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Brown v Board of Education
Brown v Board of Education was a monumental court case that ruled "separate but equal" schooling was not equal and therefore illegal. This was the first step in desegregating schools across America. -
White Citizens Council
The White Citizens Council was formed to maintain segregation and white supremacy in southern states. It was formed by Robert Patterson and had over 60,000 members. Contrary to the SCLC, this group primarily used violence and intimidation to counter act the civil rights movement. -
Brown v Board of Education II
This court case was put into place because of the reluctancy of states to enact the first Brown v Board case. Many all-white schools stayed all white after 1954 which made the second case necessary. After Brown II was passed the court ordered integration with "all deliberate speed". -
Lynching of Emmett Till
Emmett Till was a 14 year old boy who was accused of offending a white girl after merely saying "goodbye honey". Despite the brutality of his murder the men responsible were acquitted for their crimes. This caused Emmett Till to become an icon of the civil rights movement, drawing attention nation wide with thousands arriving at his funeral to see his disfigured face. -
Rosa Parks Arrested
Rosa Parks was a bold and courageous woman who was arrested for standing up against the social norm of the 50s. She sat in the front of the bus and refused to move to the back of the bus even when police told her to do so. This event took place in Montgomery, Alabama, a state where racism is extremely prevalent. -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
Organized by Martin Luther King Jr., the boycott was meant to protest racial segregation on busses. They were effective and resulted in the supreme court ruling that segregated busses were unconstitutional. -
Martin Luther King's House Bombed
After the success of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, lead by MLK, segregationists and likely the KKK retaliated by bombing King's house. Thankfully, even though King's wife and daughter where present when the bomb went off no one was harmed. -
Bombing of Reverend Shuttlesworth
In November 1956, segregation on busses was ruled unconstitutional so a group of civil rights activists including Rev. Shuttlesworth, planned to challenge Birmingham by riding the busses. The night before their plan went into action the KKK bombed the reverend's house in an attempt to stop this course of action. -
SCLC Founded
SCLC or Southern Christian Leadership Conference was founded by 5 civil rights activists including Martin Luther King Jr.. This group was formed just after the Montgomery Bus Boycott in order to further the civil rights movement in America while maintaining nonviolence. -
Eisenhower Sends Federal Troops
Little Rock was the first town to integrate desegregation and it did not go over well. Some students were attacked by angry mobs and threatened so Mayor of Little Rock requested the president send troops. The troops were meant to enforce integration in Little Rock as well as protect the nine students. -
SNCC Formed
This group was formed by 5 civil rights activists in the sixties, one of which was actually a white woman, her name was Dianne Nash. The other founders were Ella Baker, Julian Bond, Charles Sherrod, and Bernard Lafayette. This group aimed at coordinating nonviolent student led protests throughout the United States. -
Greensboro Sit Ins
The Greensboro sit ins were a nonviolent protests organized and enacted by a group of young African Americans students that wanted the right to sit anywhere they please. These sit ins took place in Greensboro, North Carolina in 1960. The first sit in occurred at Woolworth lunch counter on February 1st and continued until late July. -
Freedom Rides
The Freedom Rides were a series of bus boycotts where a group of white and black civil rights activists boarded busses in Washington D.C. and New Orleans. They were meant to protest the fact that segregated busses were illegal but still occurring. Upon arriving in Montgomery, one of the busses was attacked leaving the bus in flames. -
White Mob Attack on Federal Marshals
After setting one of the freedom rides bus ablaze, a white mob brutally beat the people attempting to escape with bats and clubs. The attacks were organized by the Klu Klux Klan with the support of the police. -
Bailey v Patterson
In this court case, Bailey was opposing segregated transportation, including interstate and intrastate. The result was that segregation on all transportation was illegal and prohibited. -
Albany Movement Failure
The Albany Movement was set up in Alabama by the NAACP and SNCC and continued for about a year. Although most civil rights activists involved don't think it was a complete failure it resulted in no change in segregation. -
MLK goes to Birmingham Jail
During the protests in Birmingham, the local police where sending thousands into overcrowded prisons. Because of this, Martin decided if you can't beat em join em. He then held a protest himself and was sent to prison whereupon he was released shortly after. -
March on Washington
The march on Washington served as a reminder to the world that racial inequalities were still occurring throughout the United States. More specifically they were protesting economic inequality but this also gave people the opportunity to hear several civil rights leaders speak. MLK gave his famous "I have a dream" speech on this day inspiring millions. -
Kennedy Sends Federal Troops
Kennedy faced a difficult decision when the governor of Mississippi denied a black man from enrolling in the University of Mississippi. After realizing that his words were making no difference he decided to send federal troops to carry out the law. After all, at this point segregated schools were ruled by the supreme court to be unconstitutional and therefore illegal. -
Equal Pay Act
The Equal Pay Act of 1963 required that men and women working equally would be given equal compensation, hence the name. It seems pretty straight forward however the complications lie in the specifics. It isn't job title that determines the equality but the requirements or duties of that job. Despite this act being over 50 years old we are still having problems with equal pay today. -
Assassination of Medgar Evers
Medgar Evers was a World War II veteran, civil rights rights activist, and field secretary for the state of Mississippi. He lived in Jackson, Mississippi where he was shot in his driveway. Under the injustice judicial system of the sixties, Evers' killers was released from two trials without a decision. Not until February of 1994 was white supremacist Byron De La Beckwith finally sentenced to life imprisonment for murder. -
Birmingham Bombing
Klu Klux Klan members strike again in Alabama, bombing the 12th street Baptist Church and killing four little girls. This was yet another act of white supremacist terrorism carried out in Alabama. The 12th street church was a significant location because it was a meeting place for civil rights leaders. -
Assassination of JFK
While traveling the U.S. as a part of his presidential campaign, John F. Kennedy was assassinated. He shot in a presidential motorcade along side his wife Jackie, Texas governor, his wife. Former marine Lee Harvey Oswald fired 3 bullets from a sixth floor window, two of which hitting JFK, one hitting Texas governor. After being hit in the upper back and head, Kennedy slumped onto his wife lap sending horror into her heart and the hearts of millions as this took place in front of a crowd. -
Freedom Summer
In order to fight discrimination in voting polls, protestors organized a drive meant to increase black voters in Mississippi. Over 700 whites joined the protest to show their support. Before this protest a mere 5.3% of African-Americans were voting in Mississippi. -
XXIV Amendment
Otherwise known as the 24th amendment, this prevented the use of poll tax in the voting process. Poll tax was often used in southern states to inhibit black people from voting. Lyndon B. Johnson signed this amendment to further Kennedy's will to end segregation. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed racial discrimination in multiple areas including, schools, job, public accommodations. Although the enforcement on this act was weak initially this eventually meant the desegregation of schools, an end to colored and white drinking fountains, and segregation in busses. This act was originally proposed by Kennedy but was opposed by filibuster in the senate. However, once Johnson was appointed president he pushed the bill to be signed. -
Assassination of Malcolm X
While in New York speaking about his Organization of Afro-American Unity in the Audubon Ballroom, Malcolm X was killed by Black Muslims. Despite three members of the Nation of Islam being arrested for his murder mystery still clouds the specifics of this tragedy. To this day no one knows who actually killed this religious leader. -
Selma to Montgomery March
Martin Luther and many other civil rights activists organized a march on Montgomery in order to draw the president's attention. They knew that marching on Montgomery would cause a brutal response from the town and police force. This would pressure the president into enacting more voting rights legislation. 26 unarmed protestors were shot that day in what is now known as "Bloody Sunday". -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
This is yet another act passed by LBJ in his pursuit of the Great Society. It was primarily meant to assist African Americans in their right to vote, both and local and federal level. The use of overly complicated and difficult literary tests were used to see whether or not an African American was "fit to vote". However these were obviously just tools used to oppress black and keep them from voting. The Voting Rights Act banned these tests. -
Black Panthers Formed
Huey P. Newton, Bobby Seale, and Elbert Howard meant to challenge Police brutality against African Americans. They famously wore all black uniforms with black berets. The Black Panthers organized armed protestors and resulted in over 2,000 members. However, after shootouts taking place and the FBI attempting to shut them down the group eventually died out. -
Loving v Virginia
This court case stopped laws banning interracial marriage based on the 14th amendment and Due Process Clauses. The case centered around Mildred and Richard Loving, an interracial couple who were sentenced to a year in prison for marrying each other. Their marriage violated the racial integrity act, however, when the couple took it to court their convictions were overturned. After this court case interracial marriages increased nationwide. -
Minneapolis Riots
Young African Americans who were fed up with dealing with a unjust governmental system rebelled in Minneapolis. They burned down storefronts on Plymouth Avenue in a form of protest against restrictive housing covenants. Hundreds of National Guards were sent to Minneapolis as a result of these riots. -
Detroit Riots
Angered by economic injustice, young African Americans started a riot. What is known as the 12th street riot was the bloodiest event of the summer of '67. The riots lasted 5 days resulting in 43 dead, 10 white and 33 black. -
Assassination of MLK
Martin Luther was shot by James Earl Ray on the way to dinner. He was shot in the jaw by a Remington Gamemaster 760 rifle. After piercing King's jaw the bullet proceeded to severe his spinal cord, killing him. -
Assassination of Robert Kennedy
Robert "Bobby" Kennedy, brother to JFK, was shot and left mortally wounded outside the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, California. His busboy, featured in the photo wearing the white coat, was shaking Bobby's hand when Sirhan Sirhan shot him. This attack left him mortally wounded for 26 hours until he was pronounced dead the following day.
