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Brown vs. Board of Education
-first time argued: December 9, 1952
-ended: May 17, 1954
-the Court declared state laws making separate public schools for black and white students to be unconstitutional -
Murder of Emmett Till
-14 years old
-visiting family
-reportedly flirted with a white cashier at a grocery store
-two white men kidnapped, beat & shot him in the head
-men were tried for murder, but an all-white, male jury released them
-funeral held in Chicago
-trial for murder was in September of 1955 -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
-Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white man, then was arrested and fined
-boycott of public buses began the day of her court hearing
-lead by Martin Luther King Jr.
-walked and carpool instead of taking the buses
-buses often ran empty
-ended December 20th 1956 -
Integration of Montgomery, AL busses
-African Americans refused to ride city buses
-protest against segregated seating -
Integration of Little Rock Central High School - Little Rock, Ark.
-nine African American students enrolled in a previously all-white school
-tested ruling that declared segregation in public schools unconstitutional
-a white woman helped one of the students to get to a bus safely -
Lunch-Counter Sit-Ins (Woolworth's in Greensboro, NC)
-ended July 25, 1960
-non-violent protests
-led to a department store chain to remove policy of racial segregation
-manager told them to leave or they’d call the police
-people beat them
-some of them were arrested -
Freedom Rides
-civil rights activists who rode buses into segregated southern US to challenge the non-enforcement of rule that said segregated public buses were unconstitutional
-while buses stopped they’d puncture the tires
-set buses on fire
-people were beaten because the police wouldn’t stay to protect them
-arrested in Jackson Mississippi
-caused many boycotts, marches and protests -
"Letter from Birmingham Jail"
-written by MLK Jr,
-letter defends strategy of nonviolent resistance to racism
-written to let people know about the racism in America -
Murder of Medgar Evers
-he was an African American civil rights activist
-worked to stop segregation at University of Mississippi
-tried to gain social justice & voting rights
-shot in driveway outside his home -
Bombing of the 16th St. Baptist Church
-act of racism and white superiority
-killed 4 innocent girls -
24th Amendment - Outlawing of Poll Taxes in Federal Elections
-got rid of poll taxes in elections for federal officials
-African Americans were scared to vote because people wouldn’t like it
-risked everything to register to vote -
Murder of Civil Rights Workers
-murdered: James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner
-in Philadelphia, Miss.
-police told them to return home
-car followed the men
-beaten and tortured before they were shot
-buried in an earthen dam
-made America able to come face to face with racism and hatred
-Mississippi refused to press charges -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
-outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin -
Murder of Jimmie Lee Jackson
-he was a civil rights activist
-deacon of baptist church
-took part in peaceful voting rights march
-beaten and shot by trooper(s)
-26 years old
-for funeral they walked 4 miles in rain -
"Bloody Sunday" - Selma
-protest march in Selma, Alabama that was stopped by police
-police shot teargas into the crowd and beat nonviolent protesters
-hospitalized 50+ people -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
-made to get rid of laws took away the African Americans right to vote
-march “protected” by military police
