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The Montgomery bus boycot
The Montgomery bus boycott was a 13-month mass protest that ended with the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that segregation on public buses is unconstituional.Martin Luther King became a prominent civil rights leader as international attention focused on Montgomery.Thus the bus boycott demonstrated the potential for nonviolent mass protest to successfully chalenge racial segregation and became an inspiration for other campaigns as well. -
The Little Rock nine
In September 1957, the school board in Little Rock, Arkansas, won a court order requiring that nine African American students be admitted to Central High, a school with 2,000 white students. The governor of Arkansas, Orval Faubas, was known as a moderate on racial issues, but he was determined to win reelection and began to campaign as a defender of white supremacy.He ordered troops from the Arkansas National Guard to prevent the 9 students from entering the school. -
Civil rights Act of 1957
Congress passed the first civil rights law since Reconstruction.The Civil Rights Act of 1957 was intended to protect the right of African Americans to vote.EIsenhower believed firmly in the right to vote, and he viewed it as his responsibility to protect voting rights.He also knew that if he sent a civil rights bill to Congress, conservative Southern Democrats would try to block the legislation. -
The Sit-in Movement
The sit-in movement began on 1 February, 1960 when four black students from North Carolina A&T sat down at a Woolworth lunch counter in downtown Greensboro, North California.They were refused to be served a coffee despite threats they sat patiently waiting to be served.Before the end of the school year more than -
The Freedom Riders
Freedom riders were civil rights activists who rode interstate buses into the segregated southern U.S.A to challenge the non-enforcement of the Supreme Court decisions which ruled that segregated public buses were unconstitutional.The states ignored the rulings and didn't do anything to enforce them.The Freedom Ride left Washington D.C. on May 4, 1961 and was scheduled to arrive in New Orleans on May 17. -
James Meredith and the Desegregation of the University of Mississippi
Meredith tried to register at the university's admissions office, but the governor blocked his path. Meredith had a court order directing the university to register him, but the Governor refused saying "Never! we will never surrender to the evil and illegal forces of tyranny." .Finally, President Kennedy came to his rescue and dispatched 500 marshalls to escort Meredith to the campus. After the Marshalls arrived, a full-scale riot erupted at the campus and Meredith graduated in August. -
Protests in Birmingham
In the spring of 1963, Martin Luther King decided to launch demonstrations in Birmingham, Alabama, although he knew that they would provoke a violent violence.He believd that it was the only way to get passed a civil rights law by President Kennedy.King was arrested after 8 days of prrotests. The "Letter from Birmingham Jail" that he produced is one of the most eloquent defenses of nonviolent protest ever written. -
THe March on Washington
ON the suggestion of A. Randolph King agreed to organize a march & thus 200,000 demonstrators reached Washington on AUgust 28,1963. People gathered near the Lincoln Memorial where King outlined his dream of freedom & equality for all Americans.His speech built momentum for the civil rights bill.Opponents however tried a lot to slow down the bill by using procedural rules to delay votes. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
On JUly 2,1964 Johnson signed the Civil rights act of 1964 into law. It gave the federal government broad power to prevent racial discrimination in a number of areas.The law made segregation illegal in most places of public accomodation & gave citizens of all races and nationalities equal access to public facilities.It also established EEOC as a permanent agency in the federal government. -
The Selma March
Dr.King selected Selma for their campaign for voting rights. On Sunday March 7,1965,the march began & John Lewis led 500 protestors toward U.S. Highway 80.Sheriff Clark ordered them to disperse,while the marchers kneeled in prayer,more than 200 state troopers rushed the demonstrators. Many were beaten in full view of cameras. This brutal attack came to known as "Bloody SUnday",left 70 African Americans injured. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
On August 3,1965,the House passed the bill by a huge margin. It authorized the U.S.attorney general to send federal examiners to register qualified voters,bypassing local officials who often refused to register African Americans. -
Assassination of Martin Luther KIng Jr.
On April 4, 1968, King stood on his hotel balcony in Memphis, Dr.King was assassinated by a sniper.His death touched off both national mourning and riots in more than 100 cities, including Washington, D.C. His trusted assistant to Ralph Abernathy ,led the Poor People's campaign in his absence.In the wake of King's death, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1968.Thus Dr.King's death marked the end of an era in American history.
