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Brown vs Board of Education
The Supreme Court rules on the landmark case Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, The decision overturned (reversed) the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson ruling that ruled that blacks and whites are "separate but equal." -
MLK's Speech Marks Beginning of Bus Boycotts
In a speech, King explains why the boycotts must continue: "There comes a time," he says, "that people get tired. We are here this evening to say to those who have mistreated us for so long, that we are tired, tired of being segregated and humiliated, tired of being kicked about by the brutal feet of oppression." -
Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat on the bus
Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama, bus to a white person, triggering a successful, year-long African American boycott of the bus system. -
Victory for Montgomery Boycott
The U.S. Supreme Court rules that the segregation of Montgomery, Alabama, buses is unconstitutional. -
Little Rock Nine
For the first time since Reconstruction, the federal government uses the military to uphold African Americans' civil rights, as soldiers escort nine African American students to desegregate a school in Little Rock, Arkansas. -
Greensboro Sit-Ins
Four African American college students hold a sit-in to integrate a Woolworth's lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, launching a wave of similar protests across the South. -
Malcom X
African American radical Malcolm X becomes national minister of the Nation of Islam. He rejects the nonviolent civil-rights movement and integration, and becomes a champion of African American separatism and black pride. -
"I have a dream"
More than 200,000 people march on Washington, D.C., in the largest civil rights demonstration ever; Martin Luther King, Jr., gives his "I Have a Dream" speech. -
Civil Rights Act
President Lyndon Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act, which gives the federal government far-reaching powers to prosecute discrimination in employment, voting, and education. -
MLK wins the Nobel Peace Prize
Martin Luther King, Jr. is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. -
Black Panther Movement founded
Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seales found the Black Panther Party, a radical black power group, in Oakland, California. Although it develops a reputation for militant rhetoric and clashes with the police, the group also becomes a national organization that supports food, education, and healthcare programs in poor African American communities. -
Loving v. Virginia
In Loving v. Virginia, the Supreme Court rules that prohibiting interracial marriage is unconstitutional. Sixteen states that still banned interracial marriage at the time are forced to revise their laws.
