1960s and Public Protests (Civil Rights Movement and Vietnam)

  • Vietnam War Starts

    The Vietnam War and active U.S. involvement in the war began in 1954.
  • Brown v. Board of Education Issued

    In the decision, issued on May 17, 1954, Warren wrote that “in the field of public education the doctrine of ‘separate but equal’ has no place,” as segregated schools are “inherently unequal.”
  • Rosa Parks Seat Refusal

    Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat to a white man on a Montgomery, Alabama bus. Her defiant stance prompts a year-long Montgomery bus boycott.
  • Sixty Black Pastors and Civil Rights Leaders Meet

    Sixty Black pastors and civil rights leaders from several southern states, including Martin Luther King Jr., met in Atlanta, Georgia to coordinate nonviolent protests against racial discrimination and segregation.
  • "Little Rock Nine"

    Nine Black students known as the “Little Rock Nine” are blocked from integrating into Little Rock Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. President Dwight D. Eisenhower eventually sent federal troops to escort the students, but they continued to be harassed.
  • Children March

    More than 1,000 Black school children march through Birmingham, Alabama in a demonstration against segregation.
  • March on Washington

    Approximately 250,000 people take part in The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Martin Luther King gives his “I Have A Dream” speech.
  • Civil Rights Act of 1968

    President Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1968, also known as the Fair Housing Act, providing equal housing opportunities regardless of race, religion, or national origin.
  • Vietnam War Protests

    Millions of people across the United States take to the streets to protest the continued U.S. involvement in Vietnam. The antiwar demonstrations represent the largest public protests in U.S. history to date.
  • Vietnam War Ends

    The Vietnam War ended.