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Civil Rights 1954-1971
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Brown vs Board of Education
The Supreme Court rules on the landmark case Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, unanimously, (completely), agreeing that segregation in public schools is unconstitutional. The ruling paves the way for large-scale desegregation.
The decision overturned (reversed) the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson ruling that ruled that blacks and whites are "separate but equal." To learn more, click here -
Chuck Berry begins recording
Musician Chuck Berry begins recording; his music will help shape rock-and-roll. Later in life he will have to sue many bands, including the Beach Boys for sampling his music without permission. Listen to "Maybellene" here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0HmFr7mPsk -
Emmett Till murdered
Fourteen-year-old Chicagoan Emmett Till is visiting family in Mississippi when he is kidnapped, brutally beaten, shot, and dumped in the Tallahatchie River for allegedly whistling at a white woman. Two white men, J. W. Milam and Roy Bryant, are arrested for the murder and acquitted by an all-white jury. They later boast about committing the murder in a "Look" magazine interview. The case becomes a main cause of the civil rights movement. -
Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat on the bus
Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama, bus to a white person, triggering a successful, year-long African American boycott of the bus system. To read more details about this day, click here -
MLK's Speech Marks Beginning of Bus Boycotts in Montgomery
In a speech, King explains why the boycotts must continue: "There comes a time," he says, "that people get tired. We are here this evening to say to those who have mistreated us for so long, that we are tired, tired of being segregated and humiliated, tired of being kicked about by the brutal feet of oppression." Click here to see the list of demands. -
Victory for Montgomery Boycott
The U.S. Supreme Court rules that the segregation of Montgomery, Alabama, buses is unconstitutional. Click here to read how and why the boycotts were effective. -
Little Rock Nine
For the first time since Reconstruction, the federal government uses the military to uphold African Americans' civil rights, as soldiers escort nine African American students to desegregate a school in Little Rock, Arkansas. Click here to watch a short video: AND read more here -
Motown Records is born
Motown Records is founded in Detroit, Mich. Motown goes on to feature such legendary artists as Michael Jackson, Gladys Knight, Lionel Ritchie and Queen Latifah. -
Greensboro Sit-Ins
Four African American college students hold a sit-in to integrate a Woolworth's lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, launching a wave of similar protests across the South. By February 7th, there were 54 sit-ins throughout the South in 15 cities in 9 states. The four college students became known at the Greensboro 4: Ezell Blair Jr.
Franklin McCain
Joseph McNeil
David Richmond Click here to learn more. -
Malcom X
African American radical Malcolm X becomes national minister of the Nation of Islam. He rejects the nonviolent civil-rights movement and integration, and becomes a champion of African American separatism and black pride. At one point he states that equal rights should be secured "by any means necessary," a position he later revises. -
Sidney Poitier wins an Oscar
Sidney Poitier becomes the first black actor to win an Oscar for Best Actor, for his role in Lilies of the Field. -
MLK letter from Birmingham Jail
Martin Luther King, Jr., writes his "Letter from a Birmingham Jail," his famous statement about the civil rights movement. Listen to part of his letter read aloud here. -
"I have a dream"
More than 200,000 people march on Washington, D.C., in the largest civil rights demonstration ever; Martin Luther King, Jr., gives his "I Have a Dream" speech. Listen to "I Have a Dream" by clicking here. -
Birmingham Church Bombing
A bomb exploded before Sunday morning services at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama--a church with a predominantly black congregation that served as a meeting place for civil rights leaders. Four young girls were killed and many other people injured; outrage over the incident and the violent clash between protesters and police that followed helped draw national attention to the struggle for civil rights. To see pictures and newspaper clippings, click here -
Malcom X is Assassinated
One year after splitting from the Nation of Islam, Malcolm X is assassinated in New York by gunmen affiliated with the NOI. -
Freedom Summer of 1964
The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), CORE and the NAACP and other civil-rights groups organize a massive African American voter registration drive in Mississippi known as "Freedom Summer." Three CORE civil rights workers are murdered. In the five years following Freedom Summer, black voter registration in Mississippi will rise from a mere 7 percent to 67 percent. Learn more by clicking here -
24th Amendment
The 24th Amendment abolishes the poll tax, which originally had been instituted in 11 southern states after Reconstruction to make it difficult for poor blacks to vote. -
Civil Rights Act
President Lyndon Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act, which gives the federal government far-reaching powers to prosecute discrimination in employment, voting, and education. -
MLK wins the Nobel Peace Prize
Martin Luther King, Jr. is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Listen to his acceptance speech here AND listen to his speech set to music here -
Selma to Montgomery
King organizes a protest march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, for African American voting rights. A shocked nation watches on television as police club and teargas protesters. Watch clips of police brutality here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzySzN5nkxI -
Victory for African American voting rights
In the wake of the Selma-Montgomery March, the Voting Rights Act is passed, outlawing the practices used in the South to disenfranchise African American voters Click here to see which states enforced Jim Crow laws on an interactive map -
Black Panther Movement founded
Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seales found the Black Panther Party, a radical black power group, in Oakland, California. Although it develops a reputation for militant rhetoric and clashes with the police, the group also becomes a national organization that supports food, education, and healthcare programs in poor African American communities. -
Edward W. Brooke becomes first African American senator
Edward W. Brooke becomes the first African American U.S. Senator since Reconstruction. He serves two terms as a Republican from Massachusetts. -
Aretha Franklin hits the big time
Aretha Franklin records a series of hit singles, including her best-known song, "Respect." She will become known as the "Queen of Soul." Listen to her big hit "Respect" here -
Loving v. Virginia
In Loving v. Virginia, the Supreme Court rules that prohibiting interracial marriage is unconstitutional. Sixteen states that still banned interracial marriage at the time are forced to revise their laws. -
Thurgood Marshall joins the Supreme Court
Thurgood Marshall becomes the first African American justice on the Supreme Court. -
MLK assassinated
Martin Luther King, Jr., is assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. His murder sparks a week of rioting across the country. -
Civil Rights Act of 1968
President Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1968, prohibiting discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of housing.
