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The Supreme Court Decision of Plessy v. Ferguson
upheld the constitutionality of state-imposed racial segregation, establishing the "separate but equal" doctrine -
The Tuskegee Airmen
the first African American military pilots -
The Integration of the Major League Baseball
The integration of Major League Baseball began on April 15, 1947, when Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier, becoming the first African American to play in the modern era, paving the way for other Black players to join the league -
The Integration of the Armed Forces
abolished racial discrimination and segregation, ensuring equal treatment and opportunity for all service members regardless of race, color, religion, or national origin -
The Supreme Court Decisions of Sweatt v. Painter
the Court ruled that the University of Texas must admit Heman Sweatt, an African American, to its law school, finding that the separate law school created for Black students was not equal and violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment -
The Integration of Little Rock High School
Governor Orval Faubus mobilized the Arkansas National Guard in an effort to prevent nine African American students from integrating the high school. -
The Supreme Court Decision of Brown v. Board of Education
the Court unanimously ruled that state-sponsored segregation in public schools was unconstitutional, overturning the "separate but equal" doctrine established in Plessy v. Ferguson -
The Death of Emmitt Till
went to Till's great-uncle's house and abducted Till, age 14. They beat and mutilated him before shooting him in the head and sinking his body in the Tallahatchie River. Three days later, Till's mutilated and bloated body was discovered and retrieved from the river. -
The Montgomery Bus Boycott
began in 1955 when African Americans in Montgomery, Alabama, refused to ride city buses to protest segregation and discrimination -
The Civil Rights Act of 1957
the first major federal civil rights legislation since 1875, focusing on protecting voting rights and establishing a Civil Rights Division within the Justice Department -
The Greensboro Four Lunch Counter Sit-In
act of nonviolent protest against a segregated lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina -
The Freedom Rides by Freedom Riders of 1961
a series of bus trips through the segregated South, challenged the non-enforcement of the Supreme Court's ruling against segregation in interstate travel, leading to violence and ultimately forcing federal intervention to desegregate public transportation -
The Twenty-Fourth Amendment
prohibits the denial or abridgment of the right to vote in federal elections based on the failure to pay a poll tax or any other tax -
The Integration of the University of Mississippi
a pivotal moment in the Civil Rights Movement, marked by a riot and federal intervention, ultimately leading to Meredith's enrollment and graduation -
The Integration of the University of Alabama
a pivotal moment in the Civil Rights Movement, saw Governor George Wallace famously stand in the schoolhouse door to block the enrollment of Vivian Malone and James Hood, but ultimately yielded to federal authority after President Kennedy federalized the Alabama National Guard -
The March on Washington & "I Have a Dream" Speech by MLK
a massive civil rights demonstration in Washington, D.C., advocating for equality and an end to racial discrimination -
The Assassination of JFK in Dallas Texas
President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, while riding in a motorcade through Dealey Plaza; the shots were fired from the Texas School Book Depository building by Lee Harvey Oswald -
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 signed by President Johnson
prohibited discrimination in public places, provided for the integration of schools and other public facilities, and made employment discrimination illegal -
The Assassination of Malcolm X
US black nationalist leader Malcolm X was assassinated on 21 February 1965, at the age of 39. The BBC reported on the reaction in his adopted home of Harlem, New York, as thousands of people queued to pay their last respects -
The Selma to Montgomery March: "Bloody Sunday"
civil rights marchers attempting to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, were brutally attacked by law enforcement -
The Voting Rights Act of 1965
it determined that racial discrimination in voting had been more prevalent in certain areas of the country. Section 4(a) of the Act established a formula to identify those areas and to provide for more stringent remedies where appropriate. -
The Assassination of MLK in Memphis , Tennessee
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 -
The Voting Rights Act of 1968
prohibited discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of housing based on race, religion, national origin, and sex,