The Struggle for Civil Rights: A Time Line
Any hyperlinks in the time line will take you to a further explanation of the event.
1856-Booker T. Washington was born on April 5th
1861-1865 Civil War
-Slavery was abolished in the 1865
1896-Plessy vs Ferguson said blacks and whites should be separate but equal
1900-1919
-Movement of NAACP
-W E B. Dubois (1910) Made a powerful argument in favor of segregation
1920's-Lynching was not outlawed by Congress
1929 Martin Luther King Jr. born
1930's
1930's-Lynching was outlawed by Congress
-1935 Charles H. Houston represented the (NAACP)
1954: Movement and protests
First white citizens council meeting July 11th in Mississippi
Legal Work
Brown vs. Board of Education won May 17th
1955-Movement Protests
Montgomery Bus Boycott Dec. 5
Legal Work
Brown II May 31
ICC ban segregation on interstate travel Nov. 25
1956-Movement and Protests
Tallahassee Bus Boycott May 27
Legal Work
Autherine Lucy admitted to the University of Alabama Feb. 3
Alabama outlaws the (NAACP) June 1
Supreme Court rules on the bus desegregation Nov.13
Violence
Home of Martin Luther King Jr. Bombed Jan.30
1957-Movement and Protests
SCLC founded Jan.10-11
Prayer Pilgrimage May 17
Legal Work
First Civil Rights bill passed since 1875 Aug.29
1958-Legal Work
Cooper vs Aaron Sep.29
Violence
Martin Luther King Jr. stabbed in Harlem Sep.20
1959-Movement Protests
Prince Edwards County abandons segregation June 26
1960-Movement Protests
Greensboro sit-in Feb.1
SACC founded April 17
Legal Work
Civil Rights Act signed May 6
1961-Movement Protests
Civil Rights organizations meet with Robert Kennedy revolting June 16
Freedom Riders summer
November: Albany movement
Legal Work
Federal Court orders Hunter and Holmes to be admitted to the University of Alabama Jan.6
ICC desegregation ruling Sep. 27
1962-Movement Protests
JFK federalizes Mississippi troops Ole Miss Sep. 29
Violence
University of Mississippi
Ole Mississippi riot Oct.2
1963: Movement and Protests
Birmingham April-May
Wallace School House stand tunnel
JFK meeting with Civil Rights leaders March on Washington June 20
March on Washington Aug 28
Birmingham bombing Sept. 15
Legal Work
Centennial of Emancipation Proclamation Jan. 1
Violence
Medgar Evers killed June 12
JFK killed Nov. 22
1964-Movement and Protests
Saint Augustine March: June
Founding of MFDP April 26
Martin Luther King Senior awarded Nobel Prize Dec. 10
Legal Work
24th Amendment eliminated polling tax on federal elections Jan.23
Supreme Court ruling on Prince Edward County May 25
Johnson signs Civil Rights Bill July 2
Violence
Riots: New York, New Jersey, Chicago, and Philadelphia
Goodmen, Schwerner, and Chany killed June 21
1965- Movement-Protests
Selma Jan.-March
King meets with LBJ Feb.9
Legal Work
Voting rights act signed Aug. 6
{Violence}
Malcolm X killed Feb. 21
Reel dies Mar. 11
Watts riots Aug.11- 16
The Struggle for Civil Rights: A Timeline
The Montgomery Bus Boycott
The Montgomery Bus Boycott was a historical landmark in time for the blacks. The boycott was
triggered by Rosa Parks. Her brave and distinguished courage was shown best in her sitting
down for her rights. Rosa was on her way home from a long and hard day of work as a
seamstress, she was on the bus in a seat that she had been in for quite some time. When a white
man boarded the bus and tried to force Rosa to the back of the bus. Rosa wouldn't go she refused
to give up her seat to a white man or any other person just because of her color. The bus driver
JP Blake said "I'm going to enforce the Montgomery segregation laws if you do not move to the
back of the bus". Rosa replied and said "you may go right ahead and do that but I'm not
moving." After this incident Rosa was arrested and taken to jail. And this was how the
Montgomery Bus Boycott was started.
Autherine Lucy
She was the first black student to attend the University of Alabama. After the white students
riotedshe was expelled, she was helped by the *NAACP* to be enrolled for graduate studies at
the university. The federal Government failed to interven and the messsage of
such resistance to integration could succeed.
Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka
Court ruled that seperate but equal segregated schools violated the 14th
amendment to the Constitution. After two weeks they issued a ruling that
school desegregation must take place "with all deliberate speed."
The white South's reaction to the Brown V.S. Board decisions ranged from
taken complianceto vehement refusal. The Southern Manifesto which was signed
in 1956 and by over 100 congressmen from southern states. They called the
Brown decision unconstitutional and pledged to revise it.
Medgar Evers
Medgar Evers, Meredith fought a whole lot of legal challenges about his
application for admission. Finnaly a Federal Court order in Sep. 1962
enjoined the University registrar from further obstruction. Governor Ross
Barnett had himself declared emergency registrar and physically barred
Meredith's approach to the registration desk. This boosted Barnetts's
popularity. In a televised speech Barnett said "There is no case in history
where the caucasion race has survived social integration... We must either
submit to the unlawful dictate of Federal Government or stand up like men
and tell them Never. Never." The Justice department Official helped
Meredith register, rebuffed four times by Barnett and by lieutenant Governor
Paul Johnson.
March On Washington
The March on Washington was inspired by the events in Birmingham. This Demonstration was the largest of all demonstrations before it. The March on Washington stood for jobs and freedom, but the events in Birmingham and the Kennedy Civil Rights Bill changed the plan. The March was scheduled for March 28 which gave Rustin under two months to organize the turn-out and too handle the details. The budget for the march was set at one hundred and twenty dollars, the funds came from donations . The Washington authorities thought that there were going to be riots so they had the whole D.C. police force there at the March. 15,000 paratroopers were put on alert that day. The police liked were the march was being held because there was water on three sides of them and the demonstrators could be easily contained. Martin Luther King Jr. was taken more serious about the march than anyone thought. For the marchers the trip to Washinton was a festive affair, enlivened with freedom songs and participating in what they knew would be a historic action.
By: Donna W.
Chris P.
Tana D.
Sources: Eyes on the Prize Time line
Hartley, William, and Vincent, William, American Civics, Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, Inc, 1992
Kasher, Steven, The Civil Rights Movement: A Photographic History, New York: Abbeville Publishers. Year published not available.