Timeline by 2026Bryce Cannata

1865 - End of The American Civil War\Start of Reconstruction

9961197 — 2024-02-22 14:07:00 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.

1919 - Chicago Race Riots

9961197 — 2024-02-22 14:07:41 UTC

In the summer of 1919 a series of race riots occurred in Chicago and it is now considered "The Red Summer." One of the riots began on a beach and involved a white man throwing rocks at a group of black people and it resulted in a black person dying after the rock hit their head. When the police officer came to the scene he refused to arrest the white man and instead arrested a black person who had witnessed the scene.

1921 - Tulsa Race Massacre

9961197 — 2024-02-22 14:08:02 UTC

On June 1, a riot caused by white Americans who were angry that African Americans were gaining power and wealth in the city of Tulsa began. The riot started with the false accusation of a black man assaulting a white woman in an elevator on May 30, the case spread and with each telling of the story it would get become more exaggerated. Greenwood was looted and burned by white rioters and 800 people were treated for injuries and historians today believe that 300 people may have died. Twenty-four hours after the riot began 35 city blocks laid in ruins.

1955 - Murder of Emmet Till

9961197 — 2024-03-08 12:49:47 UTC

On August 28, 1955 a 14 year old boy named Emmet Till was murdered in Money Mississippi by two white men and they were not charged. In the court room his Uncle spoke up and revealed that the two men were the people who murdered Emmet and this was broadcasted and spread. His mother, Mamie Till, had a funeral for him with an open casket to show the world her mutilated son that did not get justice. This event led to other black Americans speaking up for justice and equality.

1954 - Brown vs Board of Education

9961197 — 2024-03-13 14:41:09 UTC

In 1954 Marshall Brown argued that it was unconstitutional that his daughter could not attend the local all-white school because of her race. Brown also argued that the two schools were not "separate but equal" and it was a violation of the "Equal Protection Clause of the constitution of the United States. On May 17th, 1954 the Supreme Court declared that segregated schools that separated Black and white students was illegal and ruled that schools in the United States cannot be segregated.

1955 - Montgomery Bus Boycott

9961197 — 2024-03-13 14:41:37 UTC

On December 5, 1955 the Montgomery Bus Boycott started, the Boycott was the result of the unconstitutional and segregated bus system which separates white people and black people. Black people would not take transportation by bus, instead people would car pool, taxi, or walk. Rosa Parks is the woman who started the boycott when she was asked to move seats for a white person, Rosa Parks refused and was arrested. The boycott lasted 381 days and because Black Americans were most of the passengers, the bus systems lost money and were in danger of going out of business. The Supreme Court then deemed that segregation on public transportation was unconstitutional and bus systems were then forced to desegregate.

1957 - Little Rock Nine

9961197 — 2024-03-25 09:43:26 UTC

In 1957 segregation in schools was deemed illegal after the Brown v. The Board of Education case. The Little Rock Nine were nine African American students who were going to attend Little Rock´s Central High School but on the first day the Guard did not allow the Black teenagers into the all-white school. Many groups harass would the students as they tried to make their way into the school. On September 3rd the students were still not allowed into the school by the Guard. Finally on September 4th the teenagers went to school without their parents and were allowed to enter. The students were constantly bullied and harassed by many students but they did not give up as they were fighting for equal rights and would have a massive impact. On September 23rd, President Dwight D, Eisenhower sent 11,500 soldiers to escort the students into the school safely so they would not be blocked from the building or harassed. This protest and event led to more public places being forced to end segregation because many public places would still illegally continue segregation. This event also inspired many African Americans as they were given the chance to get a better education and to continue in fighting for equality and change.

1896 - Plessy V Ferguson

9961197 — 2024-03-27 15:14:33 UTC

On June 7, 1892 Homer Plessy got arrested for violating Louisiana´s Separate Car Act as he was mistooked as a white man but he was actually a Black Americans riding in the white railroad car. Plessy argued that Louisiana´s segregation law violated the 13th Amendment that banned slavery and it violated the 14th Amendment´s Equal Protection Clause. The Supreme Court ruled that segregated ¨equal but separate¨ spaced did not violate the amendments and this ruling made segregation legal as long as it was ¨equal¨ which was never the case. On May 18, 1896 the introduction of the ¨separate but equal¨ doctrine was established by the U.S Supreme Court.

1960 - The Greensboro Sit In

9961197 — 2024-03-27 15:17:54 UTC

The Greensboro Sit In started in February 1960, it involved four young Black men were all lived in the same dorm. The group decided to go to the store that also served food and allowed people to eat at the counter provided, however Black people were not allowed to sit at the counter and eat the food they ordered. The four men then sat at the counter because they wanted coffee but were refused service because of their race, the men then continued to come back each day until they were served and would not leave until the store closed as a peaceful protest. The movement spread to 55 other cities by March and many Black Americans practiced the peaceful protest in stores that would refuse to serve them. As more people got involved and sat with the men, the original four then had to group all of the protesters together and test them to make sure that in any scenario the group will remain nonviolent. The Sit In protest mostly involved Black college students who had to dress in good attire due to the the Greensboro Four Letter that provided precise instructions to those who wanted to join the movement. The Greensboro Sit In was a successful non violent protest which led the store chain to end its policy of racial segregation in its stores.

1936 - The Green Book

9961197 — 2024-03-27 15:18:37 UTC

The Green Book was published in 1936 and was written by a Black American named Victor Hugo, the book provided African Americans with advice and guided them to safe places that they could eat and sleep at when they traveled through the Jim Crow time in the United States. It was referred as ¨the bible of black travel during Jim Crow¨ due to it guiding black travelers to safe places such as lodgings, businesses, and gas stations that would allow them to access them on their trip.

1957 - SCLC

9961197 — 2024-03-27 15:19:39 UTC

The SCLC organization stood for Southern Christian Leadership Conference. It was founded in 1957 and it was mostly made up of Ministers from Churches and local organization affiliates. Martin Luther King Jr, Bayard Rustin, and Ralph Abernathy were some of the members who helped form the organization. The purpose was to better coordinate civil rights protest activities in the South. The SCLC played a role in the civil rights movement and was involved in the March on Washing, Selma Voting Rights Campaign, The March to Montgomery, and the Poor People's Campaign.

1930s - Redlining

9961197 — 2024-04-01 12:00:23 UTC

During the 1930´s to the late 1960´s redlining was practiced in America. This racial discrimination occured in mortgage lending and shaped the demographic and wealth patterns of the United States. The government sent surveyors to color code the neighborhoods as desirable, declining, or hazardous. Desirable areas were color coded as blue, declining areas were color coded yellow, and hazardous areas were color coded red. These ¨hazardous¨ areas were where Black communities lived, and were though to be decreasing the value in that particular area. For example any areas near a Black community would get that area´s value decreases, because of this Black Americans were segregated and isolated.

1950 - SNCC

9961197 — 2024-04-01 12:02:24 UTC

SNCC was founded in 1950 and was a student non-violent coordinating committee. It was formed to give younger Black Americans more of a voice in the civil rights movement. Ella Baker was the founder but the organization was concerned because Martin Luther King Jr. and the organization of SCLC did not have the same viewpoints due to SNCC wanting the movement to make faster progress. The group was involved in the Freedom Rides, the marches organized by MLK, and they directed the black voter registration drives.

1966 - Black Panther Party\Black Power

9961197 — 2024-04-01 12:04:08 UTC

The Black Panther Party was founded on October 15, 1966 and was founded by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale. The orginization's goal was to create a self defense group to protect Black Americans from police brutally and wanted to give Black Americans power over their lives. The organization confronted politicians, challenged the police, and they spread patrol groups in African American neighborhoods for protection against police brutality.

1909 - NAACP

9961197 — 2024-04-01 12:04:48 UTC

The organization NAACP stands for to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. In 1908 a deadly race riot took place in Springfield Illinois and lead to the creation of NAACP. NAACP was founded on February 12, 1909 and it was created to stop Black Violence and lynching. The organization was very successful and established a national office in 1910 in New York City. The group lobbied and did peaceful protests for civil rights.

1965 - Selma march, Bloody Sunday

9961197 — 2024-04-01 12:07:31 UTC

On March 7, 1965 the Selma march was held in Selma, Alabama to march to the capital city of Montgomery as an act of protest for Black Americans´ constitutional rights to vote. The march was 50 miles and on the first day protesters who were participating in the march were viciously beaten in a police riot. Local police used clubs, whips, and tear gas to attack the protesters. This event was broadcasted on televisions as many programs stopped to show footage to viewers. Many Black and white Americans were killed and beaten on Sunday, which is why is is referred to as Bloody Sunday.

1965 - The Delano Grape Strike

9961197 — 2024-04-01 12:09:04 UTC

César Chavez and Dolores Huerta co-founded the National Farm Workers Association, also now known as the United Farm Workers, in California to fight for improvement for social and economic conditions for farm workers, which at this time most labor jobs consisted of Latin Americans who were treated unfairly strike consisted of thousands of farm workers who refused to go back to work until the Delano grape growers had signed better contracts with the farm workers. The UFW played a role and would organize picket lunes outside grocery stores selling the grapes. The group also brought awareness to the public about the horrible working conditions that farm workers received. In 1975 Congress passed the 1975 Agricultural Labor Act which provided farm workers with better protection and more leverage when negotiating contracts

1964 - Civil Rights Act

9961197 — 2024-04-01 12:09:42 UTC

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited discrimination of race in public places, schools, and employments. President Lyndon Johnson signed it into law after it was passed in Congress on July 2, 1964. John F. Kennedy had proposed the legislation but he was assassinated and killed, President Lyndon Johnson became president after him and took the authority to sign it into the law.

1965 - Voting Act

9961197 — 2024-04-01 12:10:39 UTC

African Americans legaly became U.S citizens after the Civil Right Act but many were not allowed to vote. African Americans would have to take literacy tests and have to pay poll taxes which went against their civil rights. The Selma march played a very big role in protesting for African Americans' voting rights and president Lyndon Johnson sent a voting rights bill to Congress which outlawed discrimination towards Black voters and gave them their full rights to vote.

1969 - Stonewall Riot

9961197 — 2024-04-01 12:12:05 UTC

On June 23, 1969 a LGBTQ friendly bar in NYC called the Stone Wall was raided by police. During the 1960s anyone who was apart of the LGTQ community was outcasted, harassed, and discriminated against and many were forced to hide their sexuality in order to be safe. The Stone Wall was owned by the New York Mafia which would keep its customers' identities secret and entering the bar was very expensive. The police entered the bar and arrested people who went against the state's gender-appropiate clothing statue and they would do this by checking the person's sex in the bathroom. A woman who was labeled as "Miss New Orleans" was arrested by a police officer and shouted at the people watching the incident to do something. The crowd then began to throw objects at the police. The police then barricaded themselves in the bar, the crowd then attempted to set the bar on fire and the fire department was needed to stop the fire. Protests in the area continued for days where people fought for gay rights.

1965 - Turnaround Tuesday

9961197 — 2024-04-02 11:25:23 UTC

On March 9, two days after the first Selma march, protesters tried to march to Montgomery a second time. However once they reached the bridge where the police had beaten the protesters, Martin Luther Jr. turned the marchers around. The police stood aside once the marchers reached them but MLK wanted to protect the people so the group did not make the full march.

1968 - Redlining Act is Outlawed

9961197 — 2024-04-03 16:59:34 UTC

In 1968 the Fair Housing Act outlawed racially motivated redlining. However the damage that the redlining practice did could not be undone as the separation between races had been segregated for many years. Redlining was deemed unconstitutional as it purposefully segregated Black Americans.