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The Congress of Racial Equality
Nonviolent civil rights organization founded in 1942 and committed to the "Double V" campaign, or victory over fascism abroad and racism at home. After World War II, CORE became a major force in the civil rights movement. -
Brown vs Board of education
Topeka board of education denied Linda Brown admittance to an all white school close to her house. Thurgood Marshall argued that a separate but equal violated equal protection clause of the 14th amendment. Warren decided separate educational facilities were inherently unequal. -
Emmett Till
Murdered in 1955 for whistling at a white woman by her husband and his friends. They kidnapped him and brutally killed him. His death led to the American Civil Rights movement. -
Rosa Park/Montgomery Bus Boycott
Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat. Was arrested for disorderly conduct, sparking the Montgomery bus boycott/ 1955-56 After Rosa Parks is arrested, MLK rallies the black community to do this. This seriously hurt the bus companies. This lasted more than a year, and ended in '56 when the SC declared segregated buses unconstitutional. -
Southern Christian Leadership Conference
Organization formed by MLK in 1957. Aimed to mobilize the vast power of the black churches on behalf of black rights. Trained and tested African Americans for ability to remain calm so they could participate nonviolently in marches and "sit ins". -
The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee
Organization formed by southern black students in 1960. Aimed to give more focus and force to efforts to compel equal treatment in restaurants, transportation, employment, housing and voter registration. -
Letter from Birmingham Jail
When MLK is in jail during the Birmingham protests, he writes this letter, which explains the civil rights movement to critics. The letter was published and circulated countrywide. -
"I Have a Dream" Speech
The March on Washington was a massive demonstration of black and white people in Washington in response to Kennedy's bill. Here, Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous "I had a dream" speech to millions of people and inspired the nation. -
16th Street Baptist Church, Birmingham bombing
Racially motivated terrorist attack on September 15, 1963, by members of a Ku Klux Klan group in Birmingham, Alabama in the United States. The bombing of the African-American church resulted in the deaths of four girls. Although city leaders had reached a settlement in May with demonstrators and started to integrate public places, not everyone agreed with ending segregation. Other acts of violence followed the settlement. The bombing increased support for people working for civil rights. -
The 24th Amendment
Poll tax abolished. Congress has the power to enforce this via legislation. -
The Civil Rights Act of 1964
Passed by Lyndon B. Johnson, outlawed public segregation and discrimination, and forbade racial discrim in the workplace. -
Malcolm X Assassination
He was an Islamic civil rights activist. At first rejected integration and nonviolence and called on blacks to defend themselves — with violence if necessary. After a series of scandals in the Nation of Islam, he left it and went to Mecca. He returned with a different attitude and started working for integration rather than against it. In 1965, he was assassinated by three Muslim gunmen, probably for his exit of the NoI. -
Bloody Sunday in Selma, Alabama
MLK organizes a march in Selma. Tens of thousands of black protesters petition for the right to vote outside of the city hall and are ignored. They then marched to the governer's mansion in Montgomery. Police meet them with tear gas and clubs. "Bloody Sunday" is highly publicized and Americans in the North are shocked. -
The Voting Rights Act of 1965
This act invalidated the use of any test or device to deny the vote and authorized federal examiners to register voters in states that had disenfranchised blacks; as more blacks became politically active and elected black representatives, it brought jobs, contracts, and facilities and services for the black community, encouraging greater social equality and decreasing the wealth and education gap. -
Executive Order 11246 -- Affirmative Action
Requires equal employment opportunity -
Stokely Carmichael
He was the head of SNCC who preached "overtaking white Americans" and preached "Black Power"-pride in history and heritage; create society apart from white society. -
The Black Panthers
A group formed in 1966, inspired by the idea of Black Power, that provided aid to black neighborhoods; often thought of as radical or violent. -
Martin Luther King Assassination
Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated at a Memphis hotel. James Earl Ray, white man who resented the increasing black influence in society. King's murder set off a new round of riots across the country, while both blacks and whites mourned the tragic death of a charismatic leader. -
The Civil Rights ct of 1968
This act prohibited discrimination based on race, religion, sex & national origin in employment & housing.
