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Creation of the NAACP
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was founded on February 12, 1909, in New York City. It was established by an interracial group of activists in response to the Springfield race riot of 1908. The NAACP aimed to secure the rights guaranteed in the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments of the U.S. Constitution for all people. -
Scottsboro Boys
The "Scottsboro Boys" refers to nine African American teenagers falsely accused of raping two white women in Alabama in 1931, a case that became a landmark legal battle highlighting racial injustice and the struggle for fair trials. -
Brown vs. Board of Education
the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional, overturning the "separate but equal" doctrine established in Plessy v. Ferguson -
Jackie Robinson Breaks the Color Barrier
Jackie Robinson broke down racial barriers in sports and society, becoming a pivotal figure in the Civil Rights Movement. His integration into Major League Baseball in 1947 was a significant step towards equality, and he continued to advocate for civil rights throughout his life. -
The Montgomery Bus Boycott
The Montgomery Bus Boycott was a nonviolent protest that took place from December 1955 to December 1956. It was a response to racial segregation on the city buses in Montgomery, Alabama. The boycott is considered a pivotal moment in the civil rights movement. -
The Murder of Emmitt Till
Emmett Louis Till was a 14-year-old African American youth, who was abducted and lynched in Mississippi in 1955 after being accused of offending a white woman, Carolyn Bryant, in her family's grocery store. -
The Little Rock 9
The Little Rock Nine were nine African American students who, in 1957, bravely integrated Little Rock Central High School, facing immense opposition and racial abuse, and became symbols of the Civil Rights Movement -
Ruby Bridges desegregate elementary school in New Orleans
Ruby Bridges became the first Black child to desegregate William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans, facing significant racial opposition and receiving protection from federal marshals. -
Letter from a Birmingham Jail
a defense of nonviolent civil disobedience and a challenge to the white moderates who criticized the Civil Rights Movement -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964, signed into law on July 2, 1964, outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, ending segregation in public places and workplaces, and establishing the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) -
Assassination of Malcolm X
On stage at the Audubon Ballroom on February 21, 1965, Malcolm X was gunned down as his pregnant wife and four daughters took cover in the front row. Three members of the Nation of Islam—Mujahid Abdul Halim, Muhammad A. Aziz and Khalil Islam—were soon after charged with first-degree murder. -
Creation of the Black Panthers
The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense (BPP) was founded in October 1966 in Oakland, California by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale, who met at Merritt College in Oakland. It was a revolutionary organization with an ideology of Black nationalism, socialism, and armed self-defense, particularly against police brutality. -
Thurgood Marshall Named Supreme Court Justice
Thurgood Marshall was named a Supreme Court Justice in 1967, becoming the first African-American to serve on the Court. He was nominated by President Lyndon B. Johnson and confirmed by the Senate in August 1967, taking the judicial oath on October 2nd. -
Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.
At 6:05 P.M. on Thursday, 4 April 1968, 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 damage. -
Election of Barack Obama
Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 4, 2008. The Democratic ticket of Barack Obama, the junior senator from Illinois, and Joe Biden, the senior senator from Delaware, defeated the Republican ticket of John McCain, the senior senator from Arizona, and Sarah Palin, the governor of Alaska.