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Little Rock Nine
In September of 1957, nine African American students enrolled into an all white School in Little Rock, Arkansas. They tested a landmark 1954 U.S Supreme Court ruling that declared segregation in public schools unconstitutional. On September 4, 1957, first day of school, Governor Orval Faubus, called in the state National Guard to bar the kids from entering the building. But later that month, President Dwight D. Eisenhower, sent the Federal Troops to escort the “Little Rock Nine” into the school. -
Birmingham Church Bombing
On September 15, 1963, there was a bomb explosion before the Sunday morning service at the 16th St. Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. A church specifically segregated with blacks. It served as a meeting place for civil rights leaders. As the result of the explosion, four young girls were killed and many others were injured. -
The murders of James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner
On June 21, 1964, three young civil rights workers, James Chaney(21), Andrew Goodman(20), and Michael Schwerner(24), were murdered near Philadelphia in Nashoba County, Mississippi.They have been working to register black voters in Mississippi during the Freedom Summer and had gone to investigate the burning of a black church. They were arrested by police on trumped-up charges, they were imprisoned .for hours, then released into the hands of the Ku Klux Klan, who beat and murdered them. -
Don't Ask/Don't Tell Policy
Before enacting this policy, homosexuality was straight up banned in the military, and this policy lifted that ban. The policy allowed Gay/Lesbians to serve in the military, under the conditions that they don't talk about their sexuality. This essentially allowed homosexuals to serve in the military, but did not allow them to be questioned about it nor allowed them to be open about it, which later lead to its repeal in 2011 which consequently allowed equality in the military, closeted or not. -
Same Sex Marriage in Massachusetts
On November 18th, 2003, a ruling was made in the case Goodridge v. Dept of Public Health which ruled that Same Sex couples had the equa right to marry. The official court opinion stated, "barring an individual from the protections, benefits, and obligations of civil marriage solely because that person would marry a person of the same sex violates the Massachusetts Constitution". As a result, same sex couples were allowed to marry for the first time not only in Massachusetts, but also in the US -
Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009
In 2007, Lilly Ledbetter sued her company for discriminarily paying her much less than her male coworkers, however, the Supreme Court held that discriminatory pay cannot be challenged after 180 days from the time the payment desicion was made. Because of this, it prompted the introduction of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, which changed the law from 180 days from the time the pay decision was made, to 180 after each discriminatory paycheck.
