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Plessy v. Ferguson
A landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court that upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation laws for public facilities as long as the segregated facilities were equal in quality – a doctrine that came to be known as "separate but equal". -
The Integration of Major League Baseball
In 1947, Jackie Robinson became the first African-American baseball player to cross the “color line” and join the major leagues. -
The Integration of the Armed Force
Desegregation of the Armed Forces (1948) ... On July 26, 1948, President Harry S. Truman signed this executive order establishing the President's Committee on Equality of Treatment and Opportunity in the Armed Services, committing the government to integrating the segregated military. -
Sweatt v. Painter
Sweatt v. Painter, was a U.S. Supreme Court case that successfully challenged the "separate but equal" -
Brown v. Board of Education
Linda Brown and other African-American students had been denied admission to an all-white public school near their homes. The NAACP alleged that segregated public schools denied African-American children the “equal protection” of the law due to them under the Fourteenth Amendment. -
The Bus Boycott of Montgomery, Alabama
Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white passenger. Afterwards, she was arrested. This lead to a boycott of the city's public buses. The boycott lasted 13 months. -
The Integration of Little Rock High School
Governor Faubus ordered the Arkansas National Guard to surround the all-white Little Rock Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas to prevent nine African-American students from entering the building. This group of students became known nationally as the “Little Rock Nine.” President Eisenhower ordered federal troops to Little Rock to ensure that the Little Rock Nine could attend school. -
The Civil Rights Act of 1957
In 1957, the Eisenhower administration passed the Civil Rights Act to increase African American voting in the South. The act was the first civil rights legislation since Reconstruction and created the Civil Rights Commission and established a Civil Rights Division in the U.S. Justice Department. The law gave federal courts the power to register African-American voters. -
The Freedom Riders
In 1961, inter-racial groups rode buses in Freedom Rides in the South.The Freedom Riders sought to overturn racial segregation on public transportation.They created confrontations so that the federal government would be forced to intervene.These riders often faced the risk of violence and even death from those who opposed integration. -
The Greensboro Four
In 1960, four African-American students held a sit-in at a “Whites Only” lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina.The first ones were called the Greensboro Four. The tactic was soon copied by other students throughout the South. As a result of these protests, downtown stores finally agreed to desegregate lunch counters and hire African-American workers. -
The 24th Amendment
This eliminated poll taxes in federal elections. -
The Integration of the University of Mississippi
On the evening of Sunday, September 30, 1962, Southern segregationists rioted and fought state and federal forces on the campus of the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Mississippi to prevent the enrollment of the first African American student to attend the university, James Meredith. -
The Integration of the University of Alabama
When African American students attempted to desegregate the University of Alabama in June 1963, Alabama's new governor, flanked by state troopers, literally blocked the door of the enrollment office. The U.S. Supreme Court, however, had declared segregation unconstitutional. -
The March on Washington
In August 1963, Dr. King and other Civil Rights leaders organized a March on Washington to pressure Congress to pass the new Civil Rights bill then before Congress.A quarter million (250,000) people attended the march.It was the largest demonstration for human rights in American history.The March on Washington ended with a special meeting between Dr. King, other leaders of the march, and President John F. Kennedy at the White House. -
The Assassination of John F. Kennedy
The Kennedys and Connallys waved at the large and enthusiastic crowds gathered along the parade route. As their vehicle passed the Texas School Book Depository Building at 12:30 p.m., Lee Harvey Oswald allegedly fired three shots from the sixth floor, fatally wounding President Kennedy and seriously injuring Governor Connally. Kennedy was pronounced dead 30 minutes later at Dallas’ Parkland Hospital. -
The Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Southern Democratic bloc tried to stop the bill with ceaseless speeches, but they were prevented by a vote of two-thirds of the Senate.The resulting the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited discrimination based on race, color, religion, or ethnic origin in hotels, restaurants, and all places of employment doing business with the federal government or engaged in interstate commerce.The act cut off federal aid to school districts with segregated schools. -
The Assassination of Malcolm X
Malcolm X was assassinated at age 39 while speaking at the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem, New York, on Feb. 21, 1965. -
The March on Selma, Alabama
In 1965, Dr. King went to Selma, Alabama, to organize a march demanding the vote of African Americans. When demonstrators were attacked, President Johnson reacted by introducing a voting rights bill. -
The Voting Rights Act 1965
This act ended poll taxes and suspended literacy tests where they were used to prevent African-Americans from voting. This guaranteed the rights promised under the Fifteenth Amendment.This led to the substantial increase in the number of African-American voters. -
The Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
On Thursday, April 4, 1968, King was staying in room 306 at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis. The motel was owned by businessman Walter Bailey and named after his wife. King had gone out onto the balcony and was standing near his room when he was struck in the face at 6:01 p.m. by a single .30-06 bullet fired from a Remington Model 760 rifle. -
The Passage of Title IX
No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance -
The Appointment of the First Woman Justice of the Supreme Court
Sandra Day O'Connor. El Paso, Texas, U.S. Sandra Day O'Connor is a retired Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, who served from her 1981 appointment by President Ronald Reagan until her retirement in 2006. She was the first woman to serve on the Court. -
The Presidential Inauguration of Barack Obama
The first inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States took place on Tuesday, January 20, 2009. The inauguration, which set a record attendance for any event held in Washington, D.C., marked the commencement of the first term of Barack Obama as President and Joe Biden as Vice President. -
The Elimination of Combat Restriction for Women
Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter ordered the military to open all
combat jobs to women with no exceptions. -
The Democratic Party Nomination of Hillary Clinton
Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was chosen as the party's nominee for president by a 54% majority of delegates present at the convention roll call.
