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Brown v. Board of Education
A 1954 landmark Supreme Court decision that reversed the “separate but equal” segregationist doctrineestablished by the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson decision. The Court ruled that separate facilities wereinherently unequal and ordered public schools to desegregate nationwide. This decision was a characteristic of the Supreme Court rulings under liberal Chief Justice Earl Warren. -
Lunch Counter Sit-In
Four black students from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College begin a sit-in at a segregated Woolworth's lunch counter. Although they are refused service, they are allowed to stay at the counter. Six months later the original four protesters are served lunch at the same Woolworth's counter. -
Freedom Rides
A 1961 program, led by the Congress of Racial Equality and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, in which black and white members of the two organizations rode through the South on public buses to protest illegal segregation in interstate transportation. -
James Meredith
Meredith becomes the first black student to enroll at the University of Mississippi. Meredith attended the university and graduated in 1964. However, being the focal point of such racism seemed to ignite a passion in Meredith. In March 1966, he started his 'March Against Fear' from Memphis to Jackson to protest against racism, especially the violence many African-Americans faced when attempting to register to vote. Shortly into his march, Meredith was shot and was hospitalised. -
24th Amendment
The 24th Amendment abolishes the poll tax, which originally had been instituted in 11 southern states after Reconstruction to make it difficult for poor blacks to vote. -
"I Have A Dream" Speech
During the rally in the nation’s capital on August 28, 1963, Dr. King delivered his most famous speech, known as the "I Have a Dream" speech, from the steps of the Abraham Lincoln Memorial. Portions of that speech are often quoted, including, "I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.' -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
President Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination of all kinds based on race, color, religion, or national origin. The law also provides the federal government with the powers to enforce desegregation. -
Malcom X Shot
A major advocate of Black Power who helped lead the Nation of Islam to national prominence. In 1965, Malcolm X was assassinated after a well-publicized break with the Nation of Islam over his new found dedication to cross-cultural unity. -
Voting Rights Act
Passed in 1965. The Voting Rights Act guaranteed all Americans the right to vote and allowed the federal government to intervene in elections in order to ensure that minorities could vote. -
MLK Shot
O April 4, 1968, civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was hit by a sniper's bullet. King had been standing on the balcony in front of his room at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, when he was shot. The .30-caliber rifle bullet entered King's right cheek, traveled through his neck, and finally stopped at his shoulder blade. King was immediately taken to a nearby hospital but was pronounced dead at 7:05 p.m.
