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The Jim Crow Laws
The Jim Crow Laws was a law that mandated racial segregation in all public facilities. This law lasted almost 100 years. This law changed the lives of African Americans because it took away all of their rights. -
Rosa Parks bus boycott
Rosa parks refused to give up her seat to a white passenger in Montgomery, Alabama. She was then arrested for violating the city’s segregation law that
mandated racial separation on public transportation. Rosa parks whole purpose was to get arrested to stand up for her rights as a human being. -
Little Rock Nine
In 1957 nine African American students desegregated Little Rock Central High School. -
The Greensboro sit-in
On February 1, 1960 the Greensboro Four protested segregation by sitting in at the “whites only” lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, they politely requested service but they were denied and they refused to leave after being denied service. This act was a very significant to the Civil Rights movement inspiring legal challenges to segregation. -
Freedom riders
The freedom riders were a group of civil rights activist. These activists violated the Jim Crow laws by riding buses and using segregated facilities in bus terminals. The Freedom Riders faced intense violence and arrest along the way. Their goal was to provoke the federal government into enforcing the supreme courts ruling against segregation in interstate travel. -
The Birmingham Campaign
The Birmingham Campaign was a series of protests aimed to desegregate stores, reopen public parks and to oversee the desegregation of public schools. The campaign involved sit-ins, protests and boycotts. Martin Luther King Jr. and Fred Shuttlesworth played the key roles in leading and organizing the campaign. The campaign gained the public’s attention after they saw the violent response to the protest. -
The march on Washington
On August 28, 1963, more than a quarter million people participated in the March on Washington. They marched for freedom and jobs. The march took place near the Lincoln Memorial. They demanded to end segregation, economic justice, firing rights, fair wages and civil rights protections for African Americans. This march led to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. -
“I have a dream” speech- MLK
On August 28, 1963 Martin Luther King made a speech at The Lincoln Memorial in Washington where 250,000 people who were marching heard MLK’s “I have a dream” speech. He made this speech to show the promises America made (freedom, equality and justice for all) failed to keep these promises. -
“Bloody Sunday”
On March 7, 1965 a peaceful march turned into a violent attack. The march was organized in response to the death of Jimmie Lee Jackson and the ongoing denial of voting rights to African Americans in Selma, Alabama. The marchers were peacefully protesting when state troopers, local policemen and others attacked them with clubs, tear gas and whips. This violent attack was open to the public and gained their support for the civil rights movement. -
MLK assassination
At 6:05 P.M. on Thursday, 4 April 1968, Martin Luther King was shot dead while standing on a balcony outside of his floor room at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis Tennessee. His assassination led to a widespread rioting and civil unrest across the United States. His death energized the Black Power Movement and encouraged people to keep fighting for their civil rights.