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The supreme court desicion
Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537, was a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision ruling that racial segregation laws did not violate the U.S. Constitution as long as the facilities for each race were equal in quality, a doctrine that came to be known as "separate but equal" -
The Tuskegee Airman
Their coordinated efforts to integrate a white officers' club set an example that wasn't lost on leaders of the burgeoning civil rights movement. The Tuskegee Airmen are best known for proving during World War II that Black men could be elite fighter pilots. -
The Integration of major league baseball
With the game's first pitch, Jackie Robinson became the first black man to play in the modern major leagues, breaking the color barrier that had surrounded baseball for over a half century and symbolizing the racial integration of American society. -
The integration of the Armed forces
The order mandated the desegregation of the U.S. military. The first point in the executive order states “It is hereby declared to be the policy of the President that there shall be equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed services without regard to race, color, religion or national origin. -
Sweaty v. Painter
The Supreme Court held that Texas failed to provide separate but equal education, prefiguring the future opinion in Brown that "separate but equal is inherently unequal." -
Brown v. Board of Education
It signaled the end of legalized racial segregation in the schools of the United States, overruling the "separate but equal" principle set forth in the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson case. -
The death of Emmitt Till
Emmett Till's murder was a spark in the upsurge of activism and resistance that became known as the Civil Rights movement. The sight of his brutalized body pushed many who had been content to stay on the sidelines directly into the fight. -
The Montgomery Bus Boycott
Parks' arrest on December 1, 1955 launched the Montgomery Bus Boycott by 17,000 black citizens. A Supreme Court ruling and declining revenues forced the city to desegregate its buses thirteen months later. Parks became an instant icon, but her resistance was a natural extension of a lifelong commitment to activism. -
The Integration of Little Rock High School
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Brown vs. Topeka Board of Education that segregated schools are "inherently unequal." In September 1957, as a result of that ruling, nine African-American students enrolled at Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. -
The civil rights Act of 1957
The Civil Rights Act of 1957 authorized the prosecution for those who violated the right to vote for United States citizens. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 took the issue one step further and authorized federal law enforcement to make sure that citizens of all people groups, in all states, were allowed to vote. -
The Greensboro Four Lunch counter sit in
Four friends sat down at a lunch counter in Greensboro. That may not sound like a legendary moment, but it was. The four people were African American, and they sat where African Americans weren't allowed to sit. They did this to take a stand against segregation. -
The Freedom Rides by Freedom Riders of 1961
They intended to test the Supreme Court's ruling in Boynton v. Virginia (1960), which declared segregation in interstate bus and rail stations unconstitutional but was failing to be enforced. -
The twenty-Fourth Amendment
Constitutional Amendments – Amendment 24 – “Elimination of Poll Taxes” Amendment Twenty-four to the Constitution was ratified on January 23, 1964. It abolished and forbids the federal and state governments from imposing taxes on voters during federal elections. -
The integration of the University of Mississippi
With his admission to the University of Mississippi in 1962, James Meredith became one of the heroic figures in the American Civil Rights Movement, succeeding against every legal, political and bureaucratic obstacle that blocked his path to becoming the university's first African-American student. -
The integration of the university of Alabama
The successful integration of The University of Alabama that began on June 11, 1963, opened doors not only to two Black students, but for decades of progress toward becoming an inclusive campus. -
The March on Washington & "I have a dream" speech by MLK
The march was successful in pressuring the administration of John F. Kennedy to initiate a strong federal civil rights bill in Congress. During this event, Martin Luther King delivered his memorable “I Have a Dream” speech. The 1963 March on Washington had several precedents. -
The Assassination of John F. Kennedy in Dallas,Texas
Instead his memory was sacralized, and his death seen as a kind of freeze-frame, the moment at which America pivoted away from its better self. -
The civil Rights Act of 1964 signed by Johnson
President Johnson helped eliminate voting discrimination against African Americans. The act also abolished racial discrimination in public facilities and in public education. Martin Luther King Jr. -
The Assassination of Malcom X
His martyrdom, ideas, and speeches contributed to the development of Black nationalist ideology and the Black Power movement and helped to popularize the values of autonomy and independence among African Americans in the 1960s and '70s. -
The Selma to Montgomery March, '' Bloody Sunday''
The three marches at Selma were a pivotal turning point in the civil rights movement. Because of the powerful impact of the marches in Selma, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was presented to Congress on March 17, 1965. President Johnson signed the bill into law on August 6, 1965. -
The Voting Rights act of 1965
Following Bloody Sunday, President Lyndon Johnson sent a voting rights bill to Congress. It provided for direct federal intervention to enable African Americans to register and vote and banned tactics long designed to keep them from the polls. -
The Assassination of MLK in Memphis, Tennessee
Martin Luther King was shot dead while standing on a balcony outside his second-floor room at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. News of King's assassination prompted major outbreaks of racial violence, resulting in more than 40 deaths nationwide and extensive property . -
The Voting Rights Act of 1968
The Voting Rights Act of 1965, similar to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, prohibited racial discrimination in voting. The Act was later expanded to help protect the right to vote for racial minorities throughout the country (mainly the South).