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Jackie Robinson
Baseball became a desegregated organization this year. Jackie Robinson then becomes the first African American to play in major league baseball. This allows future African Americans to try out for sports after they followed along. -
Truman Integrates Military
In 1948, President Truman issued an executive order that integrated the U.S. military. This order gave African Americans the ability to serve in the military. -
Brown v. Board of Education
The Supreme Court rules that segregation in schools was unconstitutional. They also overturned the Plessy v. Ferguson ruling of "separate but equal." African American children were then allowed to attend the same schools as whites. -
Freedom Rides
Both blacks and whites began to protest the segregation of buses with freedom rides. The freedom rides eventually led to the desegregation of buses in Montgomery. -
Civil Rights Act
President Johnson began to support the Civil Rights Act due to the March on Washington and the death of JFK. The Civil Rights Act outlawed discrimination in voting rights, government job sector, etc. -
War on Poverty
During his presidency, Johnson launched his domestic programs, the Great Society. One of the most important programs was the "war on poverty." This war offered: economic opportunities, funds for students' college fees, Medicaid and Medicare, which increased the life expectancy, etc. Overall, the war on poverty greatly helped the poor blacks during this time in many ways. -
Voting Rights Act
Voting Rights Act of 1965 prohibited tactics that disenfranchised African American voters. It also prohibited literacy tests, which kept many African Americans from voting.
