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Murder of Emmett Till
Emmett Till, a 14 year old African American boy from Mississippi was lynched and severely beaten after he allegedly made an advance towards a married white woman in a store. The famous photos of his bloated corpse rallied support for black rights against the cruelty of the White men responsible. He later became an icon of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States as one of the most famous victims of violent racism. -
Rosa Parks Arrest, Beginning of Montgomery Bus Boycott
The arrest of Rosa Parks in nineteen fifty-five for refusing to surrender her seat in the coloured section of the bus to a white man became an icon of the Civil Rights Movement America underwent in the 1950s. it also later led to the beginning of the Montgomery Bus Boycott which lasted just over a year and eventually ended with segregated buses being found unconstitutional. In December nineteenfifty-six protesters were able to return to integrated buses. -
Little Rock Central High School Desegregated
The desegregation of Little Rock Central high school in the state of Arkansas was a confrontation between federal and state levels about the legality of segregation and the legality of forced integration. The event garnered worldwide speculation as the president based off against the governor of Arkansas over whether the "Little Rock Nine" should be allowed to attend the previously white only high school. Overall it was a major win for the activists as it paved the way for other schools. -
Freedom Riders Go South
In 1961 activists calling themselves ".freedom riders" travelled South on buses in large numbers to oppose the lack of enforcement of federal desegregation on public transport laws. The states in the South refused to support the laws and the federal government did nothing to force them to. This led to many buses being burned and much violence against them to prevent change occurring from the legal changes. -
Assassination of Medgar Evers
Medgar Evers was murdered in 1963 by a white supremacist and member of the White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. A World War II veteran, Evers was also a very active member of the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP). Being such respected member of the community, his murder outraged many African-Americans.Also at the trial for his murder two white juries failed to convict the klansman for killing him and he was only found guilty in 1994 when new evidence was revealed. -
Martin Luther King Jr. Delivers "I Have a Dream" Speech
Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous nineteen sixty-three address to Washington, "I have a dream", became not only iconic but completely representative of the fight against racism in America. It was the point when everything that the civil rights activists believed was finally put into words and was able to be seen and heard by everyone. It marked a real change in the thoughts of the activists as they began to look positively to the future again to be able to dream again. -
Birmingham Church Bombing
The 1963 bombing of a Birmingham (Alabama) church by four Ku Klux Klansmen really signalled a turning of tide against White supremacy in the US and general support for the Civil Rights Act which was passed the following year. The actual incident ended in the death of four young black girls and the injury of another 22. The fact it was timed in the middle of a service shocked and appalled the nation. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964 Passed
Civil Rights act of 1964 was one of the final, most dramatic steps for the Civil Rights Movement in America as it not only recognised but completely enforced the desegregation of schools, public transportation, public places, restaurants, businesses and more. It finally gave blacks the same rights they had been entitled to since the creation of the United States. It was a major emotional win for the civil rights activists and was the most legally significant event for them also. -
Black Power Salute at the Olympics
Widely seen as one of the most controversial and political acts ever performed at an Olympic Games in recent history, the infamous "Black Power" salute by Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised many eyebrows the whole world over. The action had them (and Australian Olympian Peter Norman) banned or uninvited to other sports events. The action brought to the forefront America's issues and rallied support for human rights in other countries. -
Trial of O.J. Simpson
Dubbed the "Trial of the Century", OJ's double murder trial was a much later issue on racial tensions in America and the Civil Rights Movement. By 1995, the times had turned so much that OJ Simpson was able to get off on murdering two white people by a black jury as despite mounds of forensic evidence and prior issues. At the decision one juror even gave him a Black Power salute and the police and victims were smeared as racists during the trial.
