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Brown v. The Board of Education
The court case that allowed separate but equal facilities was Plessy v. Ferguson. The events that took place in Topeka, Kansas that led up to this court case was when Linda Brown, an African American, was denied acceptance to a school because of her race. The ruling of this case was that segregated schools was unconstitutional, -
Emmitt Louis Till Murdered
The body of Emmitt Louis Till was found in the Tallahatchie River. He was beaten so bad he was barely recognizable. Word spread quickly of the murder and it was quickly determined the motive of this fourteen year old's death: he had flirted with a white woman while visiting his relatives in Money, Mississippi. His mother insisted on an open casket to show the world just how brutal the murder really was. Thousands attended his funeral service. -
Rosa Parks Arrested
Rosa Parks was riding on a bus when a white person demanded she gave up her seat. Back then, this was just how it was: if there were no seats for the whites, blacks had to give up their seats for them. It was law. Rosa Parks bravely refused to give up her seat and was arrested for this offense. The result of this was a bus boycott by African Americans, called the Montgomery Bus Boycott. -
Supreme Court Bans Segregation on Montgomery Buses
In Montgomery, Alabama, the Supreme Court banned segregated seating on Montgomery's buses. After an eleven month boycott of the bus company in protest of the segregation by African Americans, the matter was taken to the Supreme Court and they ruled in favor of the protesters. Blacks no longer had to sit in the back of the bus or give up their seat to whites, which was a huge accomplishment after walking almost everywhere for about a year. -
Events at Little Rock, Arkansas
What happened at Little Rock was an attempt to integrate Central High School by admitting nine African American students into the school. This sparked riots and protests, and Little Rock's own mayor tried to use the state troops to prevent the students from entering the school. Federal Troops had to be called in to ensure the students' safety upon entering the school. -
Civil Rights Act of 1957
President Dwight D. Eisenhower passed the Civil Rights Act of 1957, the first federally implemented Civil Rights law since Reconstruction. This law stated and protected African Americans' right to vote. -
Black Students Stage Sit In
On February 1st, 1960, black students in Greensboro, North Carolina stage a sit in at a "whites only" lunch counter. The purpose of these sit ins were to protest the segregation between whites and colored people in public areas. More people joined the students and the sit in protests spread to fifteen other cities. The sit in was successful when the restaurant gave in to the protesters in July 1960. -
Attack of the Freedom Riders
The Freedom Riders rode interstate buses in the segregated South in order to challenge the lack of enforcement of Supreme Court rulings to integrate. CORE, the Congress of Racial Equality, recruited its members. Both whites and blacks joined the Freedom Rides. -
James Meredith Enrolls at Ole Miss
When James Meredith tried to enroll at Ole Miss he was denied enrollment because of his race. The government got involved when his case was carried to the Supreme Court. They ruled in Meredith's favor. -
Medgar Evers Assassinated
Medgar Evers was a civil rights activist who first got involved in the movement by joining the RCNL (Regional Council of Negro Leadership). He later helped the NAACP in a lawsuit after being denied acceptance to the University of Mississippi Law School. Evers was shot in the back while standing in his driveway on June 12th, 1963. -
The March on Washington
The purpose of the March on Washington was to get more jobs and achieve freedom. The famous speech that was delivered when everyone met in Washington was the "I Have a Dream" speech, delivered by Martin Luther King Jr. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
President Lyndon Johnson passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This law outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, gender, or national origin. -
Lemuel Penn Killed
Lt. Col. Lemuel Penn was a World War II veteran and a United States Army Reserve officer who was shot and killed by the Ku Klux Klan. Penn was driving north with two other black colleagues when their car was spotted by three members of the KKK. Determined to kill a black person, one of the white men shot at the car from behind after following them for a little while. Penn was ultimately shot to death. -
March to Selma
The March to Selma was organized to raise awareness to register black voters in the South. The marchers faced opposition from state and local authorities, but were ultimately protected by federalized National Guard troops. They achieved their goal of walking around the clock to reach Montgomery, and helped raise lots of awareness of the difficulty faced by blacks in the South. -
Thurgood Marshall First Black Supreme Court Justice
Thurgood Marshall was a counsel to the NAACP before becoming a Supreme Court Justice. He also won the Brown v. The Board of Education case. This was a monumental event because the United States had never before had a black Supreme Court Justice, and by having one, it was another major step in the movement to equality and a huge achievement. -
The Assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King
Martin Luther King, Jr., was fatally shot at a motel in Memphis, Tennessee. He was rushed to St. Joseph's Hospital, but was pronounced dead at 7:05pm that same day.
