1. The Civil Rights Movement

2. Jim Crow Laws After Slavery ended Racial segregation laws
In in 1896 Supreme Court said “Separate But Equal” was okay
Voting issues
K.K.K. (Klu Klux Klan)
Lasted until 1965

4. Brown vs. Board of Education
In 1954, the Supreme Court decided that "separate but equal" schools were illegal and inherently *unequal.*
Was the beginning of eliminating the "separate but equal" facilities--like buses
Many cities and states tried to prevent integration.
In 1957, President Eisenhower had to call in the army to desegregate Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas.

6. Emmett Till
In 1955, 13-year-old Emmett Till of Chicago was visiting his cousins in Mississippi.
Allegedly at a store he whistled at a white woman.
That night, the woman's husband and his brother kidnapped Emmett, tortured him, shot him, and dumped him in the river. His body was so disfigured that his mom only recognized him from a ring on his finger.
His mom decided to have an open casket to show the world the racism that was going on.
Emmett's death was one of the main motivations for the Civil Rights Movement.
Historical fiction novel: Mississippi Trial 1955

7. Rosa Parks
Was arrested in Alabama for refusing to move her seat on the bus.
Asked M.L.K. to lead a bus boycott. So many blacks refused to ride the bus that the system almost went bankrupt.
Months later, buses were finally integrated.

8. Peaceful Demonstrations; Violent Reactions
“Freedom Riders”-- people of all ethnicities, usually college students-- would take buses down to the south to do "sit-ins" at counters, register voters, and protest against racism and segregation.
Many were assaulted by townspeople and policemen--and many were murdered.

9. Martin Luther King, Jr. Led Montgomery Bus Boycott
Became the primary leader of the Civil Rights Movement
Preached nonviolent protesting (based partially on Gandhi’s example)
In 1963, he gave his famous "I have a dream" speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.
In 1968, Martin Luther King was killed on the balcony of his hotel in Memphis, Tennessee.