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The Montgomery Bus Boycott
Black leaders formed an association called the Montgomery Improvement Association. It was a boycott on the Montgomery bus to help end segregation. Eventually, Martin Luther King Jr. became the leader. On November 1956, the Supreme Court ruled the Alabama law unconstitutional, which allowed segreation on the bus -
The Little Rock 9
A group of nine African American students enrolled in Little Rock Central High, a school with 2,000 white students. The governor of Arkansas wanted white supremacy and ordered Arkansas National Guard to prevent the students from entering. Eisenhower sent the army to protect them. Eventually, they were able to walk in and register in the school. -
Civil Rights Act of 1957
Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1957 which was intended to protect the right of African Americans, that Eisenhower believed in firmly. This was passed due to the help of Lyndon Johnson. There were investigations to make sure blacks weren't being forced to not vote, too. -
The Sit-in Movement
Four African Americans, Joseph McNeil, Ezell Blair Jr., David Richmond, and Franklin McCain decided to sit-in at a whites-only counter until they were served. They continued to do this everydau, until they got served. This encouraged many other blakcs to help end segregation by doing siti-ns, but white people would harm them in the doing. -
The Freedom Riders
Leader, James Farmer, asked teams of African American and white volunteers to travel into the South to draw attention to its refusal to integrate bus terminals. Mobs would attack them, slit the bus tires, and eve threw rocks at the windows. No one got killed, but it made national news and shocked many Americans. -
James Meredith and the Desegregation of the University of Mississippi
James Meredith wanted to tranfer to the University of Mississippi. Ross Barnett, the Govenor of Mississippi blocked his registration and denied the law to desegregate education. President Kennedy dispatched 500 federal marshals to escort Meredith to the campus, but a mob attacked the troops. Troops were sent to guard James for the summer. He graduated in August. -
The March on Washington
Martin Luther King Jr. helped Kennedy pass the Civil Rights bill through congress by having a march in Washington DC. 200,00 people came to support. King’s speech and the peacefulness and dignity of the March on Washington built momentum for the civil rights bill. -
Protests in Birmingham
Dr. King was disappointed that the president had not seized the moment to push for a new civil rights law. King Jr. began protesting in Birmingham, knowing violence would occur., and was jailed. When he was released, the protests grew more and violence broke out. Outraged by the brutality and worried that the government was losing control, Kennedy ordered his aides to prepare a new civil rights bill. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
President Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Majority congress voted to pass the bill. This bill gave the government more power to prevent racial discrimination in a number of areas. All races and nationalities had to be treated equally. EEOC monitored the ban on job discrimination by race, religion, gender, and national origin. -
The Selma March
SCLC and Dr. King selected Selma, Alabama, as the focal point for their campaign for voting rights becuase only 3% blacks were able to register to vote. Sheriff Jim Clark armed dozens of white citizens to terrorize the march. State troopers came to help attack. The nation was stunned watching the footage. Johnson got so furious that he later proposed a new voting rights law. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
The House of Representatives passed the voting rights which authorized the U.S. attorney general to send federal examiners to register qualified voters. The law also suspended discriminatory devices, such as literacy tests. By the end of the year, almost 250,000 African Americans had registered as new voters. The number of African American elected officials in the South also increased. -
Assassination of Mertin Luther King Jr.
Dr. King stood on his hotel balcony in Memphis and was assassinated by a sniper. Ironically, he knew he was going to die shortly anyways. Many people mourned over his death. In the wake of Dr. King’s death, Congress did pass the Civil Rights Act of 1968.
