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Brown v. Board of Education
The court case was Plessy v. Ferguson which allowed separate but equal facilities. The thing that started this was when a school denied a woman the right to enter the school. The result was that they said that the laws were unconstitutional. -
Lamar Smith Murder
Lamar Smith lived in Brookhaven, Mississippi. He was murdered for organizing black voters. He had voted and gotten others to do so too but sadly he wouldn't know the final result for the votes because he was murdered shortly after in front of the courthouse. Three people were arrested for his murder but none where fully put in charge of his death and were set free eventually. His case just died of without no answer. -
Emmett Till Murder
Emmett Till was only a young boy when the terrible affects of racism affected him in the worst possible way. Emmett Till was murdered because he whistled at a white woman in Money, Mississippi. The 2 men accused of killing him where Roy Bryant, the husband of the woman and his brother J.W. Milliam. They kidnapped him and beat him and shot him in the head, then put his body in the river. Which washed up days later They were acquitted in the trail but later confessed to the murder. -
Rosa Parks arrested for refusing to give up her bus seat
Rosa Parks started her day off like any other in Tuskegee, Alabama. She was a civil rights activist and stood up for segregated buses by refusing to give up her seat to a white person, which was the law. Because of her actions she was then arrested but eventually released. Rosa parks was seen as a hero to some people and to others a person who refused the law. It took a lot of courage and passion to do what she did and she is remembered to this day for her actions. -
Events at Little Rock, Arkansas
In a way to ease our way into excepting segregation in public schools they allowed 9 black students to attend Central High School. Things defiantly didn't go smoothly. On there first day of trying to attend school which was September 4,1957 riots broke out in the front of the school. Governor Faubus ordered the national guard to prevent any black student to enroll at the high school. President Eisenhower had to call in federal troops to escort the 9 into the school on September 25. -
Civil Rights Act of 1957
The Civil Rights Act of 1957 put many African Americans a step closer to being equal. This act increased voting rights and protected peoples rights to vote too. Basically it gave people civil rights and protected their rights. Attorney General Herbert Brownell helped come up with the act but the act was passed by President Eisenhower in 1957. -
Attack of the Freedom Riders
Freedom Riders were Civil Rights activists. They rode interstate buses into segregated states in the south as a way to try to prove a point. The riders were both black and white. The Freedom Riders were recruited by CORE. There attempts to protest didn't always turn out good. There were many violent outbreaks while on the road which included injury's and death to those who asked for it. All these people wanted to do was show that segregating the buses had to end. -
Herbert Lee
Louis Allen was a voter registration worker who was killed by white legislation. E.H. Hurst shot him in front of a bunch of people in Liberty, Mississippi. Louis was standing next to his car in the morning at the cotton gin. The person that shot him excuse was that it was self defense when really he was probably the one who should of used self defense because he wad on Hurst so called hit list. Another example of someone who did nothing but still died because of his skin. -
James Meredith enrolls at Ole Miss
All James Meredith wanted to do was attend the University of Mississippi. But sadly he was denied that privileged because of the color of his skin. When he showed up he was surrounded by mobs who would yell and scream just because they didn't want him to go there. The government got involved when they ruled in his favor but on the first day of class a riot surrounded the door so Kennedy sent the national guard and military police to come and try to protect him. Eventually things settled. -
Medgar Evers Assassinated
Medgar Evers was a black Civil Rights activist that wanted to enroll at the University of Mississippi. He too got rejected like many others had before. So after that he went to the NAACP. Here he fought for racism and even help assist the Emmett Till crime case. He also registered blacks to vote and would try to recruit them to join him. He was tragically murdered by Bryon De La Beckwith who was a white supremacist. Medgar Evers was a legend to many and will be remember that way always. -
The March on Washington
The March on Washington was a way to show the people all over the U.S. how much they cared and how much they wanted to let them know that blacks were still facing many challenges in the social and political views. They needed better lifes and more freedom No one was doing anything, not even the president. So hundreds of blacks marched at Washington. Here Martin Luther Kings famous speech 'I have a dream" was delivered and would be remembered forever. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a very important act that was passed. The act was passed by Lyndon B. Johnson even though President Kennedy had thought of it also. This act ended segregation in public places and banned employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or natural origin. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 changed so much for the way blacks lived their lives now. Not many people agreed with this act expect blacks and few whites. Not many southern whites agreed. -
March to Selma
The March to Selma helped show people how difficult it was for black voters in the south. On the march the people were faced with many violent outbreaks and resistance. They marched all the way from Selma to Montgomery. Even Martin Luther King participated in the match. They were willing to do anything to get some kind of act passed to help with the voting. After marching for a few days people finally agreed to help find a way to stop this problem people were having. -
Oneal Moore's Death
Oneal Moore lived in Varnado, Louisiana. He was a police officer and he was on patrol when him and his partner was attacked. He sadly died and his partner luckily made it out only wounded. People believed the reason he was attacked was because he was black and they were probably right. No one was charged because of lack of evidence. 2 people were accused in the beginning but no one will have justice for his death. -
Wharlest Jackson
Wharlest Jackson was a Civil Rights activist leader who was killed after getting a promotion to a "white" job. He lived in Natchez, Mississippi. Wharlest did many things to help earn freedom and was a part of the NAACP. He was offered a job at a chemical mixing plant. Just because he got a job a car bomb was placed underneath the drivers seat of his car. Wharlest Jackson later died from the bomb explosion. No one was convicted of his death because there were so many possibilities. -
Thurgood Marshall first black Supreme Court Justice
Thurgood Marshall started out as a small town lawyer in Maryland and worked with the NAACP. HE kept working his way up and eventually made one of his biggest success in his career, he won the Brown V. Board Of Education which ruled unconstitutional. I think this is a monumental event because it showed that someone who was black could get a high position if he worked hard enough and stood up for the right thing. Not many people had this choice. -
The Assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King
The day that Dr. Martin Luther King was killed was a terrible day for thousands of people. King was on the balcony of his motel in Memphis, Tennessee. getting ready to go fight for more freedom when he was shot in the face and neck. The person who killed him was James Earl Ray. His death has a huge impact on people because they look up to him. He was the leader of something much bigger than just fighting and arguing. People loved him and trusted him. This day was filled with tears and sadness.
