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Brown v Board of Education of Topeka
A landmark Supreme Court case in which the Court declared segregation of public school students to be unconstitutional. -
Emmett Till Lynched
Till was a 14 year old African American in Mississippi who was lynched after a white woman said that she was offended by him in a grocery store. -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
A protest campaign against the policy of racial segregation on the public transport system in Montgomery, Alabama. -
Little Rock 9
A group of nine African American students enrolled in Little Rock Central High school in 1957. They were initially turned away from joining the segregated school, but eventually were given access. -
Greensboro Sit-In Movement
A series of nonviolent protests in Greensboro, North Carolina, which led to the Woolworth department store chain removing its policy of segregation in the south. The sit-ins lasted for nearly 6 months. -
Ruby Bridges Attends School in New Orleans
Ruby was the first African American child to attend an all white school. She led the desegregation of public schools in the south. -
Freedom Riders
People who challenged racial laws in the south by refusing to abide by laws designating that seating in buses be segregated by race. -
James Meredith Enrolls at University of Mississippi
James Meredith became the first African American to enroll at the University of Mississippi, becoming a pivotal event in the Civil Rights Movement. -
Letter from a Birmingham Jail
An open letter written on April 16, 1963 by Martin Luther King Jr. that defends the strategy of nonviolent resistance to racism. -
University of Alabama Desegregated
President John F. Kennedy sent federal troops to the university to force its desegregation. The next day two African American students successfully enrolled. -
Medgar Evers Assassinated
An American Civil rights leader in Mississippi was assassinated by a member of the white citizen's council. -
March on Washington
March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom was a political demonstration by civil rights leaders to protest racial discrimination and show support for major civil rights legislation that was pending in Congress. -
Birmingham Church Bombing
A bombing attack on an African American baptist church done by white supremacists. The attackers planted 15 sticks of dynamite beneath stairs in the church, killing four young girls and injuring others. -
Freedom Summer Project
A volunteer campaign in the United States launched in June 1964 to attempt to register as many African American voters as possible in Mississippi. -
24th Amendment
The 24th Amendment added to the Constitution. It prohibits the conditioning of the right to vote in federal elections on payment of a poll tax, or any other payment. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
This act ended segregation in public places, as well as banning discrimination in the workplace. It was seen as one of the crowing legislative achievements in the civil rights movement. -
Martin Luther King wins Nobel Peace Prize
The prize was awarded King for his nonviolent resistance to racial prejudice in the United States. -
March on Selma
Martin Luther King led thousands of nonviolent demonstrators to the state capital in Montgomery, Alabama from Selma, Alabama. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
Signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson to overcome legal barriers at the state and local levels that prevented African Americans from their right to vote. -
Watts Riots
A group of violent disturbances in Watts, in Los Angeles that lasted for six days. Over 30 people died, and it was the first of several violent clashes between African Americans and the police in the 60s. -
Thurgood Marshall Named Supreme Court Justice
President John F. Kennedy appointed this American lawyer to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. -
Martin Luther King Assassination
The civil rights leader was shot and killed outside of his hotel room after giving his infamous "I Have a Dream" speech.
