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Period: to
Civil Rights Movement
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Executive Order 9981
The order stated "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." -
Brown vs. Board of Education
Supreme court rules that segregation in public schools is unconstitutional. -
Emmett Till is Murdered
Fourteen year old Emmett Till is murdered while visiting family in Mississippi. -
Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat
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Little Rock Nine
Nine African-American students are the first to enter an all white school. The hostility they experience proves that desegregation is much easier said than done. -
Woolsworth Sit-ins
Four African-American college students stage sit-ins in Greensboro, North Carolina by refusing to give up their seats. -
SNCC
The Students No-violent Coordinating Committee is formed at Shaw University. -
Freedom Rides
Black and White volunteers begin testing the new bus laws in the south by taking "freedom rides" on the buses. Many face violence in the process. -
James Meredith
James Meredith becomes the first African-American to enroll in a white university. -
March on Washington
About 200,000 people join the March on Washington and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivers his "I have a dream" speech. -
Voting Rights Act
Congress passes the voting rights Act of 1965. -
Dr. MLK Jr. is assassinated.
Dr. MLK Jr. is assassinated at the age of 39. -
Civil Rights Act
President Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1968.
