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White Citizens Council
White segregationalists through the South created the White Citizens' Council following the Brown v Board of Education decision. They used violence and intimidation to counter civil rights goals. -
Brown v Board of Education
Throughout several states in the US, public schools were segregated on the basis of race. African American students were rejected from certain schools. It was argued in several cases that this segregation violated the Equal Protection Clause. Chief Justice Warren argued the unanimous opinion that "separate but equal" facilities are unequal and violate the 14th Amendment. -
Brown II
Many all-white schools did not follow the first ruling that ruled racial segregational unconstitution. Brown II ordered them to integrate their schools with "deliberate speed" -
Rosa Parks Arrested
iRosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a white passenger on a city bus. Her arrest led to a 381-day boycott by blacks in Montgomery, AL. Eventually, this led to the Suprem Court decision, Browder v Gayle, which banned segregation on public transportation systems. -
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Montgomery Bus Boycott
The Montgomery Bus Boycott was a result of when Rosa Parks, an Africain Americain woman, refused to give up he seat to a white man on a bus. The boycott lasted 381 days. The US Supreme Court ordered Montgomery to integrate its buses. -
MLK House Bombing
The home of MLK was bombed by a group of segregationalists in retaliation of the success of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. -
Bombing of Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth
A group of KKK bombed Rev Fred Shuttlesworth home in Alabama. Fortunately, the blast from the 16-stick dynamite didn't injure Shuttlesworth or his family. White supremacists would attempt to murder Shuttlesworth 4 more times in the next 7 years. -
SCLC Founded
Some of the founders of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference included MLK, Fred Shutlesworth and Bayard Rustin. THe catalyst for the organization was the Montgomery Bus boycott. -
Eisenhower Sends in Federal Troops
President Eisenhower is forced to send federal troops to Little Rock, Arkansas when 9 highschool students are denied entry into Central High School. He sent federal troops to ensure that the students were allowed safe access. -
Greensboro Sit In
The Greensboro sit in was a civil rights protest that took place in a segregated Woolworth's lunch counter. The group of young men who staged the first sit in were called The Greensboro Four. They were influenced by the non-violent protest techniques practiced by Mohandas Ghandi and the Freedom Rides. -
SNCC Formed
The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Commitee was formed at Shaw University in Raleigh, NC. It was organized by black cllege students dedicated to ending segregation in the South. It advanced the sit in protest technique. -
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Freedom Rides
Freedom Riders were groups of white and Africain American civil rights activists wh participated in Freedoom Rides. These Freedom Rides were bus trips through the South in 1961 to protest segregated buses. The groups experienced violence from white protesters. -
White Mob Attacks Federal Marshals in Montgomery
A white mob attacked a group of Freedom Riders. 300 marshals were called to interfere to disperse the mob. -
Albany Georgia Failure
The Albany movement was created by representatives from SNCC and the NAACP. Conflict between the groups may have marred the campaign. -
Bailey v Patterson
This action was brought by 3 African American citizens of Jackson, MS.The Supreme Court ruled that applicants have to enforce their rights to non-segregated treatment on interstate and intrastate transportation. -
MLK Goes to a Birmingham Jail
After he led a march through the streets of Birmingham, MLK was arrested and held in solitary confinement. While he was in jail, MLK wrote a letter that was ultimately published in several newspapers and magazines. It defended the strategies of non violence -
Equal Pay Act
Women in the workforce were traditionally paid far less than men and even restricted hours. The Equal Pay Act specifically targeted wage discrimination based on gender. It was signed by President Kennedy as an amendment to the Fair Labor Standards Act, -
Kennedy Sends in Federal Troops
Alabama's governor started a blockade at the University of Alabama, restricting the entry of black students. Kennedy sent federal troops down to force desegregation. -
Assassination of Medgar Evers
Medgar Evers was shot outside of his own home in Jackson, MS, by a white supremacist. Up until his assassination, he was working to encourage African Americans to register to vote recruiting them to join the civil rights movement. His assassin, Byron De La Beckwith, was sentenced to life in prison at the age of 73. -
Killing of Goodman, Chaney, Schwerner
The remains of three civil rights workers were found in Philadelphia, MS. They were reported as "missing" on June 21. All three men were apart of the Congress of Racial Equality. The investication of their murder was named "Mississippi Burning" and took over 200 FBI agents and federal troops. -
March on Washington "I Have a Dream"
250,000 people gathered infront of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. to attend the March on Washington. It was planned by the SCLC. It was also the day MLK gave his famous "I Have a Dream" speech. -
Bombing of a Church in Birmingham
A bomb exploded before a Sunday service at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham. 4 young girls were killed and many others were injured. -
Assassination of JFK
John F Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States, was shot in Dallas, TX while campaigning. He was rushed to the Parkland Memorial Hospital, but after suffering from severe head wounds, he was pronounced dead at 1 pm. The assassin's name is Lee Harvey Oswald and was arrested shortly after the announcement of his death. He was against "the system" and what JFK stood for. -
Freedom Summer
Freedom Summer was a campaign to aimed to increase the number of registered black voters.in Mississippi. It was organized by civil rights organizations like CORE and SNCC. -
24th Amendment
The 24th Amendment abolished the use of poll taxes. Poll taxes were a fee that was required to pay to vote in elections. They were used in southern states as a measure to prevent African Americans from voting. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Right Act of 1964 ended the segregation in public places and banned the discrimination of employment based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. It was first proposed by John F Kennedy, but signed into law by Lyndon B Johnson. -
Assassination of Malcolm X
Malcolm X was assassinated while speaking Audubon Ballroom in Harlem, New York. The convicts include 3 members of the Nation of Islam. He was apart of the group from 1952 to 1964, he left because of an argument he had with the group. The case still remains somewhat of a mystery. -
Selma to Montgomery March
Protesters marched from Selma to Montgomery in an effort to register black voters. They were confronted with deadly violence along the way.It raised awareness of the difficulties faced by black voters and the need for the Voting Rights Act. -
Voting Rights Act
The Voting Rights Act was signed into law by Lyndon B Johnson. It outlawed the practice of requiring literacy tests to vote. These practices were put into place after the Civil War and used primarily in southern states. -
Black Panthers Formed
The Black Panthers ,or Black Panther Party, was a poltical organization founded by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale. The purpose was to challenge police brutality against the African American community. -
Loving v Virginia
Virgina had a law that banned inter-racial marriages. Richard Loving, a white man, married Mildred Jeter, a black woman. They were sentenced to a year in jail. The Court rejected the state's argument that the antimiscenegation statute was not legitimate. -
Minneapolis Riots
Racial tension erupted along Plymouth Avenue in a series of acts of arson, assaults, and vandalism. The violence lasted for 3 nights. -
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Detroit Riots
Racial tension erupted along Plymouth Avenue in a series of acts of arson, assaults, and vandalism. The violence lasted for 3 nights. -
Assassination of MLK
Dr Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated in Memphis, TN. He was called to Memphis to support a sanitation worker's strike. The night before, he gave a speech at the Mason Temple Church. He was shot at 6:05 the following day. He was pronounced dead approximately an hour later. -
Assassination of Bobby Kennedy
Bobby Kennedy was shot at the Ambassador Hotel after winning the California presidential primary. He died the next day at Health Good Samaritan Hospital, LA, CA. 22-year old Sirhan Sirhan was only a foot away when he shot several shots at Bobby. He recieved the death sentence March 3, 1969.
