Civil rights image

Civil Rights Timeline

By Kobe N.
  • Brown Vs. Board of Education #Desegregation

    Brown Vs. Board of Education #Desegregation
    This event began on Dec. 9, 1952 and ended on 1954 with the success of the NAACP and Thurgood Marshall on May 17. The Supreme Court in Washington then declared that segregation in public schools were unconstitutional.
  • Period: to

    Civil Rights Timespan

    From 1954 to 1999, these events define the tireless battle the African American community fought in order to receive equality.
  • Emmett Till #Unfair

    Emmett Till #Unfair
    On August 28, 1955, Emmett Till was murdered in Money of Mississippi by two white men who were offended with his behavior towards one of their wives, Carolyn Bryant. He's mother asked for an open casket funeral in order to show the world the cruelty that was inflicted upon her son and how unfair his trial was as the two white men won the case.
  • Montgomery Bus Boycott #Equality

    Montgomery Bus Boycott #Equality
    This event started on December 5th, 1955 when Rosa Parks was arrested when she refused to give up her seat to a white man and ended on December 12th, 1956. This event ended as the supreme court approved a federal ruling that the racial segregation on buses are unconstitutional.
  • Little Rock Nine #Integration

    Little Rock Nine #Integration
    This group was consisted of nine African American students who were selected based off of their academic accomplishments in the year of 1957. They were enrolled into Little Rock Central High school in Arkansas as a way to desegregate schools, which was enforced by the 14th Amendment and President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
  • Sit-In Movement and SNCC #Recognition

    Sit-In Movement and SNCC #Recognition
    The Sit-In Movement was a nonviolent tactic for people, specifically students from black universities, to attract attention for desegregation. This event was held on February 1, 1960 in North Carolina and was successful as it lasted for 3 weeks and attracted the attention of other black universities which they used themselves.
  • Birmingham Campaign #Peace

    Birmingham Campaign #Peace
    In early 1963, the Birmingham Campaign was organized by the SCLC as a way to bring attention to the efforts of desegregation in Birmingham. This movement was led by Martin Luther King Jr. as he promoted a nonviolent protest among the students who either volunteered or was recruited. However, on their way towards the City Hall, the marchers were sprayed with high powered water hoses and attacked by police dogs as thousands of the students were arrested.
  • March on Washington #Rights

    March on Washington #Rights
    This event was held on August 28, 1963 at Washington, D.C. to promote the civil and economic rights for the black community. It was organized by A. Philip Randolph and Bayard Rustin who help create the "Jobs and Freedom" banner. Martin Luther King Jr. also gave his famous "I Have A Dream" speech at this event to call an end to racism.
  • Birmingham Church Bombing #Injustice

    Birmingham Church Bombing #Injustice
    In Birmingham, Alabama, there was an attack from the Ku Klux Klan on the Birmingham Church which killed four little girls and injured 22 others. On September 15, 1963, four members of the KKK planted 15 sticks of dynamite at the Birmingham Church as a way to harm and deter the black community.
  • Malcolm X #Muslim

    Malcolm X #Muslim
    Malcolm X was a man who fought for African American Civil Rights and spent some time in Massachusetts Jail learning and adopting the ideas of the Nation of Islam. By March 1964, he eventually became disillusioned with the Nation of Islam and after he left, he founded the Muslim Mosque Inc. and the Organization of Afro-American Unity.
  • Freedom Summer/Riders #Suffrage

    Freedom Summer/Riders #Suffrage
    The Freedom Summer/Riders is an event that was held on June 1965 and was meant to promote the registration of black voters in Mississippi. This project was organized by the COFO as they set up Freedom Schools, Houses, and community centers to aid the local black population in Mississippi.
  • Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. #Nonviolence

    Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. #Nonviolence
    Martin Luther King Jr. was the most recognized face for the African American Civil Rights movement as he promoted nonviolence as a way to achieve equal rights. This nonviolent and persistent mindset lead to his eventual awarding of the Noble Peace Prize which was given to him on October 14, 1964 and he accepted it on December 4 at Oslo, Norway.
  • Selma to Montgomery March #Outcry

    Selma to Montgomery March #Outcry
    The Selma to Montgomery March was held on the year of 1965 and was intended to promote the African American right to vote. This was meant to defy segregation repressions and to open way to larger movement for black voters. However there was resistance from the state troopers after the marchers crossed the county line. The violence lead to an outcry from all across the country as they demanded for the protection of the Selma marchers and a law for their right to vote without harassment.
  • Black Panthers Party #Resilience

    Black Panthers Party #Resilience
    The Black Panthers Party for Self-Defense was founded in order to protect local African American residences from Police Brutality in Oakland, California. It was founded on 1965 by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale and the group eventually developed into a Marxist revolutionary group that wanted to arm all African Americans.
  • Ruby Bridges #Respect

    Ruby Bridges #Respect
    Ruby Bridges was famously renowned for her appearance in Norman Rockwell's "The Problem We All Live With." She also founded the Ruby Bridges Foundation in 1999 which was headquartered in New Orleans. Its purpose was to end racism through education and promote the values of respect for other people's differences.