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The Supreme Court unanimously rules that racial segregation in public schools is unconstitutional, overturning Plessy v. Ferguson and marking a major victory for the movement. -
14-year-old Emmett Till is brutally murdered in Mississippi after allegedly offending a white woman. His open-casket funeral shocks the nation and galvanizes civil rights activism. -
Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat to a white passenger, sparking a year-long boycott of Montgomery’s buses that leads to a Supreme Court ruling desegregating public transportation. -
Nine African American students integrate Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, under federal troop protection, testing the enforcement of Brown v. Board. -
Four Black college students in North Carolina stage a sit-in at a segregated lunch counter, igniting a wave of nonviolent protests across the South. -
Interracial groups ride buses through the South to challenge segregation in interstate travel. Riders face violent attacks but succeed in pushing for federal enforcement of desegregation laws. -
Martin Luther King Jr. writes a powerful defense of nonviolent protest from jail, urging direct action against injustice and calling out “white moderates” for their inaction. -
Over 250,000 people gather at the Lincoln Memorial advocating for jobs and freedom, where Dr. King delivers his iconic “I Have a Dream” speech. -
This landmark legislation prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, ending legal segregation in public places and employment. -
Peaceful protestors demanding voting rights are brutally attacked by police while crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge, drawing national outrage and support for reform. -
The Supreme Court rules state laws banning interracial marriage unconstitutional, affirming marriage as a fundamental right under the 14th Amendment.