Timeline by 2026Benjamin Wahl

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

9961221 — 2024-02-21 13:14:34 UTC

Plessy Vs Ferguson was the landmark decision that legitimized segregation. "Separate but equal" Homer Plessy boarded a white train, and a judge ruled Separate but equal was constitutional. So he got arrested.

Brown vs Board of Education (1954)

9961221 — 2024-04-01 12:06:58 UTC

Earl Warren ruled that state-sanctioned segregation of schools was unconstitutional. Undid Plessy vs Ferguson.

The murder of Emmett Till (1955)

9961221 — 2024-04-01 12:07:12 UTC

Emmett Till was an African American boy who was kidnapped, tortured, and killed. Born and raised in Chicago, Till went down south to see his uncle, flirted with white women, then was kidnapped by her husband and brother and killed. His mother decided to have an open coffin, which attracted and turned the hearts of thousands. His killers, as white men, never were punished.

Rosa Parks (1955)

9961221 — 2024-04-01 12:07:47 UTC

Rosa Parks was the woman who officially sparked the Montgomery bus boycotts. Reportedly soft-spoken and otherwise well-mannered, Parks used herself as a figurehead to start a movement.

Redlining

9961221 — 2024-04-01 12:07:53 UTC

Redlining refers to the practice of segregating neighborhoods, though systematic denial of many services. Often unofficial, but made by insurance companies HOAs, and banks.

Little Rock 9 (1957)

9961221 — 2024-04-01 12:08:28 UTC

A group of African American students who were enrolled in Little Rock Central High School in 1957, after Brown vs board delegalized segregation. Despite this, the government of Alabama tried its hardest to stop them from going to school.

Tulsa Race Massacre (1921)

9961221 — 2024-04-01 12:08:35 UTC

In a small, prosperous black community, a black man and a white women went into an elevator. When the came back, the black man went running, and the white women started screaming. What followed was obliteration of years of hard work, culture, and life, all by a white mob. Called "black wall street" at the end of the massacre, The green which district was no more.

Red Summer (1919)

9961221 — 2024-04-01 12:08:53 UTC

Started with a rumor, The red summer was an outbreak of racial violence that effected 26 cities across the country. In post war America, things were very different, with many southern African Americans moved north, to seek a better life. The northern white population, of course, did not like this, so violence erupted.

Stonewall riots (1969)

9961221 — 2024-04-01 12:08:59 UTC

The stonewall riots took place in New York, right after the police raided one of the few gay bars. This raid sparked a riot amongst the patrons of the bar and local resident, leading to 6 days of rioting against local police. The stonewall riots where a spark that lead to more gay rights

Greensboro 4 (1960)

9961221 — 2024-04-01 12:09:06 UTC

The Greensboro Four where a group of four African American college students who staged a sit-in at the Woolworth's lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, on February 1, 1960. They sat in due to the bar being segregated, and they wanted to protest it.

MLK/MX/Black Panthers

9961221 — 2024-04-01 12:09:19 UTC

MLK was a leader of the nonviolence movement for black rights, Malcolm X was very violent, as where the black Panthers.

Civil War

9961221 — 2024-04-01 12:09:29 UTC

The civil war was the war over slavery between the north and south, which the south lost, despite this, the south kept their racist ideas.

Civil Rights Act (JFK/LBJ) (1964)

9961221 — 2024-04-01 12:09:39 UTC

Outlawed segregation in businesses such as theaters, restaurants, and hotels. Passed by Pres Johnson, after JFK was killed.

Selma voting march (1965)

9961221 — 2024-04-01 12:09:48 UTC

Lead by MLK to protest the continued denial of voting rights to black americans in the south. Lead to Voting Rights Act (1965)

Gov. Wallace blocks the University of Alabama from desegregating (1963)

9961221 — 2024-04-01 12:10:36 UTC

Alabama Governor George Wallace stood in front of Foster Auditorium at the University of Alabama to stop the enrollment of African-American students Vivan Malone and James Hood.

JFK shot (1963)

9961221 — 2024-04-01 12:10:48 UTC

JFK was shot while riding in an open car, through Texas. He was shot in the back of his head and neck.

Grapes Strike (1965)

9961221 — 2024-04-01 12:12:25 UTC

Over 800 Filipino farmworkers affiliated with the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee (AWOC) struck ten grape vineyards around Delano. They fought for higher wages and better worker protections.

Montgomery Bus boycott (1956)

9961221 — 2024-04-04 22:18:09 UTC

FOundational event in the black rights movement, was months of the entire black community of Montgomery not using the buses, which lead to serious economic issues in the bus companies, as they required black money. Resulted in de-segregated buses.

Voting Rights Act (1965)

9961221 — 2024-04-05 11:29:01 UTC

Was signed into law on August 6, 1965, by President Lyndon Johnson. It outlawed the discriminatory voting practices in many southern states after the Civil War, like literacy tests, fees, and requiring a voter to vouch for you.

MLK Shot (1968)

9961221 — 2024-04-05 11:31:55 UTC

Civil rights leader was assassinated, by what the king family thought was the result of a grand conspiracy.