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Dred Scott v. Sanford
Supreme Court denies citizenship to African Americans, intensifying pre-Civil War tensions -
13th amendment ratified
Abolishes slavery nationwide -
Plessy v. Ferguson
Establishes the "separate but equal" doctrine, legalizing segregation -
Military desegregation
Truman’s Executive Order 9981 ended racial segregation in the armed forces -
Brown v. Board of Education
Supreme Court unanimously overturns school segregation -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
Sparked by Rosa Parks' arrest -
Little Rock Nine
Federal troops enforce school integration in Arkansas -
Greensboro Sit-ins
Nonviolent protests spread nationwide after four students challenged lunch counter segregation -
Birmingham Campaign
Police deploy dogs/fire hoses on protesters; televised brutality galvanizes support -
March on Washington
MLK delivers "I Have a Dream" speech; 250,000 attendees demand civil rights legislation -
16th Street Baptist Church Bombing
KKK attack kills four Black girls -
Civil Rights Act Signed
Bans discrimination in employment, education, and public accommodations -
Voting Rights Act
Prohibits discriminatory voting practices like literacy tests -
Malcolm X assassinated
Shot in New York, exacerbating tensions between civil rights factions -
Selma to Montgomery Marches
"Bloody Sunday" sees state troopers attack marchers, leading to the Voting Rights Act -
Loving v. Virgina
Supreme Court invalidates laws banning interracial marriage -
MLK Assassination
Sparks nationwide riots; Fair Housing Act passes days later, banning housing discrimination -
George Floyd Protests
Global demonstrations against police brutality under the Black Lives Matter banner