Civil Rights Timeline

  • Jackie Robinson enters Major League Baseball

    Jackie Robinson enters Major League Baseball
    Jackie Robinson entered the MLB as the first African American to play in the Major Leagues in the modern era. He played for the Brooklyn Dodgers and began his historic baseball career.
  • Executive Order 9981 signed by President Truman

    Executive Order 9981 signed by President Truman
    This executive order was put in place to abolish racial discrimination in the United States Armed Forces. It eventually led to the end of segregation in the services.
  • Emmett Till is murdered

    Emmett Till is murdered
    Emmett Till was an 14 year old, African American. He was murdered four days after allegedly flirting with a white woman. He was murdered and kidnapped by the woman's husband and brother in law.
  • Rosa Parks Arrest

    Rosa Parks Arrest
    Rosa Parks was arrested in Montgomery, Alabama for disorderly conduct as she refused to give up her bus seat to a white man.
  • The Birmingham Children’s March

    The Birmingham Children’s March
    The Birmingham Children’s March was a non violent protest against segregation. It was held by black children from May 2nd to May 10th of 1963. It is credited with causing a major shift in attitudes against segregation among Americans.
  • Integration of Ole Miss Riots

    Integration of Ole Miss Riots
    On September 30, 1962, on the campus of the University of Mississippi, riots erupted where locals, students, and committed segregationist gathered to protest the enrollment of a black Air Force veteran who attempted to integrate the all white school.
  • March on Washington / I Have a Dream Speech

    March on Washington / I Have a Dream Speech
    The I Have a Dream Speech was a public speech spoken by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He was a Baptist Minister and an American Civil Rights activist. The purpose of the March on Washington/ I Have a Dream Speech was to demand an end to segregation, voting rights, education, economic justice, fair wages, and civil rights protections.
  • Freedom Summer

    Freedom Summer
    Freedom Summer was a voter registration drive aimed at increasing the number of registered black voters in Mississippi. Hundreds of college students participated with many differences but they are went for that one reason.