-
The Montgomery Bus Boycott
The Montgomery Bus Boycott took place from December 1955 to 1956 in Montgomery, Alabama. Blacks living in the city were not satisfied with the segregation of the bus system. After Rosa Parks took a stand aginst bus segregation the same month, 40,000 Afrrican Americans chose to carpool, taxi, or walk to work and other destinations instead of taking the bus.
Fun fact: Churches donated shoes for those wearing out their shoes from walking everywhere instead of taking the bus. -
The Little Rock 9
After the Supreme Court ruled that segregated schools were unconstitutional, nine African Americans enrolled at a high school in Little Rock, AR. The students were not allowed to enter the school, causing EIsenhower to send federal troops to ensure the students could enter the school safely.
Fun fact: The mother of Elizabeth Eckford, one of the Little Rock Nine, taught at a segregated state school for blind and deaf children. -
Civil Rights Act of 1957
The act established the Civil Rights section of the Justice Department and enabled African Americans to use their right to vote. This was a major civil rights legislation and the first since Reconstruction. It intended to punish anyone interferring with an indiviual's right to vote. -
The Sit-in Movement
The sit-in movement begain in 1960 when four black students in North Carolina sat at a whites-only lunch counter. After being refused service and threatened, the four students remained at the counter, making a point to not only the storeowners, but the country. Sit-ins became a regular tactic used to show the need for civil rights action.
Fun fact: As the protests grew, so did the opposition. White crowds would throw eggs and harass the protesters. Very few were arrested. -
The Freedom Riders
In 1961, a group of both black and white anti-segregationists tested the effectiveness of a court decision previously ruled in Boynton v. Virginia. Freedom riders faced violence and harassment on the buses, despite the ruling's decision that segregation was banned within interstate bus travel. Their experience forced Kennedy to enforce stricter actions to ban segregation in travel.
Fun fact: Some opposers even went as far as firebombing the buses that containted Freedom Riders. -
Desegregation of the University of Mississippi
James Meredith, a student at the University of Mississippi, filed a lawsuit against the school's racial discrimination. He applied several times only to be denied. The supreme court settled the issue in 1962 in Meredith's favor.
Fun fact: James Meredith dedicated his life to taking the stand against discrimination after he was repeatedly forced to give up his seats on transportation. -
Protests in Birmingham
The protests in Birmingham began with African American activists boycotting businesses due to unfair employment practices. When the groups of activists enlarged, led by MLKJ and other leaders, police began to use force to stop the nonviolent protesters. This enraged the nation. These events led to the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which Kennedy proposed a year before. The act would open the economic and political systems to African Americans and other minorities. -
The March on Washington
In August 1963, over 200,000 African Americans met in Washington DC for a rally. MLKJ's famous speech kicked off this successful action against discrimination. Some of the demands of the activists involved in the marches were and end to segregation in schools and an effective civil rights legislation.
fun fact: Martin Luther King Jr's "I Have A Dream" speech took place during the Washington March in DC. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
This legislation ended discrimination based on race, sex, religion, or origin. Kennedy originally called for this bill after the protests of many African Americans. Under the new act, blacks could no longer be denied services based on their color . It also created an Equal Employment Opportunity to end discrimination in the employment field. -
The Selma March
A group of activists began the march to Montgomery from Selma, Alabama, facing many difficulties along the way. Their main goal was to demand the right for blacks to vote. Police were violent, and marchers who often heavilly wounded or even beaten to death. By the end of the march there were 25,000 marchers. Johnson eventually signed the Voting Rights Acts of 1965.
Fun fact: The marchers walked 12 miles a day to reach Montgomery and slept in various campsites across the 50-mile span to reach AL. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
This legislation repealed the barriers that disabled African Americans to vote. The Selma March prompted Johnson to pass the act. Prior to it, literacy tests were required for blacks to vote, which restricted many from voting.
Fun fact: The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is known as the most successful civil rights legislation adopted by Congress. -
Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
In April 1968, the Civil Rights hero was shot and fatally wounded in Memphis, Tennessee. His death sparked riots in many major cities, and the same month Johnson passed the Civil Rights Act of 1968 in honor of Martin Luther King Jr's effectiveness in the movement.
Fun fact: 10 years before his assassination, a woman stabbed MLKJ in Harlem, NY, while he was signing copies of his book. Fortunately surgery saved his life, but he would not face the same fate a decade later.
