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Brown v. Board of Education
Starting on December 9, 1952, a court case was taken up by the Browns against the Board of Education after Oliver Brown’s daughter was refused from a Topeka, Kansas school closer to their home and forced to attend a farther, segregated school. The Browns and several other families backed by the NAACP lost in a local court, but won the Supreme Court case on May 17, 1954. Brown v. Board of Education established that segregation in schools was unconstitutional, regardless of “equal segregation”. -
Murder of Emmett Till
14-year-old Emmett Till was kidnapped murdered in 1955 by Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam, who dumped his body in the Tallahatchie River, after he supposedly whistled at Bryant’s wife, Carolyn Bryant. He was murdered in Drew, Mississippi on August 28, 1955. His murder sparked fear in African Americans in the U.S. and caused thousands of young African Americans to join the late 1900’s Civil Rights Movement. -
Rosa Parks and the Bus Boycott
Buses of this time were separated (whites in the front, blacks in the back). Rosa Parks boarded a bus in Montgomery, Alabama and sat in the “colored” section, but the white section of the bus was soon filled and she was demanded to give up her seat. When she refused, she was arrested. Her arrest was a call to activists to take action. Black people from all over the region boycotted the buses and chose to walk. The Supreme Court declared that bus segregation was unconstitutional. -
Southern Christian Leadership Conference
The Montgomery bus boycott led to the formation of the SCLC. Following the boycott, in 1956, Bayard Rustin suggested the expansion of efforts of desegregation in other cities in the South. The organization, led by MLK, Jr. spread across the Southern states and actively pursued fair opportunities for Black Americans. Following the assassination of King in 1968, their efforts slowed, but did not stop. The SCLC is now a national organization. Its efforts in nonviolent action for justice continues. -
Little Rock Nine
After the desegregation of schools, nine Black students from Little Rock, Arkansas were enrolled in Little Rock Central High School. Their enrollment sparked backlash in the Little Rock white community. The night before their first day on September 3, 1957, Governor Orval Faubus utilized the National Guard to block the school entrance. Despite this and many other attempts to stop them, they were eventually able to attend school normally. They were still harassed and threatened by white students. -
The Greensboro Sit-Ins
After being motivated by the murder of 14-year-old Emmett Till and nonviolent protests of the time, and with the help of Ralph Johns, Ezell Blair, Jr., David Richmond, Franklin McCain, and Joseph McNeil sat down in a Greensboro lunch counter on February 1, 1960. Even though they were refused service, they did not give up their seats until the store closed. They came back the next day with more students. The sit-ins gained a lot of media attention and other dining facilities soon integrated. -
The Freedom Riders
Starting on May 4, 1961, mixed groups of civil rights activists boarded interstate buses and traveled across Southern States to protest local laws and customs that enforced segregation on buses and seats. During their interstate travels, they faced violence, intimidation, and discrimination. 436 individuals in 60 separate rides were involved. Their actions and public reactions helped pave the way for the desegregation of public transport and other public facilities. -
The March on Washington
After the violent attacks on civil rights activists in Birmingham, Alabama, a new wave of protests were being brainstormed. A previous march had been organized by MLK on the third anniversary of Brown v. Board. JFK, after noting that the timing of the new march would be ill timed, reluctantly endorsed it. 250,000 people attended the march where Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. This march and MLK’s speech inspired further movement for civil rights. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 established equal protection of rights and “prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin”. Later provisions also prohibited discrimination on the basis of sex, and as well as discrimination in the workplace based on race. The Act provided safer, integrated spaced throughout the United States and outlawing discrimination and segregation. -
Assassination of Malcolm X
Malcolm X, born in Omaha, Nebraska on May 19, 1925, was a prominent civil rights and religious activist during the civil rights movement. He was an African American Muslim minister that held a strained relationship with the Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad. He was shot multiple times and died from his wounds during a speech on February 21, 1965 in Manhattan, New York City. -
Selma to Montgomery Marches (Bloody Sunday)
Along the 54-mile highway running from Selma, Alabama to Montgomery, 600 protesters started the march that would soon be known as Bloody Sunday. The march was ensued after the murder of Jimmie Lee Jackson by the hands of an Alabama state trooper. The march didn’t get far before they were attacked by state troopers using whips, tear gas, and nightsticks. Two more marches followed in the weeks following, motivated to act by the attack and Lyndon B. Johnson’s support for their protest. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was signed by Lyndon B. Johnson at Washington D.C. in order to give Black individuals the right to vote. It aimed to make voting available to all on the federal level rather than allowing states to oversee it. It was later amended to prohibit discrimination of any kind in voting including other individuals of color and people with disabilities. -
Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.
King went to Memphis, Tennessee in order to support the striking sanitation workers on April 4, 1968. While staying at the Lorraine Motel on the second story, he was shot by a sniper’s Remington Rifle in the lower right side of his face. He was rushed to the hospital where he later died of his wounds. James Earl Ray, the assassin rifleman, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. His death marked the end of the Civil Rights Movement, but his legacy is still revered today.