15 of the most impactful events from the history of the civil rights movement by Karen-Alondra Gonzalez-Reyes

The abolition of slavery -1865

2134540 — 2024-05-16 02:27:18 UTC

The abolition of slavery was passed by Congress on January 18, 1965, The 13 Amendment fully abolished slavery. The amendment stated that Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for a crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States. This event was impactful had a powerful sway on our society. By championing civil rights, it changed the political climate of the country. Both white and black people joined the movement.

The 15th amendment-1870

2134540 — 2024-05-16 02:47:25 UTC

The 15th Amendment was passed by congress on february 26, 1869 and was ratified on february 3rd 1870, it stated that the Constitution of the United States will guarantee that the right to vote will not be denied based on “race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” This event is significant because the 15th Amendment guaranteed African-American men the right to vote, almost immediately after ratification, African Americans began to take part in running for office and voting.

The 19th amendment-1920

2134540 — 2024-05-16 02:59:48 UTC

The 19th Amendment was passed by Congress on June 4, 1919, and ratified in August 1920. The 19th Amendment made it illegal to deny the right to vote to any citizen based on their sex, which effectively granted women the right to vote. this event is greatly impactful because it achieved the milestone that required a lengthy and difficult struggle victory that took decades of agitation and protest for women's voting rights.

Congress of racial equality (CORE)- 1942

2134540 — 2024-05-16 03:13:49 UTC

The Congress of Racial Equality or CORE was founded in 1942 by an interracial group of students in Chicago which pioneered the use of nonviolent direction in America's Civil Rights struggle. It used tactics such as using sit-ins and other forms of civil disobedience to challenge segregation. This event was impactful because the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) was recognized as one of the most powerful organizations leading the civil rights movement. Its main achievements are noted as the Freedom Rides of 1961 and the Freedom Summer Project of 1964.

End to segregated military -1948

2134540 — 2024-05-16 03:22:02 UTC

On July 26th, 1948, President Truman signed an executive order to create a President's Committee on Equality of Treatment and Opportunity in the Army. The order mandated the desegregation of the U.S. military. This event was very significant because it marked one of the first times a U.S. commander-in-chief used an executive order to implement a civil rights policy. It became a crucial step toward inspiring other parts of American society to accept desegregation.

Brown v. Board of education- 1954

2134540 — 2024-05-16 03:32:45 UTC

On May 17, 1954, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Earl Warren delivered the unanimous ruling in the landmark civil rights case Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas. outlawed segregation, becoming the first major legal victory of the Civil Rights Movement. This case was significant because It signaled the end of legalized racial segregation in the schools of the United States, overruling the "separate but equal" principle outlined in the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson case.

Little Rock 9 -1957

2134540 — 2024-05-16 03:41:55 UTC

The Little Rock Nine were a group of nine African American students enrolled in Little Rock Central High School in 1957. The students were initially prevented from entering the racially segregated school. Three years earlier, following the Supreme Court ruling, the Little Rock school board pledged to voluntarily desegregate its schools. This action eventually paved the way for desegregation of schools across the nation.

Freedom Riders- 1961

2134540 — 2024-05-16 03:53:48 UTC

Freedom Riders were civil rights activists who rode interstate buses into the segregated Southern United States in 1961. All riders had committed themselves to nonviolent resistance. Their goal was to challenge state laws that enforced segregation in transportation they also wanted to challenge the non-enforcement of the United States Supreme Court decisions. over the time of many protesting eventually they were beaten by the mob with baseball bats, iron pipes and bicycle chains.They were all arrested in Jackson in the bus depot for violating segregation statutes and were taken to jail. The event was significant because although all the violence and struggles the freedom riders faced they still achieved to ban of segregation laws in interstate travel facilities, including buses, restrooms, water fountains, and lunch counters.

The Civil Rights Act -1954

2134540 — 2024-05-16 04:01:25 UTC

The civil rights act, was signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson on July 2, 1964.The act prohibited discrimination in public places, provided for the integration of schools and other public facilities, and made employment discrimination illegal. It also strengthened the enforcement of voting rights and the desegregation of schools. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is the nation's benchmark civil rights legislation. This event was significant because It was the most sweeping civil rights legislation since Reconstruction. Which forbade discrimination on the basis of sex, as well as, race in hiring, promoting, and firing.

The selma montgomery -1965

2134540 — 2024-05-16 21:08:13 UTC

The Selma Marches was a series of three marches that took place in 1965 from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. These marches were organized by Martin Luther King Jr. to protest the blocking of Black Americans' right to vote by the racist structure of Jim Crow laws in the South. The purpose of the Selma to Montgomery march in 1965 was to demand changes to Jim Crow laws that suppressed Black voter registration and to uphold federal protections to ensure the right to vote for African Americans. This event was very significant because it was a turning point in the civil rights movement. Because of the powerful impact of the marches in Selma, the voting rights of 1865 were presented to Congress on March 17, 1965. President Johnson signed the bill into law on August 6, 1965.

The Watts riots -1965

2134540 — 2024-05-16 21:21:26 UTC

The Watts riots, or the Watts Rebellion/Watts Uprising, took place in the Watts neighborhood and its surrounding areas of Los Angeles from August 11 to 16, 1965. The riots began due to the arrest of Marquette Frye, an African-American man from the Watts community. He was arrested for allegedly intoxicated driving by a white California policeman. The riots went on for six days and did not end until the National Guard instated a curfew. Angered by social injustices, thousands of African Americans rioted, burned stores, and devastated the area. ended with more than forty million dollars of property damage, making it the costliest and largest urban rebellion in the Civil Rights era. this was a significant event because It brought awareness to African Americans and sent an important message to pessimists.

Fair housing act -1968

2134540 — 2024-05-16 21:31:41 UTC

The Fair Housing Act of 1968 expanded on previous acts and prohibited discrimination concerning the sale, rental, and financing of housing based on race, religion, national origin, and sex. This act was passed to prohibit racial discrimination in sales and rentals of housing. This act is significant because the act makes fair housing a national policy throughout the U.S. It prohibits discrimination in the sale, lease or rental of housing, or making housing otherwise unavailable because of race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status, or national origin.

The stonewall riots -1969

2134540 — 2024-05-16 21:44:20 UTC

Stonewall Riots, were a series of violent confrontations that began on June 28, 1969, between police and gay rights activists outside the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in the Greenwich Village section of New York City. A gay bar in New York's Greenwich Village was raided by police. But instead of responding with the normal compliance the New York Police Department expected, patrons and a growing crowd decided to fight back. The five days of rioting changed forever the face of gay and lesbian life. The Stonewall Riots was an important event because it was the impulse for the formation of the Gay Liberation Front as well as other gay, lesbian, and bisexual civil rights organizations.

The equal rights amendment -1970 (to present)

2134540 — 2024-05-16 22:05:23 UTC

The Equal Rights Amendment was proposed in Congress in 1923 to secure full equality for women. It proposed an amendment to the United States Constitution that would guarantee equal legal rights for all American citizens, regardless of sex. If passed, legal rights would no longer be determined by gender. It seeks to end the legal distinctions between men and women in terms of divorce, property, employment, etc. This event was significant because women gradually achieved greater equality through victories that continued the effort to expand rights, including the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which finally codified the right to vote for all women.

The BLM movement -2013

2134540 — 2024-05-16 22:14:05 UTC

Black Lives Matter or BLM is a movement that strives against violence and racism towards Black people. The Black Lives Matter Movement has grown into the largest Black-led protest campaign since the 1960s. Specific goals and tactics vary by city and state, overall the goal of the movement is to bring attention to police violence against African Americans and in the use of deadly force against mostly innocent and unarmed civilians. Black Lives Matter has had many identities since it was founded with the mission to end white supremacy and build power to intervene in violence in Black communities. This movement is significant because it changed how people viewed the black race black lives matter had huge support by different groups of people.