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Plessy v. Ferguson
In Louisiana, Homer Plessy, a man who was 7/8 Caucasian and 1/8 Black, was arrested for refusing to leave a passenger car designated for whites. The Supreme Court, upheld the Louisiana law, reasoning that the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution was to enforce the political equality of blacks and whites but not intended to abolish social inequality. This event had renewed the Jim Crow laws causing years of segregation.
https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/plessy_v_ferguson_(1896) -
Literacy test for voting
One the voting right bill was passed states still didn’t want black people voting so they came up with impossible test for people to pass to limit the number of voters. These test where filled in intimidation and discrimination. This took away black peoples input of what there government was doing and took away there freedom of speech. This made multiply people furious sparking a sense of change between communities.
https://jimcrowmuseum.ferris.edu/question/2023/september23.htm -
Emmett till (part 2)
His mother had an open casket funeral so she could show everyone what they had gotten away with. This case sparked many events in retaliation of the courts decision. It had soon came out that the court ruled this so they didn’t send two white men to prison for a young black man murder.
https://www.fbi.gov/history/famous-cases/emmett-till -
The murder if Emmett till
This map shows money where the store was located, the trial site, and the murder of emmett till -
Emmett till
In the summer of 1955, emmet till went to his grandfathers house in Mississippi, he went shopping in a store owned by Roy and Carolyn, Emmet had made an attempt to flirt with Carolyn but she refused, soon Emmett was kidnapped, beaten, shot, and discarded in the river by Roy and his half brother J.W. Milam. Soon the court ruled that Roy and J.W. Was innocent of the crime they had-committed. Emmet till mother had an open casket funeral for her son to show everyone what they had gotten away with- -
Rosa parks
Rosa Parks boarded a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. And instead of going to the back of the bus, which was designated for African Americans, she sat in the front. When the bus started to fill up with passengers, the bus driver asked Parks to move. She refused and was arrested. Her getting arrested worked one of the largest boycotts, the Montgomery bus boycott. This boycott led to the end of bus segregation.
https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/rosa-parks -
Little Rock nine
After the ruling of Brown v. Board of Education, segregated schools became illegal and nine teens attended an all white school. These teens were faced with extreme violence by teachers and other students. They weren’t allowed to participate in simple activities at the school and even had the national guard stopping them from entering the school saying it was for everyone “safety”. These teens managed to attend school and convince many others so attended schools with better education. -
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Birmingham map
A map of Birmingham during the 60 showing where they marched an the church that was blown up -
Martin Luther king jr quote
"I HAVE A DREAM THAT ONE DAY
THIS NATION WILL RISE UP AND LIVE OUT
THE TRUE MEANING OF IT'S CREED -
WE HOLD THESE TRUTHS TO BE SELF-EVIDENT:
THAT ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL."
This quote is from kings speech “I have a dream” in this speech he demands the end of racial discrimination, inequality, and segregation. This quote specifically is very important because he is quoting the bill of rights saying “we hold these truths to be self evident that all men are created equal.” -
Martin Luther king Jr quote (part 2)
He wants this nation to be able to rise up to its true meaning instead of making up excuses to why they’re discriminating against African Americans and anyone else.
https://www.kplctv.com/2019/08/28/th-anniversary-i-have-dream-speech/ -
The children’s crusade
1,000 children marched against segregation,They faced extreme brutality with the use water hoses and dogs to prevent them from peacefully marching. This march gained everyone’s attention it finally showed the brutality that they were facing in Birmingham. This finally gained attention of the higher powers to finally do something about what’s happening in Alabama.
https://www.history.com/news/childrens-crusade-birmingham-civil-rights -
Martin Luther king Jr “I have a dream” speech
After almost 100 years after Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation freeing the slaves, Martin Luther king Jr walked up the steps of the Lincoln memorial to give his speech about his dream for America. Almost 200,000 people, Black and white came to listen to what he had to say. This speech has and still is affecting civil rights and racial discrimination to this day. His speech demanded equal rights for everyone regardless of their race. -
Martin Luther king Jr “I have a dream” speech (part 2)
His speech is considered the the changing point of the civil rights movement. Him speaking in-front of millions of people around the world help everyone change and push for the end of racial discrimination, inequality, and segregation.
https://kr.usembassy.gov/martin-luther-king-jr-dream-speech-1963/ -
Four black girls killed in church bombing (pt 2)
The church was one of the largest black churches in Birmingham and was a meeting place for civil rights activists as people where desegregating public spaces and secure Black voting rights, this place became a visible meeting place and became a target for white segregationists looking to terrorize Black activists and their supporters.
https://calendar.eji.org/racial-injustice/sep/15 -
Four black girls killed in church bombing in Birmingham Alabama
A white man was spotted on the morning of Sunday, September 15, 1963 placing a backpack under the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. Shortly after a loud explosion happened a the church was gone. Parents rushed to the Sunday school and found that the blast killed 4 young girls, Denise McNair (11), Addie Mae Collins (14), Carole Robertson (14), and Cynthia Wesley (14). -
What Americans thought of the civil rights act at the time
The graph shows the response with the following opinion on the 1964 civil rights act after it was signed
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1096113/voter-turnout-presidential-elections-by-ethnicity-historical/ -
The Selma marches
The Salma marches was a series of three marches that took place Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. These marches were organized to protest the blocking of Black Americans right to vote by the systematic racist structure of the Jim Crow South. Reverend Vivian led a peaceful march to the courthouse in Marion Alabama on February 18 1965 to protest the arrest of DCVL member James Orange. On the way to the courthouse, Alabama state troopers attacked the marchers shooting Jimmie Lee Jackson in the process. -
The Selma marches (pt 2)
The second march is known as "Turnaround Tuesday." On March 9th Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. led at least twice as many people out for what they thought would be a full march to Montgomery. However when the marchers reached the end of the Pettus Bridge, finding troopers and police there again, Dr. King and other leaders led the crowd in prayer. After they finished King led the crowd back to Selma. -
The Selma marches (pt 3)
The third march started at theBrown Chapel AME Church on March 21. The crowd grew to thousands. That evening Viola Liuzzo, who had come from Detroit to Alabama to support the voting rights movement was killed by KKK members after taking marchers back to Selma from Montgomery. These marches are considered the turning point of the civil rights movement. Since they were so impactful the voting rights act of 1965 was presented to Congress on March 17, 1965.
Archives.org -
Selma marches map
This is a map that shows the route that they would take to the capital
https://www.archives.gov/research/african-americans/vote/selma-marches -
Number of voters in race between 1964-1996
This graph displays the voter turnout between 1964-1996
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1096113/voter-turnout-presidential-elections-by-ethnicity-historical/ -
Renewed trend in school segregation
The graph shows the percentage of black students at school with a majority of white students by U.S region
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1096113/voter-turnout-presidential-elections-by-ethnicity-historical/ -
George Floyd
46 year old George Floyd was suspected to have used a fake 20$ bill to pay for a box of cigarettes. The police where called and as soon as they arrived they immediately pulled a gun on him and arrested him. Floyd resisted being placed in the police car, saying he was claustrophobic. Officers eventually pulled him from the car and Chauvin pinned him to the ground for nine minutes and 29 seconds. Floyd was unresponsive when an ambulance came and was pronounced dead at a local hospital. -
George Floyd (part 2)
Soon protest started around the country, people would go into the the streets chanting Black Lives Matter and I can’t breathe. The protests set off local and national dialogue about the role and budgets of American police departments, as well as intense discussions in schools and corporations about how to end racism and create inclusivity, equality and equity.
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/george-floyd-killed-by-police-officer -
U.s approval of interracial marriage between 1958-2021
This graph shows the number of interracial marriages approved by the government since the civil rights movement.