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Montgomery Bus Boycott
Rosa Parks was riding a Montgomery segregated bus and refused to move to the back of the bus. She was sitting in the front of the section where the colored people sat. there was no more space in the white section so she was told to move but she did not. Therefore she was arrested.
After that, African Americans refused to ride the bus in Montgomery, AL because Rosa Parks was treated unfairly. Martin Luther King JR was the leader of the boycott. -
The Little Rock 9
9 black students enrolled in an all-white school in Little Rock, Arkansas. This was done in order to see if the 1954 Supreme Court ruling was official. (stated that segregation in public schools is unconstitutional) The governor of Arkansas attempted to call in the National State guard to prevent these black students from attending school here. President Eisenhower sent federeal troops to escort the children to the high school. They began their first day about 20 days after school really began. -
Civil Rights Act of 1957
The Civil Rights Act of 1957 was passed during Eisenhower's presidency. It was created in order to ensure the rights of African Americans to vote. Eisenhower publicly supoorted this bill. It was meant to monitor civil rights abuses on the issue of race relations. -
The Sit-In Movement
Four African American students walked up to a lunch counter for whites only in a Woolworth's store in Greensboro, NC and they asked for coffee. The waiters refused to serve them, Whites began to threaten or physically try to harm the students but they still sat at the lunch counter and waited patiently. The Congress on Racial Equality was created by MLK Jr. as well as the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. (SNCC) -
The Freedom Riders
The Freedom Riders was the name of a hroup of civil rights activists. They rode interstate buses into the segregated area of the US. These people attempted to integrate areas in the bus terminals. They used water fountains and bathrooms and went to diners that were for whites only, causing up a stir to make their point. Most of these people did get arrested but they did make their point in Albany. -
James Meredith and the Desegregation of the University of Mississippi
James Meredith was the first African american to attend the University of Mississippi. This caused the college to be desegregated. His first attempt to enroll in the school caused absolute chaos. Riots broke out, 2 men were dead and hundreds were wounded. The Kennedy Administration called 31,000 National Guardsmen to enforce order in the area. Meredith tried to apply in the school several times before he actually got accepted. -
Protests in Birmingham
Several protests occurred in Birmingham, AL. African Americans protested, held boycotts, and had a series of lunch counter sit-ins, as well as marches on City Hall. African Americans tried to speak up for what they wnted but they were only answered with violence. The Birmingham protests ended positively in May 1963 when local officials agrred to remove signs in town that segregated the blacks from the whites. -
The March on Washington
More than 200,000 Americans gathered together to rally in Washington D.C. Their goals was to march for jobs and freedom. Many different civil rights and religious groups and organizations wanted to shed light on this issue. Martin Luther King Jr gave his worldly famous "I Have a Dream" speech. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 ended racial segregation in public places. This act banned discrimination when it came to blacks trying to obtain a hold a job. The act was proposed by JFK but was signed into law by Lyndon Johnson. Johnson signed the act with 75 different pens, he had civil rights leaders such as MLK Jr and political officials sign it. This was a huge occurrence in African American history. -
The Selma March
MLK Jr's Southern Christian Leadership Conference members all focused on getting their black right to vote in Selma, AL. They marched from Selma all the way to Montgomery. The marchers were only met with violence by state and local authorities. The march raised awareness for the hardships African Americans faced with attempts of trying to vote. Later that year, the Voting Rights Act was passed. -
The Voting Rights Act of 1965
Lyndon B Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965. This bill ensured that African Americans had their right to vote. It was now illegal to restrict blacks from voting. Althought this act was passed, many state and local officials ignored it and continued denying blacks their right to vote. President Nixon extended the act during his presidency so this would not happen. -
Assassination of Martin Luther KIng Jr.
Dr. Martin Luther KIng Jr. was assassinated in a motel in Memphis, TN. He was killed by James Earl Ray. He was standing on the balcony of a motel when a sniper's bullet shot him in the neck. He was rushed to the hospital but it was too late, he was already dead. MLK Jr was only 39 years old. MLK was a nonviolent protestor, a civil rights activitists & he was loved by Americans everywhere. They were outraged byhis death. MLK didn't deserve to die in this way but he did die for what he believed in
