Civil Rights Timeline by Olen Skafte

NAACP founded 1909

skaf4557 — 2024-03-26 03:21:24 UTC

-The National Associaton For The Advancement of Colored People is a Civil Rights organization in the United States that works towards achieving justice for African Americans.

-The have fought many legal battles, the most well known is Brown v. Board of Education.

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka Kansas 1954

skaf4557 — 2024-03-26 03:30:46 UTC

-Supreme Court Justice Earl Warren declared that a segregated school system was unconstitutional in Topeka Kansas.

-This was a monumental ruling because it marked the end of "separate but equal."

Montgomery Bus Boycott 1955-1956

skaf4557 — 2024-03-26 03:34:28 UTC

-The Montgomery Bus Boycott lasted 13 months and was sparked by the arrest of Rosa Parks and was supported by Martin Luther King Jr.

-This protest successfully ended bus segregation and laid a foundation for other protests to build off of.

Little Rock 9 1957

skaf4557 — 2024-03-26 03:44:58 UTC

-Arkansas Governer Orval Faubus ordered the Arkansas National Guard to prevent nine black teenagers from entering an all-white school, even though school segregation was already declared unconstitutional.

-The resistance showed by both the angry mobs and the 9 students showed how much hate there was still in the US, and the hardship that black people were willing to go through.

Congress of Racial Equality founded 1942

skaf4557 — 2024-03-26 03:50:01 UTC

-Created by a group of interracial students in Chicago, CORE pushed for the use of nonviolent protests against racial inequality.

-CORE was another example of how nonviolence was used to push for equality for black people in the US.

Southern Christian Leadership Conference founded 1957

skaf4557 — 2024-03-26 03:56:09 UTC

-Originally led by Martin Luther King Jr., the SCLC was created to lead protests against racism in the Southern United States.

-The SCLC served as a parent organization that helped smaller, more local organizations set up protests.

Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee founded 1960

skaf4557 — 2024-03-26 04:01:53 UTC

-Created by students and Ella Baker, who wanted to have an independant organization, free of outside factors like MLK Jr. and other organizations in the South.

-The SNCC influenced many students to participate in nonviolent protests, including the Freedom Rides.

Sit-in movement (started) 1960

skaf4557 — 2024-03-26 04:08:26 UTC

-Started by students in North Carolina and eventually endorsed by MLK Jr., the Sit-in movement was a nonviolent protest of segregation.

-Over 50,000 students took part in the Sit-in movement and it marked a massive success in students' abilities to plan and coordinate.

Freedom Rides (started) 1961

skaf4557 — 2024-03-26 04:14:57 UTC

-Conceived by students in CORE, the Freedom Rides aimed to challenge racist ideologies in the Deep South.

-The Freedom Rides, while nonviolent, were met with severe violence, but showed the perseverance of young activists in the US.

Integration at Ole Miss 1962

skaf4557 — 2024-03-26 20:08:39 UTC

-An African American man named James Meredith tried to enroll at the University of Mississippi and was met with a violent mob to prevent this from happening.

-Meredith and the NAACP sued the university, claiming they denied him access because of the color of his skin, and the judge ruled in their favor.

Birmingham marches and boycotts 1963

skaf4557 — 2024-03-26 20:18:06 UTC

-Fred Shuttlesworth, the SCLC, and the ACMHR joined together to challenge Birmingham's segregation policies by boycotting stores and organizing protests like marches and sit-ins during the busy season of Easter.

-The boycotts successfully undermined many racist business owners, and again showed what adversity oppressed people were willing to go through in order to achieve equality (jail, hit with fire hoses and clubs).

March on Washington 1963

skaf4557 — 2024-03-26 20:25:02 UTC

-Martin Luther King Jr. and more than 200,000 others gathered at the Washington Monument, where King gave his famous "I Have a Dream" speech and urged the Kennedy administration to pass a Civil Rights bill.

-This event gathered people from all races and walks of life, showing the unity that was trying to be achieved in the country.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

skaf4557 — 2024-03-26 20:30:34 UTC

President JFK (later Lyndon B. Johnson) pushed congress to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964, making it illegal to discriminate based off of race, color, religion, national origin, or sex.

-This act marked the end of Jim Crow laws, and the idea of "separate but equal" created by Plessy v. Ferguson.

Selma March 1965

skaf4557 — 2024-03-26 20:35:52 UTC

-Martin Luther King Jr. led thousands of people on a 5-day march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, in order to push for voting rights for African Americans.

-Only 2% of black people in Selma were registered to vote, despite various attempts to do so.

Voting Rights Act of 1965

skaf4557 — 2024-03-29 02:52:38 UTC

-Signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson, the Voting Rights Act prohibited the use of discriminatory tactics to prohibit African Americans from voting, primarily in the South.

-African Americans were barred from voting by things like literacy tests and grandfather clauses, however now these type of obstacles were illegal.

24th Amendment 1964

skaf4557 — 2024-03-29 02:56:06 UTC

-When Congress passed the 24th amendment, it made it so that poll taxes were illegal across America.

-Poll taxes were among many tactics in which governments tried to prevent African Americans from voting.

Malcolm X joins the Nation of Islam 1952

skaf4557 — 2024-03-29 03:01:10 UTC

-When Malcolm Little was released from a Massachusetts jail in 1952, he abandoned his "slave name" and went by Malcolm X, becoming one of the most influential Civil Rights leaders in history.

-While most of his ideologies rivaled those of MLK Jr., Malcolm X helped move the Civil Rights Movement forward in countless ways.

Black Panthers (founded) 1966

skaf4557 — 2024-03-29 03:06:23 UTC

-Founded in Oakland, California, The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense (BPP) focused on the violence used against black people in the US and how to better the quality of life for African Americans across the country.

-The BPP strayed away from MLK Jr.'s preachings of nonviolence, and instead opted for a more hands-on approach to fighting brutality, often arming themselves.

Assassination of MLK Jr. 1968

skaf4557 — 2024-03-29 03:10:25 UTC

-MLK Jr. was assassinated by James Earl Ray on April 4th on his motel balcony in Memphis, Tennessee.

-King is considered to be one of, if not the most influential Civil Rights leaders in history, and news of his life being cut short sparked outrage across the country.