Timeline by Kiera Kylander-Johnson

1909- NAACP Founded

kyla3948 — 2025-03-18 18:30:41 UTC

The National Association of Colored People worked to secure full legal equality and remove barriers for all Americans by challenging segregation laws throughout the country, the legal team was headed by Thurgood Marshall. The NAACP won many legal battles regarding housing and education, the most famous was Brown v. Board of Education

1942- Congress of Racial Equity (CORE) Founded

kyla3948 — 2025-03-18 18:32:21 UTC

Almost half a million Americans were now a part of the NAACP and black citizens of the U.S. were fighting for the “Double V”, which meant being victorious in World War II and overcoming the racism inside of their country. Segregation caused feelings of hostility to increase, and in 1941 the leader of the first black labor union A. Philip Randoph, threatened a march on Washington.

1952- Malcolm X Joins the Nation of Islam

kyla3948 — 2025-03-18 18:34:07 UTC

Malcom X was a young black leader who joined and later became the national representative of the Nation of Islam with help from Elijah Muhammad, a black leader of the Nation of Islam who changed his name from Elijah Poole to help him become more in touch with his African identity. Malcolm X followed the ideal of black separatism rather than equality, which caused him to clash with Martin Luther King Jr.

1954- Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas

kyla3948 — 2025-03-18 18:36:01 UTC

The Brown v. Board of Education was a case of the supreme court in which the Warren Court determined that segregation of public schools was unconstitutional. The Plessy v. Ferguson case of 1896 was overturned by Brown v. Board of Education, making “separate but equal” facilities no longer constitutional.

1955- Montgomery Bus Boycott

kyla3948 — 2025-03-18 18:37:37 UTC

Black citizens of Montgomery, Alabama chose to boycott the city buses for a year. This occurred after Rosa Parks, who was a black woman, was arrested for sitting in the “whites only” section on the bus and refusing to leave.

1957- SCLC Formed

kyla3948 — 2025-03-18 18:39:37 UTC

The Southern Christian Leadership Conference was formed by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. which mobilized black churches, which were the largest black institutions at the time. Its purpose was to use the power of black churches to fight for black rights.

1957- The Little Rock Nine

kyla3948 — 2025-03-18 18:41:29 UTC

Nine black students who had enrolled in the previously all-white Little Rock Central High School which was now open to all due to desegregation, were escorted to class by troops sent by President Eisenhower. It was much harder for the southern United States to accept desegregation into everyday life, and even the Arkansas governor Orval Fabus was actively against letting the nine black students into the school, as he went as far as to mobilize the National Guard against them.

1960- Sit In Movement

kyla3948 — 2025-03-18 18:43:17 UTC

Thousands of students across the south entered and stayed in segregated facilities, which was started by four black college students in Greensboro, North Carolina entered a whites-only restaurant and were denied service by a black waitress. The movement aimed to express demand for equal treatment for black Americans in public facilities.

1960- SNCC Formed

kyla3948 — 2025-03-18 18:45:29 UTC

The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee was formed by black students living in the south who wished to make their protests more impactful. They were inspired by the sit in movement which was traveling across the south and involved thousands of people.

1960- Freedom Riders

kyla3948 — 2025-03-18 18:47:28 UTC

An interracial group of people called the Freedom Riders were met with violence and arrests when they attempted to enter the south in two buses. This was an attempt to end segregation directed towards interstate bus passengers.

1962- Integration at Ole Miss

kyla3948 — 2025-03-18 18:49:10 UTC

A mob of white people at the University Of Mississippi violently attacked James Meredith and President Kennedy was forced to send 400 federal marshalls and 3,000 troops to assist Meredith. James Meredith, who was a black air force veteran, was attempting to enroll at Ole Miss when he received this violent treatment from its white students, who did not want to attend school with a black man.

1963- Birmingham Marches and Boycotts

kyla3948 — 2025-03-18 18:53:01 UTC

Martin Luther King Jr. organized a campaign to end discrimination in Birmingham, Alabama, and the peaceful protesters were met with violence from police dogs, cattle prods, and high-pressure water hoses. In the United States during this time period, Birmingham was the most segregated of all of the big cities, with black citizens only making up 15% of the city's voters while they constituted almost half of its population.

1963- March on Washington

kyla3948 — 2025-03-18 18:54:19 UTC

200,000 black and white Americans who were led by Martin Luther King Jr., gathered in Washington D.C. to hear King’s historic “I Have a Dream” speech. This was in support of the new civil rights legislation that would protect black U.S. citizens which was proposed by President Kennedy.

1964- Civil Rights Act (1946)

kyla3948 — 2025-03-18 18:55:52 UTC

The act was passed by Congress and banned racial discrimination in most facilities, created the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), and gave the federal government more power as to ending segregation in schools, all of which lessened discrimination towards black people. In honor of the late President Kennedy, President Lyndon B. Johnson tried to have this bill passed quickly, as Kennedy had been trying for a long time to gain headway with the legislature for the civil rights movement.

1964- 24th Amendment Ratified

kyla3948 — 2025-03-18 18:57:17 UTC

The 24th amendment to the U.S. constitution removed poll taxes from federal elections and gave Congress the power to enforce this legislation. This was a victory for poorer American citizens, especially black people, as they were no longer required to pay to vote.

1965- Selma March

kyla3948 — 2025-03-18 18:59:27 UTC

Martin Luther King Jr. led peaceful protesters from Selma, Alabama to the capital of Montgomery, who were whipped and attacked with tear gas by state troopers on the way. This was a part of Martin Luther King Jr.’s voter registration campaign in Selma, as black individuals made up 1% of voters in the city while they were 50% of the population.

1965- Voting Rights Act (1965)

kyla3948 — 2025-03-18 19:01:32 UTC

This act was passed through Congress and banned literacy tests and sent voting registrars to many southern states, as the states in the south were much more opposed to the civil rights movement than those in the north. After witnessing the violence the protesters endured during the Selma March, President Johnson quickly pushed this act through congress in support of black Americans.

1966- Black Panther Party

kyla3948 — 2025-03-18 19:03:37 UTC

The Black Panthers were formed in 1966 in Oakland, California but spread to other big cities, and took a more direct and violent approach to the civil rights movement by rioting, burning down buildings, and physically attacking police officers and firefighters. Inspired by figures like Malcolm X, the Black Panthers advocated for “Black Power”, which celebrated their heritage and demanded that the rest of America did as well.

1968- Asassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

kyla3948 — 2025-03-18 19:05:17 UTC

Martin Luther King Jr. was fatally shot in the face in Memphis, Tennessee, and James Earl Ray pleaded guilty for the crime. King Jr. was relentless in his fight for equality in the civil rights movement, which angered many white supremacists and even many in the U.S. government.