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Brown v. Board of Education declared the end of legal segregation in the education system, stating that segregated schools could never be equal, and mandating the desegregation of schools across America. It was important to the Civil Rights Movement because it dismantled the legal basis for segregation in education and served as a major victory that set the stage for desegregation in other areas. -
Emmett Till went to the grocery store after a day of working. People say that one of the other boys dared Till to talk to the store's cashier. Till whistled at her and flirted with her when he was leaving. Her husband and half brother severely beat Till and gouged his eyes out. They then shot him and dumped him into the river. It was important to the Civil Rights Movement because the murder drew attention to the racial violence and injustice in the South. -
Rosa Parks is jailed for refusing to give up her seat on a public bus to white man, a violation of the city's racial segregation laws. This was important to the Civil Rights Movement because it led to a major, successful mass protest that resulted in a U.S. Supreme Court ruling against bus segregation. -
The Montgomery Bus Boycott was a 381-day protest in Montgomery, Alabama. Organized by the Montgomery Improvement Association, with Martin Luther King Jr. as its leader, the boycott saw African Americans refuse to ride city buses, walking or carpooling instead, which severely impacted the bus company's revenue. This was important to the Civil Rights Movement because the Supreme Court ruled in Browder v. Gayle that segregation on public buses was unconstitutional. -
A group of nine African American students, attended their first full day of school at the previously all-white Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, after being escorted by federal troops. This happened because Governor Faubus used the National Guard to block them. President Eisenhower federalized the National Guard and sent the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division to ensure the students could attend school. It was important because it showed the federal government would protect Blacks. -
4 Black college students sat at a counter, were refused service, and were inspired by their peaceful resistance to spread, leading to sit-ins across the South and the desegregation of the Greensboro Woolworth's lunch counter by July 1960. This was important to the Civil Rights Movement because they sparked a lot of youth-led, nonviolent protests that spread across the South. -
They were civil rights activists, both Black and white, who in 1961 rode interstate buses into the segregated South to challenge the non-enforcement of Supreme Court rulings that declared segregation on public transportation unconstitutional. This was important because this drew national attention, motivated federal intervention, and led to the desegregation of interstate travel facilities. -
This was an open letter by Martin Luther King Jr. that defended nonviolent resistance and critiquing the white people who advised patience. It also argues that direct action is necessary to create a crisis that forces negotiation over racial injustice, as freedom is not given but must be demanded. It was important because it defended nonviolent resistance and showed the moral initiative to fight injustice. -
The March on Washington was a massive peaceful protest that drew over 250,000 people to the nation's capital to advocate for civil and economic rights for African Americans. This was important to the Civil Rights Movement because it built public support and pressured the government, leading to the passage of landmark legislation like the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. -
The Birmingham Baptist Church Bombing was a 1963 terrorist attack on the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, that killed four young girls: Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Wesley, Carole Robertson, and Carol Denise McNair. A bomb, planted by white supremacists, detonated before Sunday services, injuring 14 to 22 people. This was important because the bombing shocked the nation, motivated public opinion, and led to legislative changes. -
The 24th Amendment prohibits both Congress and the states from requiring the payment of a poll tax or any other tax to vote in federal elections. The 24th Amendment was important to the Civil Rights Movement because it removed the barrier of poll taxes, which has been used to prevent African Americans and other low-income citizens from voting. -
It is a landmark federal law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. This was important because it outlawed racial segregation in public places, ended unequal application of voter registration requirements, and made employment discrimination illegal through Title VII, which also created the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. -
The Selma to Montgomery marches were a series of civil rights protests in 1965 demanding voting rights for African Americans, with the most famous being the march on March 7, known as "Bloody Sunday". On that day, peaceful marchers were attacked by Alabama state troopers and law enforcement as they crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge. It was important because the images broadcast shocked the country and helped lead to the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. -
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark federal law that prohibits racial discrimination in voting and was designed to overcome legal barriers that prevented African Americans from voting. It was important by eliminating discriminatory practices like literacy tests and provided federal oversight to protect African American's right to vote. -
It was a landmark Supreme Court case that ruled state laws prohibiting interracial marriage were unconstitutional. The case involved a Black woman, Mildred Jeter, and a white man, Richard Loving, who were married and then convicted in Virginia for violating the state's anti-miscegenation statue. This was important to the Civil Rights Movement because it now made interracial marriage legal.