Civil rights timeline by WILLIAM SROKA

Emmet Till

jesseruiter2029 — 2025-04-24 16:36:03 UTC

Emmett Till was a 14 year old boy who 2 white men killed on August 28 1955. One day on the way to the store Emmett was accused of whistling at a white woman. The woman went to the police, but before they could do anything, her husband and brother kidnapped him. The men tortured him, beating him and eventually shooting him in the head, and then throwing his body in a river. His face was so mutilated that he was only recognized by the ring he was wearing with his father's initials. MLK spoke out in a speech about how the racial injustice this was and that it was "evil racial injustice".

MLK speech on Emmett Till

williamsroka2029 — 2025-04-24 16:58:23 UTC

A month after the Till lynching, Martin Luther King stated that it “might be considered one of the most brutal and inhuman crimes of the twentieth century” couple of months later the bus boycott began.

Bus Boycott

jesseruiter2029 — 2025-04-24 17:03:32 UTC

“It was because of Till’s death that Dr. King decided to take on the Montgomery Bus Boycott, because he felt that the Emmett Till murder case was an intimidation factor to keep black people away from the polls.”(Knkx)

The death of Emmett Till was one of the things that pushed MLK into taking on the Montgomery bus boycott.

First sit in 1960

williamsroka2029 — 2025-04-24 17:09:54 UTC

MLK was one of the biggest leaders in creating these marches sit-ins, boycotts and more. MLK heavily influenced sit-ins because they were nonviolent.The Greensboro Four, Ezell Blair Jr., Franklin McCain, Joseph McNeil, and David Richmond initiated the first sit-in at a segregated Woolworth's lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina. This was the first sit-in and later many more followed proving to be a very effective strategy to fight for civil rights.

jesseruiter2029 — 2025-04-24 19:54:40 UTC

Emmett Till's death sparked a lot of debate and raised a massive amount of awareness. Till's mother made a strong decision to have a open casket showing people his horrific state bringing even more awareness to his death. Till's death is stated to be the upsurge of activision and resistance that became the civil rights movement.

BLM protests

williamsroka2029 — 2025-04-24 21:18:06 UTC

Emmett Till and George Floyd were slightly similar since they both died due to racism. The George Floyd incident was because the cop killed him, and Emmett Till's death was because of 2 racist white men. Both of these death were brutal but Emmett Till had to endure more torture and violence. A similarity is that both of these deaths cause massive controversy and awareness. Over 40,000 people went to Till's funeral, and there were many protests over George Floyd's death. A difference was in the protests. Till's death was in a time with Jim Crow laws and a lot of racism. This meant protests were more localized and often constrained by violence, fear, and suppression. Also, many of the protests took place through organizations like the NAACP. George Floyd's protests took place when there was widespread communication and a lot of racial awareness. This led to massive protests in person and online. In conclusion, both of these sad deaths helped change and fight back against discrimination and racism.

I Have a Dream Speech

williamsroka2029 — 2025-04-24 21:28:57 UTC

MLK made one of the most if not the most powerful speeches to the USA and it was so powerful he was created a day for it. The number of things that had to lead up before was incredible such as the sit-ins that took many years for African Americans to eat at restaurants.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964

jesseruiter2029 — 2025-04-24 23:25:13 UTC

The civil rights act intended top end discrimination based on race,color,religion or national origin in all public places. This was heavily influenced by the sit-ins because the goal of them was to target the racism in public places. Because of how sit in were done it put a lot of pressure on the topic eventually leading to this Civil Rights Act

Freedom Rides

jesseruiter2029 — 2025-04-24 23:41:44 UTC

The Freedom Rides are black and white people protesting the segregated transportation. This nonviolent protest was heavily influenced by sit-ins but on its goal was in transportation. It started on May 4 1961 when 13 black and white civilians decided to go on a two buses and ride them from D.C to New Orleans. They wanted to challenge the segregation on buses, but they faced many challenges. During their rides, the buses face angry mobs and violence. Many of them were attacked, and the police did nothing. This courageous act eventually got the president's attention, and he stepped in to help them. In response to these attacks more freedom riders joined. The Freedom ride helps show that discrimination was everywhere and helped bring a lot of attention and help massively in the civil rights movement

sources

williamsroka2029 — 2025-04-24 23:46:37 UTC

https://www.britannica.com/event/Freedom-Rides

https://www.britannica.com/event/Civil-Rights-Act-United-States-1964

Full_text_I_Have_a_Dream_.pdf

Till, Emmett Louis | The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute

Greensboro Sit-In - Facts, Date & Definition | HISTORY

Archives — Emmett Till Project

https://durhamcivilrightsmap.org/places/45-students-occupy-administrative-building-allen-building-protest-1969/?utm_source

The last Sit-in

jesseruiter2029 — 2025-04-25 16:56:02 UTC

In 1969, there were only 85 Black students among Duke University’s undergraduate population of 6,000. After all other negotiations with the administrators were denied, they decided to do a sit-in and block the entrances. They said that they would burn all student records if the police were called. By the late afternoon, over 400 white students joined in to help protect them. Eventually, they left, but they did spark a change. It brought a lot of awareness to this problem, and a little later, changes in the school were made. This was one of the last major sit-ins.