Civil Rights Movement, 1954 – 1963
May 1954 Supreme Court Brown v. Topeka Board of Education Separate, but equal is unconstitutional Overturned the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson
August 1955 Murder of Emmet Till 14 year old from Chicago visited relatives in Money, Mississippi “Flirted w/ a 21 year old white woman in a store Few days later Emmet disappeared His severely beaten body was found in a river. He had been shot in the head
August, 1955 Rob Bryant and half-brother JW Milam arrested and tried Acquitted by an all white jury Sold their story to Look Magazine for $4,000. The admitted killing Emmet.
December, 1955 – December 1956 Rosa Parks Rosa Parks boarded a bus December 1st 1955. Told to move out of her seat to the colored section Note: she was in the first row of this section, but the whites had no more seats. Blacks had to move to make room by law Arrested Triggered a boycott of public transportation.
December 1955 – December 1956 Rev. Martin Luther King led the protest Pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist church Boycott lasted a year Ended November 13, 1956 US Supreme Court ruled Montgomery segregation law unconstitutional
October, 1957 Central High School, Little Rock Arkansas To comply w/ Brown v. Board decision 9 black students tried to enroll National Guard called in to keep them out President Eisenhower sent Federal Troops to guard the students
September, 1962 James Meredith and the University of Mississippi Meredith sought to enroll as the 1st black student at Univ. of Miss. Resistance from the University to the Governor. President Kennedy sent federal marshals in to protect him Kennedy made a tv speech, during which violence broke out. During riots, 2 died/300 injured
April – May 1963 Birmingham Alabama, Project C Plan of Dr. King to challenge segregation in Birmingham C stood for confrontation Nonviolent protests Idea: Police chief, Bull Connor, would react w/ violence bringing national attention. It worked. Conner used dogs and fire hoses
King arrested on Good Friday (writes “Letter from the Birmingham Jail”) White ministers urged King to end protests. He refuses
June 11, 1963 George Wallace and the Desegregation of the University of Alabama Wallace campaign slogan: segregation, now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever.” Federal court barred any state government from stopping black student enrollment. Despite ruling, Governor Wallace stood at the door of the Registar, preventing two students from enrolling
President Kennedy federalized Alabama National Guard. They escorted the students to campus and ordered Wallace aside. They registered. Vivian Malone and James Hood, 1st two black students at the University of Alabama
June 11, 1963 Kennedy and the Civil Rights Legislation Breaks his lukewarm position on civil rights Bill passes congress in 1964: Civil Rights Act
June 12, 1963 Assassination of Medgar Evers Jackson Mississippi Violence one day after Kennedy’s speech Evers was the field secretary of the NAACP. When Evers arrived home from a protest, he was shot in the back. Died in his driveway w/ his wife and children there
Killer was Byron De La Beckwith, KKK member Tried and acquitted by an all white jury Case reopened in 1994, convicted. The film Ghosts of Mississippi depicts the story
August 28, 1963 March on Washington 250,000 attended the peaceful demonstration King gave his “I Have a Dream Speech” Designed to pressure the quick action of civil rights legislation
September 15, 1963 Birmingham bombing A bombing of a church 4 girls killed, 20 injured 4 suspected identified by FBI. All members of KKK Hoover refused, claiming the civil rights activist set the bomb for publicity. 40 years later, prosecutors reopened the case. 3 living suspects jailed.
President Kennedy, assassinated November, 1963 Martin Luther King Jr., assassinated 1968