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Creation of the NAACP
An interracial organization dedicated to advancing justice for African Americans. The founding occurred in New York City, with key figures like W.E.B. Du Bois, Mary White Ovington, and Ida B. Wells, among others, playing pivotal roles -
Scottsboro Boys
They were nine African American male teenagers accused of raping two white women. -
Jackie Robinson Breaks the Color Barrier
He broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball after he debuted for the Brooklyn Dodgers. -
Brown vs. Board of Education
The US Supreme Court unanimously ruled that state-sponsored segregation in public schools is unconstitutional, violating the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. -
The murder of Emmett Till
He was kidnapped and murdered in Money, Mississippi, after whistling at a white woman -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
A protest against racial segregation on public transportation in Montgomery, Alabama. -
The Little Rock 9
Nine African American teenagers bravely integrated Little Rock Central High School. They faced immense resistance and hostility. -
Ruby Bridges desegregate elementary school in New Orleans
Ruby Bridges became the first Black child to integrate an all-white William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans, Louisiana. -
Letter from a Birmingham Jail
He was imprisoned as a participant in nonviolent demonstrations against segregation. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
These ended discrimination in the US based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin -
Creation of the Black Panthers
The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense (BPP) was a revolutionary organization based on Black nationalism, socialism, and armed self-defense, particularly against police brutality. -
Assassination of Malcolm X
On stage at the Audubon Ballroom, 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 charged with first-degree murder. -
Thurgood Marshall Named Supreme Court Justice
The first African American to hold that position. He served 24 years, retiring in 1991. -
Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King was shot dead while standing on a balcony outside his second-floor room at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. -
Election of Barack Obama
The Democratic ticket of Barack Obama, the junior senator from Illinois. But how we now know as our first black president.