“I have a dream that one day right there in Alabama little black boys and little black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.”

- Martin Luther King, Jr.

Executive Order 9981 abolished discrimination in military or government positions. It was signed by President Harry S. Truman

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited discrimination based on race in employment or access to education. Specifically, Title VI allowed the federal government to file desegregation cases against schools.

In this milestone decision, the Supreme Court ruled that separating children in public schools on the basis of race was unconstitutional. It signaled the end of legalized racial segregation in the schools of the United States, overruling the "separate but equal" principle set forth in the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson case.

Regarded as the legislative crown jewel of the civil rights era, the Voting Rights Act was enacted as a comprehensive tool meant to undo the political hold of Jim Crow policies in the South and related discriminatory structures nationwide. Congress adopted the law to ensure that states followed the 15th Amendment’s guarantee that the right to vote not be denied because of race.

After the Brown vs. Board of Education case, James Meredith applied to the University of Mississippi. Segregationists rioted in the university, trying to deny Meredith's enrollment. In the midst of these riots, vehicles were hijacked, property was burned, and people were killed.

The Freedom Rides were a series of bus trips undertaken by interracial groups of civil rights activists to challenge segregation in interstate transportation. The rides were met with violence and arrests, but they drew national attention to the issue and spurred the federal government to enforce desegregation laws.

Sparked by Rosa Parks refusal to give up her bus seat to a white passenger, the Montgomery Bus Boycott was a big event in the Civil Rights Movement. African Americans in Montgomery, Alabama, boycotted the city's segregated bus system for over a year.

"I believe we are here on the planet Earth to live grow up and do what we can to make this world a better place for all people to enjoy freedom.”

-Rosa Parks

Civil rights activists won the Browder v Gayle district court case with the judge concluding that bus segregation in Alabama was a violation of the 14th amendment. The state and city appealed the verdict and brought it to the Supreme Court, which ruled in favor of plaintiff, formally and officially decommissioning bus segregation.

At 6 P.M. on April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. was s in Memphis, Tennessee. His death lead to immediate outbreaks of racial-motivated violence nationwide, resulting in over 40 deaths.

MLK Jr. was aware of the fact that he might not make it to the point where African Americans aren't discriminated against. However, he believed his message was more important than his own life and he continued to push for civil rights.

"I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land.

- Martin Luther King, Jr.

The Freedom Riders was a civil rights activism group that rode buses into the segregated south U.S. during and after 1961. This particular movement was to protest the lack of enforcement for Supreme Court rulings that deemed segregation in public buses to be unconstitutional. The southern states in particular was notorious for disregarding the verdict of the court rulings. The Journey of Reconciliation was the first "Freedom Ride." Joe Felmet, Igal Roodenko, and Andrew Johnson were arrested at this event and were sentenced to serve on a chain gang in North Carolina.

One of the defining moments of Lewis' activism occurred when he led a group of peaceful demonstrators across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, as part of a voting rights march. The marchers were met with brutal violence from state troopers. They attacked him with tear gas, batons, and bullwhips. The televised images of the violence in Selma shocked the nation and galvanized support for the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which aimed to eliminate racial discrimination in voting practices. As a result of his efforts and those of countless others, barriers to equal treatment and opportunity were dismantled, leading the way for a more fair and equal society.

• https://www.learningforjustice.org/magazine/spring-2004/brown-v-board-timeline-of-school-integration-in-the-us#:~:text=1964%20The%20Civil%20Rights%20Act,schools%2C%20receiving%20federal%20financial%20assistance.

• https://www.brookings.edu/articles/historical-unemployment-for-black-women-and-men-in-the-united-states-1954-2021/

• February 2019 - History - U.S. Census Bureaucensus.govhttps://www.census.gov › www › homepage_archive › fe...

• https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/civil-rights-movement-timeline

• https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/assassination-martin-luther-king-jr#:~:text=At%206%3A05%20P.M.%20on,deaths%20nationwide%20and%20extensive%20property