purpose of teaching African Americans to be teachers. Also a goal of the institute was to teach African Americans to excel in the industrializing society of the end of the19th century. It's first teacher was Booker T. Washington, and he later became the president. The institute was built on the grounds of an abandoned plantation. -
Moses Walker
The first African American to play professional baseball was Moses Walker. This was before Jim Crow laws segregated baseball. -
Separate Car Act
Louisiana required black passengers to ride in a separate railroad car from white passengers with the Separate Car Act. -
Ragtime
Ragtime was the first all American style of music. Scott Joplin was the most famous ragtime performer, and was a African American. (Neat picture!) -
First African American To Recieve A Ph.D From Harvard
W.E.B. Du Bois was the first first African American to recieve a Ph.D From Harvard University in 1895. He is thought as a leader for the next generation of African Americans. -
Plessy VS Ferguson
Homer Plessy was a man who was seven-eighths white, and so felt that he could sit in the 'white' railroad car. Plessy was arrested when he refused to move to the blacks-only car. The Plessy v. Ferguson case came to the supreme court in May of 1896. The ruling was that since the railway company provided separate but equal facilities, the Separate Car Act did not violate the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. -
John Taylor
John Taylor was the first African American to win a gold medal in the Olympics for track and field. -
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Jack Johnson, Heavyweight Champion
Jack Johnson became the first African American to earn the heavyweight championship title, and held on to it from 1908 until 1915. -
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
W.E.B. Du Bois and other prominent African American leaders, founded the NAACP. It's goals were to abolish segregation and discrimination, worked for the opposition of racism, and the obtainment of civil rights for African Americans. Over 300,000 people of the NAACP today. Thay are still active in protecting everyones civil rights and the struggle to end racism and discrimination. -
Fritz Pollard and the NFL
Fritz Pollard was the first African American to be admitted to the National Football League. He was also the first African American to play in a Rose Bowl game for the Brown University Bruins in 1916. -
Rock 'n' Roll
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Brown VS Board of Education
Linda Brown, an 8 year-old African American girl, and her family sued the school district for Linda to be able to attend a 'white' school. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Brown, and stated that the 'separate but equal' doctrine of 1895 had no place in the field of public education. -
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. lead the Montgomery, Alabama, bus boycott. He felt that love was more powerful than hate, and tried to gain the support of white moderates to bring about change. This was the first time he recieved national attention. -
Central High School In Little Rock, AR
Nine African American students attempted to attend Central High School, an all-white school, in 1957. The governor of Arkansas, Orval Faubus, brought in the Arkansas National Guard to keep the students out. President Eisenhower mobilized the US Army to enforce the integration. One thousand paratroopers were sent to Little Rock to escort and protect the nine students as they attended school. (WOW. 1 thousand.) -
Martin Luther King, Jr. Elected President
King was elected President of the newly formed SCLC. -
James Meredith
James Meredith became the first African American to attend the University of Mississippi in 1961. The governor of Mississippi, Ross Barnett, personally blocked the doors of the school to keep James Meredith from attending, but President Kennedy sent US Marshals to protect Meredith. -
Massive Protest In Washington, DC
The SCLC organized a massive protest in Washington, DC, where over 200,000 people gathered to urge Congress to take action on civil rights. This was where Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his famous 'I Have A Dream' speech. -
The Civil Rights Act of 1964
Congress passes the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employment discrimination and segregation in public places. -
The 24th Amendment
By the 24th Amendment, it was against the law to have any tax as a requirement to vote, starting in 1964. -
"Bloody Sunday"
On March 7, 1965, police used clubs, fire hoses, and tear gas to prevent the 600 marchers from crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge on their way to register to vote. -
Martin Luther King, Jr. Murdered
April 4, 1968 was the day that Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot by an assassin, and was killed. The day before he had said that God “has allowed me to go to the mountain, and I’ve seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land!”
