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Brown vs Board of Education
Brown vs Board of Education was similar to the Plessy v Ferguson case, but with Plessy vs Ferguson, they were just getting money and the government wasn't really doing anything. Therefore, with Brown vs Board of Education, they wanted to solve the problem completely. They did this with the doll test, they gave children a white and a black doll and asked each child who they thought was the smarter child, all children, both races, said the white doll. This was enough to win the case. -
Emmett Till Murder
Emmett talked to a white woman - there was no proof of him being rude or anything of the sort, it seemed like a normal conversation. Later he was found dead in a river clearly murdered, it was later found that it was two white men. After the open casket ceremony his mother held for him, this raged an uproar in the African American community, Till's uncle also risked his life testifying for Emmett that he saw the two white men take him to go beat and murder him. -
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Montgomery Bus Boycotts
The first news-breaking boycott is Rosa Parks in 1955. She planned the whole thing out with her boss and had him ready to bail her out of jail if necessary. She refused to stand for a white man and was sent to jail. MLK headed the Montgomery Improvement Association which helped lead the non-violent boycotting. All African Americans in Montgomery stopped taking the buses out of outrage for 381 days. This was called the Grassroots protest. In the end, the Supreme Court struck down bus segregation. -
Little Rock Nine
Nine black students were selected to be a part of the Little Rock Nine and integrate at a white school called the Little Rock Nine High School. One student didn't get the memo that on their first day they would be entering together, she wondered off and was harassed vocally a lot. The Arkansas National Guard blocked access for the other students not allowing them in the building. Eisenhower had to step in and sends 101st airborne to enforce Brown vs Board. -
Lunch Sit-ins
4 fraternity brothers go to Walgreens - had lunch counter at the time - sat in the white's only section. This started more and more people coming to the lunch counters white only section. Cuts down on revenue for the whole lunch counter because they wouldn't serve the protestors. Some were arrested. -
Freedom Bus Rides
Bus stops were segregated - black and some white people were involved. The black people went to the white section and the white people went to the black section of the bus stops. This put pressure on the president to enforce anti-segregation. African Americans started relying on racists who would make a scene out of things like these to start to get attention of the government. -
March on Washington
Over 200,000 people attended. Everyone was ready to march on Washington in peaceful protest. This is where the "I have a dream" speech comes from performed by MLK. -
Birmingham Protests
The Birmingham Protests were about increasing employment in things like big department stores. There were very few black people working at these stores and they wanted to be more equally represented. MLK gets involved and is arressted, this is where he writes his famous "Letter from the Birmingham Jail". -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed segregation in spaces open to the public - such as restaurants, hotels/motels, and transportation. This also prohibited discrimination in employment by race OR gender. Justice Department can enforce this. -
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Freedom (Mississippi) Summer
This was all about the voting rights of black people. Voting registration was less hard to do in an outcome of this. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 mainly prohibited literacy tests and poll taxes for voting. It authorized the use of federal registrars to register voters if stakes failed to respect the 15th amendment. Federal Government could also run polling. -
Selma Marches
This was known to be the last large non-violent protests. The governor at the time said to stop this march, however he did not say how to do so. The police took this as to beat the protesters and to launch tear gas. The governor later apologized for his words, saying that violence was not what he intended.