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Malcom X
Malcom X was a black nationalist leader. He was a spokesman for the Nation of Islam in the 50s and 60s. Malcom X advocated the use of any means in order to achieve equality for African-Americans. In 1964 he traveled to Mecca and changed his name to El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, and was completely convinced that black people were responsible for freing themselves. He was assassinated by a Black Muslim in 1965. -
Emmett Till Murder
Emmett Till was a 14 year old boy from Chicago who was accused of flirting with a white cashier while visiting relatives in Mississippi. About four days later, the cashier's husband and his half-brother murdered Emmett brutally, beating him, shooting him, and throwing his mutilated body into the river. The two men were acquitted by an all-white, all-male jury. Till's death was an important contributor to the beginning of the civil rights movement. -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
The bus boycott began with the Rosa Parks incident, where an African American woman refused to move to the back of the bus for a white passenger. The boycott was organized by the Montgomery Improvement Association, and lasted 13 months, ending with a Supreme Court ruling that transportation segregation was unconstitutional. -
Little Rock Nine
In Arkansas, Nine Black high-schoolers were enrolled in a previously all-white school called Little Rock Central School after the 1954 ruling against segregation in schools. On their first day of school, however, the governor of Arkansas called in the National Guard to prevent them from entering the school. President Eisenhower intervened later on, and allowed the Little Rock Nine to start classes on September 25th -
Youth Movement
The Youth Movement began in 1960 and began with a series of sit-ins. The first one took place at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical University, where a group of African American students refused to leave a lunch counter. This sit-in inspired several more throughout the country, and about two months later the Studen Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) was created to organize and publicize their activities. -
Freedom Riders
In 1961, thirteen civil rights activists who called themselves the Freedom Riders rode the interstate bus route to protest segregation in bus terminals. These activists were both African-American and white. On their trip they partook in activities like attempting to use 'white-only' facilities in order to try to integrate the bus terminals. They were met with a lot of violence, but were successful in raising a lot of awareness for this cause. -
James Meredith
James Meredith had repeatedly applied to Ole Miss College from 1960-1962 while studying at an all-black university. After being accepted through a Supreme Court ruling with the help of the NAACP, Meredith attempted to enter the campus. He was met with more than 2000 protesters. A riot broke out where 2 people were killed and many more injured. National Guardsmen had to intervene. Meredith ended up attending the university for one year. -
Letter from Birmingham Jail
This is a open letter written by Martin Luther King Jr. while he sat in jail after a civil disobedience campaign in Birmingham, Alabama. The letter promotes non-violent protesting against racism, and makes the claim that people have a responsibility to break unjust laws and take action. It was a powerful letter in that King attacked social injustices from many viewpoints: as a minister, as an activist, and as an African-American. -
Project C
This campaign took place in Birmingham, Alabama, a city known for the most violent and persistent segregation and racial hatred. The campaign recruited children to march. On the first day, 700 were arrested. In the following days the Commissioner of Public Safety, Connor, used pressure fire hoses and police dogs on the children. The C stood for 'confrontation. A deal was made after 38 days to desegregate public facilities. -
March on Washington
The march was organized by several leaders of the Civil Rights Movement, designed to advocate for the passing of a civil rights bill. The march also protested against economic inequality. Two hundred thousand protesters, both black and white, showed up. Martin Luther King Jr.'s 'I Have a Dream' speech took place that day. -
Freedom Summer
Freedom Summer was a voter registration drive organized by the SNCC and the Congress on Racial Equality (CORE) in order to increase the numbers of voters in Mississippi. The Black Mississippians and the White volunteers faced violence and harassment. This incident deepened the divide between those who persisted with nonviolence and those who began to doubt if nonviolence would succeed. -
Civil Rights Act
The Civil Rights Act ended public segregation and employment discrimination on the basis of any characteristic (race, religion, sex, etc.). It was proposed by John F. Kennedy and signed by Lyndon B. Johnson. Events such as police brutality in Birmingham prompted JFK to propose the act. Later on, it expanded and covered the disabled, the elderly, and women in collegiate athletics. -
Selma to Montgomery March
The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), led by Martin Luther King Jr., marched from Selma, Alabama, to the state's capital, Montgomery. This was in order to raise awareness of the struggle of the black voter in the South. Although the marchers were met with violence, they were protected by National Guard troops and successfully made it to Montgomery -
Voting Rights Act
This act was signed into law by Lyndon B. Johnson in order to help African Americans vote. They had previously been prevented from doing so by state and local legal barriers.
