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The Montgomrey BoyCott
Sevral African American leaders formed the Montgomery Improvement Association to run the boycott and to negotiate with city leaders for an end to segregation. Martin Luther King Jr. was elected at the age 26 to lead them. He believed that the only way to morally end segration was to do it in a peaceful manner. In November 1956, the Supreme Court affriamed the decision of a special three- judge panel declaring Albamba's laws requiring segeration on the buses unconsitutional. -
The Little Rock 9
The school board in Litttle Rock, Arkansas, won a court order requiring that nine Afician American students be admitted to Central High. The governor of Arkansas was determined to keep those nine students from entering the school. President Eisenhower had to act fast with the violence taking place in little rock. The nine African American students arrived in an army station wagon and enetered the school the fedaral authority keep troops with them. However, Little Rock continued to resist change. -
Civil Rights Act of 1957
It was intended to protect the right of African Americans to vote. Eisenhower believed firmly in the right to vote, and veiwed this as his responsibility to protect it. Several southern senators tried to stop this act, but majority leader, Lydon Johnson enabled a compromise so the act would pass. Even though it was weaker then what the planned it created a civil rights division with in the Department of Justice and gave authority to seek injunctions with anyone interfering with the right to vote -
The Sit-in Movement
Four Freshmen in rolled in an African America college, decided that one day they would go to a whites only lunch counter. They refussed to leave since they werent being served and would come in everyday after that until they got the same fair treatment. This started a great civil rights movement and created the SNCC which was desegregating public facilities in a dozens of Southern communities. -
The Freedom Riders
In 1961 CORE leader James Farmer asked teams of Africans Americans and white volunteers, many were college students, to travel into the South to draw attention to its refusal to intergrate bus terminals. The riders boarded several intersate buses to Montogomery, Alabama etc. They got attacked by angry mobs, they white mob threw rocks, slit bus tires at windows. The gang beat the riders viciously, this made national news shocking many Americans. When JFK became into office he felt compelled help -
James Meredith and the Desegregation of the University of Mississippi
He applied for a transfer to the University of Mississippi were they avoided complying with the supreme court ruling ending education segregeted education. He tired registering in the admissions office when Rose Barnett the governor was blocking his path, she wouldnt allow him to register into the college. Fed up JFK dispatched 500 federal marshals to escout Meredith to the campus. Any angry mob shorty there after attacked the federal marshalls and the ending result was that he graduated in Aug -
Protests in Birmingham
Martin Luther King decided it was time to launch demonstrations in Birmingham, Alabama, knowing that they would prevoke a violent response. He believed it was the only way to get Kennedy to actively support civil rights. During this protest King ended up being arrested and writing a letter explaining that they were breaking a law, they were following a higher moral code. After the king releasted the speech many Africans were attacked and seeing this Kennedy order a new civil rights bill to come. -
The March on Washington
After realizing that it would be hard to push the civil rights bill with congress, Philp randoph csme up with an idea to have a march. There in the march the King delivered a speech outlining his dream of freedom and equality for all americans. King's speech and peacefullness and dignity of the March on Washinton built momentum for the civil rights bill. Of course congress did everything they could in there power to slow the bill down. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
It gave the federal government broad power to prevent racial discrimination in a number of areas. the law made segrgation illegal in most places of public accomodations, and gave citizens of all races and nationalities equal access to public facilities. gave US attorney general more power to bring law suitd to force school desgregation and required private employers to end discrimination in the workplace. also established the equal employment -
The Selma March
The King and the SCLC selected Selma Alabama as the focal point for their campaign for voting rights. The KIng joined the SCLC to keep the pressure on the president and congress and organized a "march for freedom". When the protester went in for a prayer more then 200 stae troopers brutal attacked them. The nation was stunned as it viewed the shocking footage of law enforcement officers beating peaceful demonstrators. Eight days later Johnson created a new voting rights law. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
It authorized the U.S attorney general to send federal examiners to register qualified voters, bypassing local officials who often refused to register African Americans. The results were dramatic, by the end of the year almost 250,000 African Americans had registered as new voters and also got into elected office positions. This was marked as a turning point in the civil rights movement. The movement achieved the goal of segregation had been outlawed and new federal laws were in place. -
Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
He was standling on his balcony in Memphis giving a speech on a support strike of African American sanitation workers. He was killed by a snipper. HIs death touched off both national mourning and roits in more than 100 cities. The kings death marked the end of an era in American history, the lives of Africans were given opportunies that hadnt existed before.
