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Emmett Till
Emmett Till was a black teenager born on July 25th, 1941. However, his life was short lived, because he ended up getting lynched when he was 14 for flirting with a white woman. He was visiting relatives in MI, when he got kidnapped, lynched, and shot in the head. He ended up dying on August 28th, 1955. -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
The bus boycott was sparked by the arrest of Rosa Parks. Because of her arrest, the blacks had a 13 month mass protest against buses and public transportation, leading the Supreme Court to ultimately rule for integration in public transportation. -
Little Rock 9
Little Rock 9 has to do with 9 African kids who were enrolled into Little Rock Central High School. However, they were prevented from being allowed in the school, because it was an all white school. This led to the supreme court getting involved and ultimately allowing the students to attend the school. -
Youth Movement: SNCC and Sit-Ins
The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) was a prominent organization for the Civil Rights Movement. They participated in sit ins as well as the Freedom Rides, and generally, they spread the word of "Black Power" across the states. -
Freedom Riders
Freedom Riders were people that rode interstate buses from one southern state to the next. This was to enforce the ruling of Irene Morgan v. Commonwealth of Virginia, which made it illegal to have segregated interstate transportation. The southern states did not follow this, though, making the Freedom Riders step up. -
James Meredith and Ole Miss
James Meredith was an African-American who kept applying to the one college he wanted to go to, Ole Miss. He applied repeatedly, to no avail. However, he filed a lawsuit against them, with the help of the NAACP, claiming racial discrimination. He ended up winning the lawsuit. -
The Philosophy of Non-Violence: Letters From a Birmingham Jail
This was an open letter written by Martin Luther King Jr. It talked about how the people should indeed protest, but keep the protests non-violent. "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." -
Project C and Children's March
Project C, otherwise known as the Birmingham Campaign, was when a large crowd of people marched against Segregation. Men, women, and children alike marched, and eventually ended up getting rid of the "white/black only" sign in various places of the community. -
March on Washington
This is when thousands of African-Americans marched down to Washington. This is also when Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous "I have a dream speech" to many people. This was one of the major events that would put an end to segregation and pave the path for an end to racism. -
Freedom Summer
This was an event, coordinated by the SNCC, to increase the amount of voter registration in Mississippi. These people faced constant attacks from not only the Klu Klux Klan, but the police and the government systems, as well. -
Civil Rights Act
After all the efforts of the black people, this act is what came to be. This act outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, and overall, it was a big step in the right direction for America. -
Selma to Montgomery March
This was a massive, 3-day march from Selma, Alabama, to the state capitol of Montgomery. This raised awareness for black voters, as well as, showed the world the hardships African-Americans were going through to get votes for themselves. -
Malcolm X
Born May 19th, 1925, Malcolm X was an important leader for the Civil Rights Movement. He learned a lot from his mentor, Elijah Muhammad, but after finding out that Muhammad went against their faith and had affairs, he broke off connections with him. He founded his own religious faith group, the Muslim Mosque. Eventually though, he was assassinated on February 25th, 1965. -
Voting Rights Act
Based on the 3 day March from Selma to Montgomery, the government decided that the blacks needed to be able to exercise their right to vote. The Voting Rights Act allowed the African Americans to vote under the 5th amendment, giving the African Americans what they wanted.
