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Jackie Robinson joins the Brooklyn Dodgers
Jackie Robinson became the first african american to play in Major League Baseball. He broke the racial barriers leading to more black athletes to be recruited to the major leagues. -
Executive Order 9981
President Harry Truman passed executive order 9981 in order to desegregate the military. As a result for Truman's support for civil rights, many southern democrats withdrew their votes for him in the 1948 election. -
Brown vs Topeka Board of Education
The Topeka school board denied the enrollment of Linda Brown in an all white school close to her house. Thurgood Marshall
(legal directoor of NAACP) stated that the school board's actions were violating the 14th ammendment. The Supreme Court ruled unanimously against segregation in schools. -
Murder of Emmett Till
Fourteen year old Emmett Till was visiting family in Mississipi when he whistled at a white woman. Four days later he was kidnpaped, brutally murdered, and dumped into Tallahatchie River by J.W Milam and Ray Bryant. They were tried for murder but the all white male jury found them not guilty. -
Montgomery Bus Boycotts
African Americans refused to ride the bus system in Montgomery Alabama in order to protest segregated seating policies. It all started when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white man, she was later arrested and fined. The protest lasted for a little over a year and was led by pastor Martin Luther King Jr. -
Southern Manifesto
Also known as the Declaration of Constitutional Principles, The Southern Manifesto was a document that provided a resolution that condemned the supreme court's ruling of Brown vs Board of Education. It opposed racial integration in public schools. -
Freedom Riders
The Freedom Riders were civil rights activists who tried to intergrate bus terminals and many of the facilities reserved for whites. They faced many violent acts from people who opposed their actions such as being shot at, and even getting bombed. -
March on Washington
Over 200,000 americans gathered for a political rally in Washington D.C. The March on Wasshington was a political and social protest towards the many unfair injustices African Americans faced. Martin Luther King Jr gave his "I have a Dream" speech in that rally, and it was a peaceful protest. -
24th Ammendment is passed
Congress passed the 24th Ammendment which prohibited states from making voters pay a poll tax in order to vote. This is important because many African Americans in southern states required to pay a poll tax, but the 24th Ammendment abolished it. -
The founding of the Black Panthers
The Black Panthers were an organization created by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale. It was made primarily for self defense. They provided breakfast programs and many other types of aid in black communities. They were the start of the Black Power movement of the 1960's and 1970's.
