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Brown v. Board of Education
Public schools in America were segregated by race until this US Supreme Court case made it illegal. The law now states that "separate but equal" schools are unconstitutional. Image Credit:
Leffler, W. K. (10 September 1957). Integrated classroom at Anacostia High School, Washington, D.C. [Photograph]. U.S. News & World Report collection at the Library of Congress. Public domain. -
Murder of 14 year old Emmett Till
After allegedly whistling at a white woman in Mississippi, the young teenager was kidnapped, beaten, shot and lynched. This event sparked outrage, and helped the Civil Rights Movement gain traction. -
Rosa Parks refuses to sit in the back of the bus.
Similar to other Jim Crow laws keeping businesses and schools segregated by race, there was a law that required black people to sit in the back of the bus. When Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat for a white man, it inspired a year-long boycott of the Montgomery Bus system. After 381 days, the US Supreme Court declared segregated bus seating was unconstitutional. -
Little Rock Nine
When black students were blocked from entering the newly integrated high school in Little Rock, Arkansas, President Eisenhower sent in the Federal Troops to safely escort them past the harassing and bullying crowds. Image credit:
U.S. Army. (September 1957). Soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division escort African-American students to Central High School fter the governor of Arkansas tried to enforce segregation. [Photograph]. Public domain. -
Civil Rights Act of 1957
Signed into law by President Eisenhower, this act helped to protect voter's rights. This was especially important in the South, where black people were being deprived of their right to vote. -
Sit-in at Woolworth's Lunch Counter
When black students refused to leave the "whites only" lunch counter, this peaceful demonstration sparked a movement of similar "sit-ins" around the nation, and helped create the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. Image credit:
News and Observer. (10 February 1960). Civil Rights protesters and Woolworth's Sit-In, Durham, NC. [Photograph]. From the N&O Negative Collection, State Archives of North Carolina. -
March on Washington
Nearly 250,000 people marched in Washington DC for "Jobs and Freedom." Martin Luther King delivers his famous "I Have A Dream" speech. Photo credit:
Scherman, R. for USIA. (28 August 1963). Civil Rights March on Washington, D.C.[Photograph]. Public domain. -
Bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church
Angry protests are fueled when four young girls attending Sunday school are killed in the bombing of a church in Birmingham, Alabama. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
President Lyndon B. Johnson declares guaranteed equal employment for all. Hiring and workplace discrimination based on race, color, sex, religion, or national origin is now illegal. -
Malcom X Assassination
Religious leader, Malcolm X, is murdered during a rally for members of the Nation of Islam. Photo credit:
Trikosko, M. S. (26 March 1964). Malcolm X waiting for a press conference to begin on March 26, 1964. [Photograph]. This work is from the U.S. News & World Report collection at the Library of Congress. Public domain. -
Selma to Montgomery - Bloody Sunday
While peacefully marching the 54 miles from Selma, Alabama to the state's capitol in Montgomery to protest voter suppression, civil rights activists lead by Martin Luther King were brutally attacked by the police and white vigilantes. Photo credit:
Pettus, P. (1965). Participants, some carrying American flags, marching in the civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama in 1965. [Photograph]. Public domain. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
This law effectively banned all literacy tests and other tactics used to prevent or suppress the votes of African Americans. -
Martin Luther King, Jr. is Assassinated
MLK was shot while standing on the balcony of his hotel room in Memphis, Tennessee. Photo credit:
(28 August 1963). Martin Luther King Jr. addresses a crowd from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial where he delivered his famous, “I Have a Dream,” speech during the Aug. 28, 1963, march on Washington, D.C. Public domain. -
Fair Housing Act
The Civil Rights Act of 1968 made it illegal to discriminate on the basis of race, religion, or national origin for the sale, rental, or financing of all housing.
