Civil Rights Timeline by 2026Raelyn Lavoie

1865 - End of the American Civil War/Start of Reconstruction

9961295 — 2024-03-04 19:04:40 UTC

As the Civil War ended, the Southern States had to reconstruct government and society. The political and social rights of the millions of newly freed Americans would become an important part of the post-war period.

Emmett Till Funeral 1955

9961295 — 2024-03-06 19:02:19 UTC

Emmett Till, the victim of a lynching at age 14, was given an open casket public funeral that began the push for activism and gave a face to the civil rights movement.

2022 - Emmett Till Anti Lynching Law

9961295 — 2024-03-06 19:03:25 UTC

After 70 years of activism, this Anti Lynching law is passed, declaring lynching as a hate crime and giving the act specific penalties under the law.

Malcolm X Assassination

9961295 — 2024-04-02 18:13:23 UTC

2/21/65 - Malcolm X was giving a speech to the Organization of Afro Unity in the Audubon Ballroom, and was shot 21 times during this speech with his family watching in the audience. It was supposedly due to the fact that he leaked secrets about the leader of the Nation of Islam, but he was also being tracked by the government at the time.

MLK Jr. Assassination

9961295 — 2024-04-02 18:16:26 UTC

4/4/68 - After giving his final speech in Memphis TN for sanitation workers rights, he went to his hotel and was assassinated on his hotel balcony. His assassination brought demonstrations across the country, which often ended in violence.

MLK Jr. Memphis Speech "I've Been to the Mountaintop"

9961295 — 2024-04-02 18:19:23 UTC

4/4/68 - Martin Luther King Jr. gives a speech on Memphis's sanitation workers's rights for equal pay, equality, and dignity.

Robert Kennedy's Speech

9961295 — 2024-04-02 18:21:49 UTC

4/4/68 - Kennedy gives a speech on MLK's assassination that night. He shows support for MLK's movement and wishes to move forward in unity in his name.

Robert F Kennedy Assassination

9961295 — 2024-04-02 18:24:08 UTC

6/5/68 - Two months after giving his speech the night of MLK's death, Kennedy is assassinated in his hotel after winning the California primary, leaving the Democratic party weak, leading to the win of Nixon.

Greensboro Sit-ins

9961295 — 2024-04-02 18:28:15 UTC

2/1/60 - Young groups of African American kids began to sit in whites-only areas in restaurants. Even though they weren't fed, they stayed until closing, without being served once. This was a nonviolent form of protest that inspired many others to do so. It was simple and motivational for protestors.

Little Rock Nine

9961295 — 2024-04-02 18:32:53 UTC

9/4/57 - 9 students to integrate into the white school systems. Governor prevents this integration, calls national guard to stop it. the students are met with violent mobs of people who attack them, later Eisenhower gets involved, having the national guard aid the students trying to integrate.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

9961295 — 2024-04-03 20:21:03 UTC

Congress passed this act that now prohibits discrimination against people due to race, color, religion, sex, or national origin in terms of firing, hiring, and promoting

Brown V. Board

9961295 — 2024-04-03 20:29:57 UTC

May 17 1954

Before BVB, there were other lawsuits against school segregation, but the problem persisted.

There was a 400 student strike led by Barbara Jones due to the deplorable conditions of the schools for black kids while white kids had all the amenities necessary for proper education. This was unconstitutional. Schools were closed. in 63, the schools had been closed for 4 years, yet never integrated like they said they would, which is why they didn't have school and people began to protest. Thurgood Marshall says segregated schools are unconstitutional, brings it to court, ends 'separate but equal' in schools. This results in violence. Some schools just closed instead of integrating, and after 5 years some schools finally reopened.

Montgomery Bus Boycotts

9961295 — 2024-04-03 20:37:49 UTC

December 5 1955

POC forced to sit in "black only" bus sections. The people of Montgomery boycott against the busses by not riding them, as a form of organized nonviolent protesting. MLK led this movement with his speeches while he was still young, and there were many other young people participating.

White press would ignore this and everything to do with african americans, never "making america feel threatened". The movement, as it got more popular, was met with death threats and persecution. Media captures images of peacefully protesting african americans being followed by angry violent mobs of white americans.

The boycott lasted 13 months, costed the busses $3000 per day in 1950's money. U.S. supreme court later rules public bus segregation as unconstitutional.

Freedom Rides

9961295 — 2024-04-03 21:07:47 UTC

5/4/61- CORE tests the law by inviting people from all over and from different races to ride the busses. Most of the time people were unbothered by this until the busses reached the deep south and were met with hostile mobs of people. Riders got arrested, and jail guards were also violent but the movement remained nonviolent and interstate travel eventually became much less segregated due to passed laws

Voting Rights Act of 1965

9961295 — 2024-04-03 21:14:00 UTC

After the events of Bloody Sunday, LBJ sends a voting rights bill to congress, which would have direct federal intervention to let African Americans register and vote, and banned tactics that were used to prevent this in the first place

1963 Children's Crusade

9961295 — 2024-04-03 21:19:00 UTC

On May 2nd 1963, more than one thousand skipped classes and gathered together at Sixth St Baptist Church to march to Birmingham, AL. They came up to police lines and hundreds were arrested and taken to jail in paddy wagons and school busses.

Selma Voting Rights Campaign

9961295 — 2024-04-03 21:28:59 UTC

Mar 7, 1965 – Mar 21, 1965

This was a series of three marches that took place from Selma to Montgomery, AL. They were to protest African Americans's rights to vote. The first march, mostly known as Bloody Sunday, resulted in many nonviolent protesters getting whipped, beaten, or run over by police and white mobs. The second march, known as Turnaround Tuesday, held twice as many people as the first march, with a mix of people of different races, and was led by MLK. When they reached the Pettus bridge, they kneel in prayer, and MLK led them back to Selma. The third march went as planned, reaching the AL capitol. Multiple participants in these marches were beaten to death by members of the KKK.