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Brown v. Board of education and Thurgood Marshall
During Brown v. Board of education, Thurgood Marshall argued that segregation of colored and white individuals was against the 14th Amendment. On the date May 14, 1954, Marshall delivered the message that this system was unequal. The concept of separate but equal in public schools was unanimously declared unconstitutional as well. -
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Montgomery Bus Boycott and Rosa Parks
On the date December 5th, 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat to a white male. This event sparked her arrest but more importantly the boycotting of African American bus use. This protest took place because of unconstitutional racial bus segregation. The boycott was a non-violent protest. The protest successfully died down after many attempts towards the end of 1956. -
Little Rock Nine and Charlotta Walls Lanier
Charlotta Walls Lanier was the youngest African American child of the Little Rock Nine. This group were the first African American group to join a whites only public school named Little Rock Central High School. The event was a big step in the fight against segregation. These students faced immense discrimination at this school, but stayed strong for the fight against inequality. -
Freedom Riders
The Freedom Riders were a group of civil rights activists who rode interstate busses into the segregated south. They did this to fight the recent ruling about segregated public transportation. This group of people, along with many other names like Rosa Parks, claimed this ruling to be unconstitutional and against moral rights. This event was also a peaceful protest besides starting uproar in cities that they travelled through. -
Martin Luther King Jr. And Speech
Martin Luther King Jr was a very influential man. He was political philosopher who was one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement. He is most known for his "I Have a Dream" speech. He talked about how he has a dream that everyone will be equal and one man shouldn't be greater than another. A quote from his speech that demonstrated this was "All men are created equal". This was a very impactful speech and gave many people hope in the future. -
Birmingham Campaign
The Birmingham Campaign was a very large part of the Civil rights movement. These protests were to fight against racism and segregation. Police got violent and released dogs on peaceful protesters and children. A Lot of people including students were arrested along with MLK. Martin Luther King Jr wrote his famous "Letter from Birmingham Jail". He said in the letter "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere" This letter helped the fight for equality progress. -
March on Washington
The March on Washington was for the freedom of jobs, held on August 28th, 1963. With over 250,000 thousand people in attendance, this is where the famous "I Have a Dream" speech was held by Martin Luther King Jr. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a huge deal in American history. It officially made it illegal to treat people differently because of their race, color, religion, or sex. That meant that there would be no more segregation in public places. For African Americans this law was life changing. Before it passed, they were forced to deal with unfair treatment almost everywhere they went. After the act things didn’t magically get better right away, but it gave them a shot at getting equal rights. -
Bloody Sunday
On March 7th 1965 around 600 peaceful protestors were protesting on the Edmund Pettus Bridge. At the east end of the bridge police began to gather and tell the protesters they have two minutes to leave or they would be arrested. The police then began to detain, tear gas, run over by horses, and brutally beat the protestors. The outbreak resulted in the hospitalization of more than 50 protestors. This event raised concern from millions of Americans and lead to the Voting Rights Act being passed. -
Selma March
The selma march was a political march from Selma Alabama to the states capitol. The march was lead by Martin Luther King Jr. The selma march was to advocate for african american voter rights. 25,000 people marched 50 miles from march 21-25th. The march brought attention to voter suppression a played a key role in the voters rights act of 1965. This fight wasn't just a show of unity but it was a symbol of the fight for justice. -
Charlotta Walls LaNier life after 1970
In 1977 Charlotta Walls LaNier founded he own real estate brokerage firm in Denver. She currently still lives in Denver. She is 82 years old and is still an advocate for education and equality. -
Rosa Parks life after 1970
Rosa Parks continued her activism, working as an administrative aide to Congressman John Conyers, and remained active in the civil rights movement, advocating for social justice and fighting against injustice, even after personal losses and health challenges. After she passed, she left a positive impact on U.S. history, and gave African American people hope in the struggles they faced with racism. -
First Thurgood Marshall life after 1970
First Thurgood Marshall served on the US supreme court until 1991. He was an active voice for civil rights until his death in 1993. He died due to congestive hear failure at the age of 84. -
Vanessa Williams become first black Miss America
Vanessa Williams became the first African-American woman to be Miss America. Crowned on September 17th, 1983, she was a symbol of new beauty and power within the African-American community and among many US citizens. -
Martin Luther King Day become official
Martin Luther King's birthday became a holiday because of his contributions to his to the civil rights movement. To gain equality for all Americans no matter their race. His birthday is a holiday because of his perseverance in breaking racial barriers, he changed the course of history for the better. -
Douglas Wilder first African American to become US governor
Douglas Wilder was the first African American to become a US governor. He served as the 66th governor of Virginia. He was born January 17, 1931. He served in the United States Army during the Korean War. -
Carol Moseley-Braun first black woman to US Senate
Moseley-Braun become the first black woman to enter the US Senate, on November 3rd, 1992. She defeated Richard S. Williamson. This helped many have hope for our government, by giving African-American people representation within court. She was also from Illinois and represented her state well, making African-American people from her state proud. -
First African American President; Barak Obama
When Barack Obama was elected president in 2008, he became the first African American to hold the office. Obama faced major challenges during his two-term tenure in office including health care reform, banking reform, economic stimulus, ect. The significance that this had on people, is that it didn't matter if you were black or white, man or women, you can still run for president. -
Hidden Figures Movie release
This movies shows the unsung achievements of the female African Americans that contributed to the Space race. It shows their brilliance and resilience as they overcame racial and gender barriers as they made huge impacts on the space race. -
George Floyd Death
George Floyd was a african-american man that was murdered by a police officer named Derek Chauvin. He was charged with suspicion of a counterfeit $20 bill. Derek Chauvin was sentenced for 22 years in prison. This death led to many protests against police brutality which spread globally and across the nation.