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Emancipation Proclamation
During the Civil War, president Abraham Lincoln issued the emancipation proclamation, which freed all the slaves in the Conferate army. This caused many blacks to escape north and join the Union army. Transcript and original copies of the document -
Ratification of the 13th Amendment
The 13th amendment was ratified and abolished slavery. -
Ratification of the 14th Amendment
Gave African Americans the right to due process and equal protection under the law. -
Ratification of the 15th Amendment
African American males were given the right to vote -
Plessy v. Ferguson
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that under the constitution public facilities for blacks and whites could be segregated. This was under the belief of "separate but equal." -
NAACP Founded
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was founded by a group of black and white civil rights activists to fight for the rights of African Americans. NAACP Website -
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka
Overturned the Plessy v. Ferguson court case and declared that separate public schools for black and white children were unequal. -
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Montgomery Bus Boycott
A wide scale bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama to protest the segregation in public transportation History Channel Website: Video -
Little Rock Nine
Video Nine black students enrolled in an all white high school in Little Rock, Arkansas. They were prevented from entering the school by order of the governor of Arkansas and by violent white protesters. -
March on Washington
A mass event, including blacks and whites, during which Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous "I Have a Dream" speech. The goal of the march was to show support for legislation that would outlaw discrimination, and to pressure congress to pass this legislation. The march helped in bringing about the Civil Rights Act of 1964. "I Have a Dream" Speech -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
It prohibited discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. LBJ Signs Civil Rights Act of 1964 -
Death of Malcolm X
The black nationalist leader Malcolm X is assasinated. As a black nationalist, he believed in a separate nation for the African American population. Unlike Martin Luther King Jr., he advocated violence to achieve racial equality. -
Selma to Montgomery Marches: Bloody Sunday
Selma March In Selma, Alabama, black voters were being denied their voting rights. A series of peaceful marches occurred to support the voting rights of African Americans. The most infamous was Bloody Sunday. The marchers were stopped at the Edmund Pettus Bridge on their way to Montgomery and were brutally beaten by state troopers trying to prevent them from crossing. This horrific event received a lot of media attention, and caused many Americans to see the horrors of racism. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
This act banned literacy tests, poll taxes (paying to vote), and other illegal requirements that prevented blacks from voting. Selma movie clip -
Death of Martin Luther King Jr.
He was an influential leader during the civil rights movement and believed in non-violent protest against discrimination. The Life of MLK
