-
Brown v. Board of Education
Plessy Vs Ferguson was the court case that allowed equal but separate facilities. In Topeka Kansas the courts ruling in Brown v. Board of Education overturned the decision seperate but equal in Plessy vs Ferguson. This helped break state sponsored segregation and provide a spark in the civil rights movement. -
Lamar Smith assasinated
Smith was at a primary helping other black voters fill out absentee ballots so they could vote without being involved in all of the violence. After that Smith was shot to death. -
John Earl Reese slain
John Earl Reese was slain by night riders for being a civil rights activist. He was against school improvements. -
Rosa Parks arrested for refusing to give up her bus seat
Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white man on a bus in Montgomery, 1955. She was then arrested but became a strong figure in the civil rights movement. -
Civil Rights Act of 1957
The Civil Rights Acts of 1957 was signed by president Dwight D. Eisenhower and was the first civil rights legislation passed by congress since the 1866 and 1875 acts. -
Events at Little Rock Arkansas
9 African American students attended school in Little Rock. Whites were forming mobs and harassing the students. The President sent in soldiers to protect the students and help them get through the school day safely. -
Attack of the Freedom Riders
The Freedom Riders were a group of African American and white activists that would go on bus rides in the south protesting bus segregation. The SNCC supported the freedom riders. -
James Meredith enrolls at Ole Miss
James Meredith was denied by Ole Miss because of his race. After some legal battles Meredith ended up going there. This started riots leaving 2 dead.The government sent it military to calm this down. -
Paul Guihard Killed
A French reported named Paul Guihard was at the university of Mississippi covering the events of James Meredith being enrolled in a white school, when he was killed. His death remains a mystery but his body was found east of the Ward dormitory at 9 pm. -
Alabama Governor George Wallace
Alabama Governor George Wallace became known nation wide when he kept a pledge to stand in the schoolhouse door to block integration of Alabama public schools. It started by stopping 2 black students from entering, later on he said it was his obligation to the state. -
Medgar Evers Assasinated
Medgar Evers was an African American civil rights activist who was a secretary for the NAACP in Mississippi. He was murdered on june 12 1963, which drew national attention. -
The March On Washington
in August of 1963 200,000 Americans gathered in Washington D.C. for a political rally for jobs and freedom. This is where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his I had a dream speech. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil rights act of 1964 was passed by President Lyndon Johnson outlaws segregation based on race,sex or color. -
March to Selma
The SCLC was focusing its efforts on registering black voters in the south. They were having a protest march from Selma to Montgomery when they were met with violent resistance by state and local authorities. The March helped raise great awareness of the difficulty for blacks to vote in the south. -
voting rights act of 1965
The act was signed by Lyndon Johnson and aimed to overcome legal barriers that prevented African Americans from being able to vote. -
Thurgood Marshall first black Supreme court justice
Thurgood Marshall first served for legal council at the NAACP before becoming the first black justice. This was a big step in history and Marshall was very important to the civil rights movement because he helped get rid of Jim Crow laws. -
The assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King
King was giving a speech in Memphis for a workers sanitation strike. In the speech he gave he foreshadowed his own death by saying he has seen the promised land but might not make it there. The next day he was shot on his balcony. His death was a big impact because it was the end to the civil rights era and caused blacks and some whites to be very sad.
