Civil Rights Movement Timeline of Events (2nd) by Ashley Kunz

Greensboro Sit-in (1960)

2025-04-17 15:16:10 UTC

Ezell Blair Jr, David Richmond, Franklin McCain, and Joseph McNeil had a small peaceful protest against segregation when they refused to leave the whites-only lunch counter at Wollworth's store.

March on Washington (1963)

gcaff499 — 2025-04-17 15:22:22 UTC

The march on Washington was a massive civil rights movement on august 29th 1963.

250,000 people gathered and demanded civil rights for minority's. During the March Martin Luther King Jr. performed his famous speech.

Important people in the movement were Philip Randolph,Whitney Young and Martin Luther King Jr. the people at the March on Washington used nonviolent protesting to get their point across and sway public opinion.

https://www.accfb.org/marchonwashington/

https://www.nps.gov/articles/march-on-washington.htm

The Assassination of Malcolm X (1965)

jhalp592 — 2025-04-17 15:28:35 UTC

On February 21st, 1965, at the Audubon Ballroom, a Nation of Islam Activist, Malcolm Little, also known as Malcolm X, was giving a speech in support of understanding a nonviolent movement for black equality. Shortly into his speech, 3 men ran towards the stage, guns drawn towards Malcolm. Shooting and killing him instantly. The assassination grew nationwide, creating a bigger attention to what Malcolm was fighting for.

https://www.history.com/articles/malcolm-x-assassination

https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/malcolm-x

Civil Rights Act of 1957

kcars639 — 2025-04-17 15:42:26 UTC

The Civil Rights Act of 1957 was a resulting law —the first significant measure to address African-American civil rights since 1875. It established the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights for two years, and created a civil rights division in the U.S. Justice Department, and authorized the U.S. Attorney General to seek federal court injunctions to protect the voting rights of African Americans. Advocacy groups like the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, as well as the Dwight D. Eisenhower administration were the important people of the Civil Rights Act. The Eisenhower administration pressured Congress to consider new civil rights legislation by doing non-violent protest.

What is the Civil Rights Act of 1975?

Important people in the Civil Rights Act of 1975

Little Rock Nine(1957)

svele418 — 2025-04-17 15:43:54 UTC

The Little Rock Nine was a group of black students who enrolled at a previously all-white high school in Little Rock, Arkansas, in September 1957. The group included Minnijean Brown, Elizabeth Eckford, Ernest Green, Thelma Mothershed, Melba Patillo, Gloria Ray, Terrence Roberts, Jefferson Thomas, and Carlotta Walls. The school board had adopted a plan for gradually integrating its schools. On September 25, 1957, the Little Rock Nine attended Central High for their first full day of classes, under the protection of the newly federalized Arkansas National Guard and the 101st Airborne Division.

https://www.history.com/articles/central-high-school-integration

Brown V. Board of Education (1954)

jfull552 — 2025-04-17 15:49:26 UTC

The Supreme Court ruled that the racial segregation in the public schools was a violation of the 14th amendment and was marked unconstitutional. The historic decision marked the end of “the separate but equal.” U.S Supreme Court Justice Earl Warren was the one instructing the plans. On May 31,1955, Earl Warren read one of the Court’s unanimous decisions that is now referred to as Brown ll, instructing the states to begin desegregation plans.

https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/brown-v-board-of-education

https://oxfordaasc.com/page/2395

Civil rights act of 1964

tcoll478 — 2025-04-17 15:56:45 UTC

The Civil rights act of 1964 prohibited discrimination in public places, provided for the integration of schools and other public facilities, and made employment discrimination illegal. In the 1960 election, John F. Kennedy received strong support from black voters. President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law on July 2, 1964. The strategy used for change was legislative strategy. My sources are

https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/civil-rights-act#:~:text=This%20act%2C%20signed%20into%20law,civil%20rights%20legislation%20since%20Reconstruction and

https://www.britannica.com/event/Civil-Rights-Act-United-States-1964

The Assassination of John F. Kennedy (1963)

trube434 — 2025-04-17 15:57:57 UTC

On November 22, 1963, in Dallas, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald. JFK was in a convertible with public officials and his wife Jaqueline Kennedy, who sat right beside him when he was shot. Lee Harvey Oswald was a Marxist and former Soviet citizen that held a grudge against America. He tried to create change by causing an uproar in America.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_John_F._Kennedy

https://www.britannica.com/event/assassination-of-John-F-Kennedy

Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955-1956)

2025-04-17 16:02:51 UTC

The Montgomery bus boycott was a movement started when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white man on the bus. This sparked an entire movement lasting from December 5th, 1955, to December 20th, 1956. Civil Rights leaders Dr. Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, and Jo Ann Robinson played crucial roles in the success of this peaceful movement. Their movement included protests all around Montgomery, but is most notable for the 381-day boycott against bus transportation.

https://www.history.com/articles/montgomery-bus-boycott

https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/montgomery-bus-boycott

Freedom Rides(1961)

awest477 — 2025-04-22 15:11:15 UTC

On may 14, 1961, the Greyhound bus was the first to arrive in Anniston, Alabama. There was an angry mob of about 200 white people surrounding the bus causing the causing the driver to continue past the bus station.The mob followed the bus in automobiles, and when the tires on the bus blew out, someone threw a bomb into the bus. The Freedom Riders escaped the bus as it burst into flames, only to be brutally beaten by members of the surrounding mob.The second bus, a Trailways vehicle, traveled to Birmingham, Alabama, and those riders were also beaten by an angry white mob Photographs of the burning Greyhound bus and the bloodied riders appeared on the front pages of newspapers throughout the country and around the world the next day, drawing international attention to the Freedom Riders’ cause and the state of race relations in the United States.

https://www.history.com/articles/freedom-rides#Freedom-Riders-Face-Bloodshed-in-Alabama

Rosa Park gets arrested (1955)

nprad625 — 2025-04-22 15:14:28 UTC

She was arrested in Montgomery, Alabama, for refusing to give up her seat to a white man. Civil Rights leader Nixon bailed her out of jail, joined by white friends Clifford, an attorney, and wife, Virginia. Rosa Parks didn't win the case. She was fined 14,000, including court costs.

^{https://www.loc.gov/exhibitions/rosa-parks-in-her-own-words/about-this-exhibition/the-bus-boycott/rosa-parks-arrested/#:~:text=On%20December%201%2C%201955%2C%20Rosa,%2C%20and%20his%20wife%2C%20Virginia}^.

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

cnava432 — 2025-04-22 15:17:38 UTC

in 1896 there was a Supreme Court case between Plessy v. Ferguson. Homer Plessy was the plaintiff , and John H. Ferguson was the judge who presided over his trial .Homer Plessy was a light-skinned African-American who was arrested for violating Louisiana's Separate Car Act, which mandated segregation on railroads. He challenged the act in court, arguing it violated the 13th and 14th Amendments. The ruling in this Supreme Court case upheld a Louisiana state law allowing for "equal but separate accommodations for the white and colored races." this court case was before the civil rights movement but was a starting point for change in racial segregation .

https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/plessy-v-ferguson

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plessy_v._Ferguson#:~:text=Ferguson%2C%20163%20U.S.%20537%20(1896,as%20%22separate%20but%20equal%22.

MLK Jr. Assassination (1968)

tpask483 — 2025-04-22 15:21:45 UTC

At 6:05 P.M. on Thursday, 4 April 1968, Martin Luther King was shot dead while standing on a balcony outside his second-floor room at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. James Earl Ray (The murderer of MLK), Dr. Martin Luther King (the Victim or murderer), Jr Dr. Jerry T. Francisco ( Medical examiner) were all involved. King’s death energized the Black Power Movement. Black Americans felt even more distrustful of white institutions and America’s political system. Membership in the Black Panther Party and other Black Power groups surged. Local organizations grew into national networks. The number of black soldiers in Vietnam supporting Black Power increased dramatically. Polls revealed that some white Americans supported King’s goals, but many remained unmoved.

tpask483 — 2025-04-22 15:21:48 UTC

https://www.archives.gov/research/jfk/select-committee-report/part-2a.html

https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/assassination-martin-luther-king-jr

https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/mourning-death-martin-luther-king-jr

https://www.ajc.com/news/photos/photos-anniversary-martin-luther-king-assassination/OrvChEY9kA3oCc1yCJfybJ/

Birmingham Children’s March

2025-04-22 15:29:03 UTC

In May 1963, in Birmingham, Alabama, a pivotal nonviolent protest during the civil rights movement took place. Reverend Martin Luther King Jr, Fred Shuttlesworth,

and James Bevel were all a huge part of it. Shuttlesworth was the leader of the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights (ACMHR). James Bevel was a staff member of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). Nonviolent direct action was used during mass civil disobedience in the form of protests, and marches to expose the injustices of segregation and demand change.

https://cypp.rutgers.edu/key-figures-birmingham-childrens/

https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/childrens-crusade

https://www.learningforjustice.org/magazine/spring-2005/announcing-the-childrens-march

2025-04-22 15:36:33 UTC

On June 10, 1963, President John F. Kennedy federalized National Guard troops and deployed them to the University of Alabama to force its desegregation. The next day, Governor Wallace yielded to the federal pressure, and Malone and Hood were able to complete their enrollments. people involved were President John F. Kennedy, Alabama Governor George Wallace, and the first African American students, Vivian Malone and James Hood. strategies they used was force to help create equality.

March 1965

akunz15 — 2025-04-22 15:42:47 UTC

Bloody Sunday; a march from Selma to Montgomery ends in violence as local police block and attack civil rights marchers

August 1965

akunz15 — 2025-04-22 15:42:57 UTC

Voting Rights Act of 1965 enacted
What did it do?

Gave the government the ability to enforce the 15th Amendment
Outlawed discriminatory voting practices, such as literacy tests

Voting Rights Act of 1965 continued

akunz15 — 2025-04-22 15:43:34 UTC

"By the end of 1965, a quarter of a million new Black voters had been registered, one-third by federal examiners. By the end of 1966, only four out of 13 southern states had fewer than 50 percent of African Americans registered to vote."

April 1968

akunz15 — 2025-04-22 15:43:52 UTC

Civil Rights Act of 1968 enacted
What did it do?

Also known as the Fair Housing Act
Outlawed housing discrimination based on race

Did not completely end housing discrimination

June 1968

akunz15 — 2025-04-22 15:44:03 UTC

Robert F. Kennedy assassinated by Sirhan Sirhan at his hotel in Los Angeles, CA after winning the California presidential primary

Bobby Kennedy continued

akunz15 — 2025-04-22 15:44:09 UTC

Both JFK and RFK were connected to the Civil Rights Movement and worked closely with leaders like MLK during their careers

Ruby Bridges (1960)

emurr400 — 2025-04-22 16:08:13 UTC

Ruby Bridges was a woman who, during her early life, was the first to attend an all white elementary school during the civil rights movement. She had faced racism from students, teachers, and parents who attended or were involved in the school. Protests were made against her by angry, rioting parents trying to send the message that they didn't want minorities in their schools. Hurtful slurs and language were thrown at her when she was only 6 years old.