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Creation of the NAACP
The NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) was founded on February 12, 1909, as an interracial organization dedicated to advancing justice for African Americans. The founding occurred in New York City, with key figures like W.E.B. Du Bois, Mary White Ovington, and Ida B. Wells, among others, playing pivotal roles. The organization w -
Scottsboro Boys
The "Scottsboro Boys" refers to nine young African American men falsely accused of raping two white women on a train in 1931, leading to a highly publicized trial and a landmark Supreme Court case. The case, which spanned multiple trials and convictions, highlighted systemic racism in the American South and sparked national debate about justice and the role of race in legal proceedings. -
Jackie Robinson Breaks the Color Barrier
Yes, Jackie Robinson famously broke baseball's color barrier. He became the first African American player to play in Major League Baseball in the modern era, debuting with the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947. This historic moment paved the way for other Black players to join the league and challenge the long-standing segregation in professional sports. -
Letter from a Birmingham Jail
The "Letter from Birmingham Jail", also known as the "Letter from Birmingham City Jail" and "The Negro Is Your Brother", is an open letter written on April 16, 1963, by Martin Luther King Jr. -
Brown vs. Board of Education
In the landmark case of Brown v. Board of Education (1954), the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional, violating the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. This decision overturned the "separate but equal" doctrine established in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) and marked a major victory for the Civil Rights Movement. -
The Murder of Emmitt Till
In August 1955 two Mississippians bludgeon and kill Emmett Till, a 14-year-old black boy, for whistling at a white woman; their acquittal and boasting of the atrocity spur the civil rights cause. -
The Little Rock 9
The Little Rock Nine were nine African American high school students who were the first to integrate Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, in September 1957. Their enrollment was a direct result of the Supreme Court's decision in Brown v. Board of Education, which outlawed segregation in public schools. The Little Rock Nine faced immense resistance from both state authorities and white citizens, leading to a major civil rights crisis. -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
The Montgomery Bus Boycott was a civil rights protest where African Americans in Montgomery, Alabama, refused to ride city buses to protest segregated seating. The boycott lasted from December 5, 1955, to December 20, 1956, and was a significant event in the early stages of the Civil Rights Movement. -
Ruby Bridges desegregate elementary school in New Orleans
In November 1960, six-year-old Ruby Bridges became the first African American child to desegregate William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans, Louisiana. She was escorted by U.S. marshals due to safety concerns amidst protests from white parents and officials. This act paved the way for the integration of other New Orleans schools. -
Assassination of Malcolm X
Malcolm X was an African American revolutionary, Muslim minister and human rights activist who was a prominent figure during the civil rights movement until his assassination in 1965. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is a landmark civil rights and labor law in the United States that outlaws discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin. -
Thurgood Marshall Named Supreme Court Justice
On August 30, 1967, the Senate confirmed Thurgood Marshall as the first Black person to serve as a Supreme Court Justice. Marshall was no stranger to the Senate or the Supreme Court at the time. -
Creation of the Black Panthers
The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense (BPP) was founded in October 1966 in Oakland, California by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale, who met at Merritt College in Oakland. It was a revolutionary organization with an ideology of Black nationalism, socialism, and armed self-defense, particularly against police brutality. -
Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.
At 6:05 P.M. on Thursday, 4 April 1968, Martin Luther King was shot dead while standing on a balcony outside his second-floor room at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. News of King's assassination prompted major outbreaks of racial violence, resulting in more than 40 deaths nationwide and extensive property -
Election of Barack Obama
Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 4, 2008. The Democratic ticket of Barack Obama, the junior senator from Illinois, and Joe Biden, the senior senator from Delaware, defeated the Republican ticket of John McCain, the senior senator from Arizona, and Sarah Palin, the governor of Alaska.