1. Brown vs. Board of Education
In 1954, the Supreme Court voted 9-0 in the Brown v. Board of Education case to overturn Plessy v. Ferguson. It ruled that segregation in public schools was unconstitutional.

2. Mother and child celebrating the Brown v. Board of Education Decision1 2
Mother and child celebrating the Brown v. Board of Education Decision

3. Montgomery Bus Boycott
In 1955, a tired Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, AL. A few days later, other African-Americans led by a young pastor named Martin Luther King Jr. organized a boycott of the buses. In Montgomery they walked or car- pooled in protest for over a year until the Supreme Court ruled that segregation on the buses was unconstitutional.

4. Rosa Parks refusing to give up her seat.3 4
Rosa Parks refusing to give up her seat.

5. Crisis in Little Rock
In 1957, nine African-American students were set to integrate Little Rock’s Central High School. AK Governor Faubus ordered the AK National Guard to stop them. The Guard and a white mob tried to block their entry into the school. Eventually police had to take the children away in concern for their safety.

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Crowd harassing one of the Little Rock Nine as she tries to enter Central High School.

7. To protect the legitimacy of the federal government, President Eisenhower ordered a thousand troops of the 101st Airborne to protect and escort the nine African-American students into the school.

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The 101st Airborne protecting African-American entering Central High in Little Rock.

9. In 1960, four black, college students in SC sat down at a “whites-only” lunch counter at the Greensboro Woolworth’s department store. They intended to sit there until they were served. After being refused service, they remained seated until the store closed for the night.

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Joseph McNeil, Ezell Blair, David Richmond and Franklin McCain refuse to give up their seats at the Greensboro Woolworth’s department store.

11. For the next five days they returned to the same counter, but still these four young men were refused service because of their color. Quickly a mob of angry white residents gathered, but the men maintained their protest until the store was forced to close its doors. Within a few months sit-ins had spread across the nation as a means to desegregate swimming pools, stores, restaurants, and movie theaters. Thousands of African-Americans and whites took part. In some cases, participants were yelled at, kicked, and hit by thrown food. Most would not move.

12. Sit-in demonstrators being harassed.4 3 1 2
Sit-in demonstrators being harassed.

13. Freedom Riders
In 1961, there were many blacks and whites who wished to enforce the federal law that stated all interstate bus stations had to be desegregated. The Freedom Riders, as they were called, traveled to different segregated stations in an attempt to desegregate them. In Montgomery, AL, a bomb was thrown into one of their buses. In Birmingham, the Riders were stopped and beaten. The police chief there called the local KKK and told them where the Freedom Riders would be arriving. The President ordered the Justice Department to ensure that the nation’s bus stations were integrated.

14. A Freedom Riders bus on fire after being bombed in AL.3 2 1 4
A Freedom Riders bus on fire after being bombed in AL.

15. Violence in Birmingham
Dr. King believed that the only time the government would intervene was when the violence got out of hand. In order to get the federal government’s attention, King set his sights on Birmingham, AL, the most segregated city in America. After sit-ins and pray-ins that violated local laws, Police Commissioner Eugene “Bull” Conner filled the jails with protesters. After thousands had been arrested, Connor tried to break up other protests forcefully with guard dogs and high-pressure water hoses. Cameras shot the scene and it was aired on national TV. Many Americans were horrified. In response, President Kennedy sent a bill to Congress to ensure equal rights.

16. Dogs being used on a protester.4 1 2 3
Dogs being used on a protester.

17. Protesters being hit by water hoses.3 4 2 1
Protesters being hit by water hoses.

18. The March on Washington
An estimated 200,000 people marched in DC on August 28, 1963, to support to the new Civil Rights Bill. Those gathered at the National Mall heard Martin Luther King give his “I Have a Dream Speech.”

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Martin Luther King, Jr., giving his “I Have a Dream” speech in Washington.

20. Selma March
In 1964, Congress passed its most comprehensive civil rights law, the Civil Rights Act of However, blacks still faced difficulties when trying to vote. Some were beaten and terrorized. Civil rights leaders organized a peaceful march from Selma, AL, to Montgomery to protest the voting inequalities. As the marchers were leaving Selma, the local police ordered them to disperse. When they refused, many were beaten and fifty were hospitalized.

21. Selma Marchers being beaten by police.3 4 2 1
Selma Marchers being beaten by police.

22. End of Civil Rights
After the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 passed, MLK turned his attention to ending poverty. Sadly, though, on April 4, 1968, King was shot and killed by James Earl Ray as he stood on the balcony of a hotel in Memphis, TN.

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King’s assassination.