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Executive Order 9981
This Executive order was very important to the civil rights movement because it abolished racial discrimination in the United States Armed Forces and eventually led to the end of segregation in the services. This was passed by President Harry S. Truman. -
Murder of Emmet Till
Emmet Till was 14 years old visiting family in Money, Mississippi when after apparently flirting with a white girl his age at a store was kidnapped, beaten, and shot in the head a couple days later. The man responsible for his murdered (2 White man) got tried in court and found guilty in 1955. This is important because this case was covered by the media World wide and showed how "normal" it was to kill blacks in the South, which encouraged U.S to change even more and put a stop to segragation. -
Montgomery bus boycott
The Montgomery bus boycott was important to the civil rights movement because by Rosa Parks refusing her seat to a white man she was arrested and given a case. In which the Supreme Court ruled for her and said that such law of segragation sitting in the buses was unconstitutional. This event was also important because african-Americans all over the nation boycotted and did not ride the bus for a total of 381 days, which was money being lost by the government. -
Freedom Riders
The Freedom Riders were important to the Civil Rights movement because they protested against segragation in the South. They were a group of African Americans and White civil rights activist who's main focus was equality for everyone no matter the skin color. This Freedom Riders would seat in the front of the buses and go to the "only white" places such as restaurants, stores, water-fountains, restrooms etc. and vise versa. -
24th amendment passed
The passing of the 24th amendment was important to the Civil Rights Movement as it ended mandatory poll taxes that prevented many African Americans. Poll taxes, combined with grandfather clauses and intimidation, effectively prevented African Americans from having any sort of political power, especially in the South, it was also important because it gave African Americans the right to vote for elected officials that would work to end the discrimination. -
Letter from Birmingham Jail
Written by Martin Luther King Jr. who was arrested for protesting in Birmingham, the Birminham Letter was an open letter that defends the strategy of nonviolent resistance to racism. MLK explained that in any nonviolent campaign there are four basic steps: 1, collection of the facts to determine whether injustices are alive,2: negotiation,3: self-purification and 4: direct action. This letter was important to the Civil Rights movement because it helped the public win attention nationwide. -
16th Street bombing (Birghminham, AL)
Just three weeks after MLK's "I Have a Dream" Speech the 16th Street Baptist Church was bombed before a Sunday service and killed four young girls and injured many more. The made was planted in the footsteps by four KKK members but the supremacist weren't found guilty until late '77, '01 and '02. This was an important event because this violent explosion eventually led to the Civil Rights Act being signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964 and the Voting Rights Act in 1965. -
Civil Rights Act 1964
Proposed in Kennedy's presidency and signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was established to guarantee equal treatment of every American regardless of race by addressing voting rights, public accommodations, school desegregation, nondiscrimination in federally assisted programs, and more. This was important to the civil rights movement because The act outlawed segregation in businesses such as theaters, restaurants, and hotels, libraries and public schools. -
Selma March (1965)
The Selma Marched, also know as "Freedom March" was set up by MLK's Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and who's focus was to March from Selma, Alabama to the state Capitol at Montgomery, (A three day walk) it included protestors (mostly all African American) that wanted the government to be equal with all voters no matter the skin color and to help bring awareness of the difficulty faced by black voters in the South, and the need for a Voting Rights Act, passed later that year. -
Executive order 11246
The executive order 11246 which was passed by Presidents Lyndon B. Johnson was created for Equal employment opportunities. Intended to put a stop to discriminatory actions when hiring on the contractors. The executive order 11246 was an important even that help ignite the Civil rights movement because it made a big step in society and now African Americans had the same opportunity for the same job as a caucasian would have, which also helped boost the economy of the U.S.
