Fighting Segregation In the mid-1900s, the civil rights movement began to make major progress in correcting the national problem of racial segregation. A TIMELINE OF MAJOR EVENTS AND PEOPLE OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT

1954 U.S. Supreme Court declares school segregation unconstitutional in the Brown v Board of Education of Topeka ruling.

1955 Rosa Parks refuses to move to the back of a Montgomery, Alabama bus as required by city ordinance; boycott follows and bus segregation ordinance is declared unconstitutional. I.e. Montgomery Bus Boycott

1963 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivers his “I Have a Dream” speech to hundreds of thousands at the march on Washington.

1964 Congress passes the Civil Rights Act, declaring discrimination illegal.

1965 Congress passes the Voting Rights Act of 1965, making it easier for Southern blacks to vote.

Thurgood Marshall He was the first African American to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States. Before becoming a judge, he was a lawyer who was best remembered for his high success rate in arguing before the Supreme Court and for the victory in Brown v. Board of Education.

Ruby Bridges Born September 8, When she was 6 years old her parents responded to a call from the NAACP and volunteered her to participate in the integration of the New Orleans School system. She is known as the first African-American child to attend an all- white elementary school in the South.

Tuesday: Ruby Bridges years old Mom said, "My God, what have I done?”/ She spoke her heart Ruby Bridges / She did her part Ruby Bridges / She reflected Ruby Bridges / We were affected Ruby Bridges / That little child Ruby Bridges / That world beguiled Ruby Bridges / By a little child Ruby Bridges / Who changed the course of history Ruby Bridges / No longer a memory But a reality / who? "Ruby Bridges" Rose Marie Roybal

Rosa Parks She is known as the “Mother of the Civil Rights Movement”. In 1955 she refused to obey the bus driver’s order that she give up her seat to make room for a white passenger. This action sparked the Montgomery bus boycott. This act of defiance became a modern Civil Rights Movement. She organized and collaborated with civil rights leaders, including Martin Luther King, Jr.

Martin Luther King Jr. He was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in The Civil Rights Movement. His main legacy was to secure progress on civil rights in the United States, and he has become a human rights icon. He led the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott and help found the Southern Leadership Conference in 1957, serving as its first president. King’s efforts led to the 1963 March on Washington where he delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech. King was assassinated on April 4, 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee.