Civil Rights Movement Timeline by Desiree Vargas

Executive Order 9981 - July 26, 1948

desireevargas1611 — 2025-03-04 23:14:41 UTC

President Truman passed this order which de-segregated the U.S military and prohibited discrimination. The President's Committee on Equality of Treatment and Opportunity in the Armed Services was created to look into the rules and regulations that need to be changed.

Brown v. Board of Education - May 17, 1954

desireevargas1611 — 2025-03-04 23:16:33 UTC

The court case that said that segregation in schools was unconstitutional. It overruled the Plessy v Ferguson case that decided that segregation did not violate the 14th amendment of the constitution. This decision caused a lot of commotion since it was a start to the end of segregation.

Little Rock Nine - September 1957

desireevargas1611 — 2025-03-05 22:27:07 UTC

In Little Rock, Arkansas, a federal court order required Central High School to enroll nine African American students, known as the Little Rock Nine. The Arkansas governor, Orval Fabubus, completely disregarded the federal government and violated the constitution and set up troops around the school to stop the nine students from entering. Eisenhower decided to step in when a mob of angry white people got violent. He sent army troops to protect the students and allow them to enter.

Emmett Till Murder - August 28, 1955

desireevargas1611 — 2025-03-06 03:56:33 UTC

Emmett Till was a 14 year old African American boy who was visiting family in Mississippi. He was out with cousins and whistled at Carolyn Brant, a white woman. Her husband and brother and law beat the boy until he was unrecognizable, the murdered him and dumped his body in the river. Emmett's mother held an open casket funeral and allowed pictures to be uploaded to show to the public the injustice her son experienced. The case was also made public which inspired people to begin taking actions to end discrimination and segregation.

Montgomery Bus Boycott - December 1955 - November 1956

desireevargas1611 — 2025-03-06 04:18:26 UTC

After Rosa Park's arrest for refusing to give up her seat on a segregated bus, African Americans united under a leader (Martin Luther King Jr.) and boycotted the Montgomery public bus system. They used all different kinds of modes of transportation except for the bus to not give them any money. The bus system quickly lost a significant amount of money and after a year of boycotting the Supreme Court announced the end of segregation on all public transportation.

Greensboro Sit-in Campaigns - February 1, 1960

desireevargas1611 — 2025-03-06 22:56:06 UTC

On February 1, 1960, Four African American college students protested by sitting at a segregated lunch counter. They were denied service but stayed seated until the store closed to stop business. More people joined the sit-in and began to do the same for other businesses. The sit-in was covered in the news and it spread throughout the North and South as a peaceful way to protest segregation in certain buildings. In the summer of 1960, dining places in the South began to desegregate.

MLK's Letter from a Birmingham Jail - April 16, 1963

desireevargas1611 — 2025-03-06 22:56:54 UTC

Martin Luther King Jr. wrote this letter while he was in Birmingham Jail for leading civil rights protests in Alabama. He wrote in the letter about his nonviolent protest campaigns and why it was necessary for him to bring them to Birmingham; he stated that Birmingham is the most segregated city and brutal and unjust to black people. He negotiated with merchants and other economic leaders who had agreed to remove racist signs from their stores. They did not hold to their promise so MLK decided that (nonviolent) direct actions needed to be taken. He gives inspiring words that they (civil rights protesters) will need to struggle and fight for justice.

Desegregation of U of Mississippi - September-October 1962

desireevargas1611 — 2025-03-06 23:13:35 UTC

Since Brown v. Board of Education ruled segregation in schools as unconstitutional in 1954, African Americans were slowly being admitted into public schools in states across the South. James Meredith was an African American student at an all black college who applied many times to the University of Mississippi but was rejected every time. In 1961, he filed a lawsuit against the college for racial discrimination and in September of 1962 he won the case. However many state officials did not support this decision which created a constitutional crisis with the federal government. Citizens also were unhappy with this decision and when Meredith showed up to the school a mob of people tried to stop him from entering. Although he did have protection from federal forces that didn't stop violence from persisting and two people were killed and many were injured which resulted in thousands of troops being sent to control the situation. In October of 1962, James Meredith became the first African American registered at the University of Mississippi and graduated the next year.

March on Washington - August 28. 1963

desireevargas1611 — 2025-03-06 23:17:59 UTC

On August 28, 1963, around 250,000 protesters showed up to the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom that moved to end discrimination in employment as well as abuse of civil rights of African Americans, Latinos, and other minorities. The march was completely peaceful and was the birthplace of Martin Luther King Jr's most famous speech "I Have a Dream." The march persuaded Congress into passing the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

John F. Kennedy is assassinated - November 22, 1963

desireevargas1611 — 2025-03-15 06:07:58 UTC

President Kennedy recognized that civil rights was a constitutional and a moral issue. He created the Civil Rights Act of 1963 which ended segregation in all public facilities and protected the rights of African Americans to vote. However it received a lot of disagreement and the bill was held off until November. On the 22nd of that same month, Kennedy was sniped while riding in a car with his wife and was pronounced dead at the hospital an hour later.

Birmingham Church Bombing - September 15, 1963

desireevargas1611 — 2025-03-19 03:19:10 UTC

The Birmingham Church on 16th Street Baptist was considered the heart of Birmingham's African American community. It was used by African Americans as a meeting place, social center, and lecture hall and even served as a headquarters for civil rights meetings and rallies. Birmingham was one of the most segregated cities so in 1963 it became a focus point of the civil rights movement with the church as a foundation for the demonstrations. This made it a target for white people who were against the civil rights movement and wanted to keep their city segregated. So on the morning of September 15, a bomb exploded in the church, killing 4 young girls. This violent act brought attention to the racial discrimination African Americans in Birmingham were fighting against. Thousands of citizens white and black alike attended the girls' funerals and were outraged by the incident. Four suspects were found to be part of a splinter group of the KKK but no one was arrested for a lack of evidence. The bombing paired with President John F Kennedy's assassination 2 months later did however help push the passing of the Civil Rights Act.

Freedom Rides - 1961

desireevargas1611 — 2025-03-19 03:32:25 UTC

A non-violent protest of segregated buses started by a group of 6 white and 7 African American civil rights activists. On May 4, 1961 they began their journey across the South on segregated buses, using white only restrooms and lunch counters. They were violently attacked by mobs of angry white people multiple times. The group ended the freedom rides when bus drivers refused to transport them anymore because of the violence but another activist arranged another group. The US Attorney, General Robert F Kennedy, secured a driver and protection for the riders to continue on May 20. However, it backfired, the police dumped them in front of a white mob armed with bats and clubs and Attorney Kennedy had to send 600 federal troops to stop the violence. He then urged a 'cooling off' period to prevent more violence and began arresting protesting riders. The freedom rides resumed despite the arrests and the violence which pressured the Interstate Commerce Commission into creating laws that prohibited segregation in public interstate transportation.