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1954 | 1956 | 1957 | 1960 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1967 | 1968 | 1971 | Activists | Lesson Plans
The Civil Rights Movement
PBS:
Civil Rights Era Timeline
Learn about the major events in the Civil Rights Movement from 1954-1971.
Includes links to NPR interviews about several of the events.
Photo
Tour of the Civil Rights Movement
Learn about the people, places, and events during this time period through
facts and photos from the Seattle Times.
We
Shall Overcome
Travel to historic places of the of the civil rights movement. Do you
know why the Moulin Rouge Hotel was significant in the history of civil
rights? How about the Elizabeth Harden Gilmore House in Charleston, West
Virginia or the Dorchester Academy Boys' Dormitory in Midway, Georgia?
Civil
Rights Era: Library of Congress
Learn about the Jim Crow South, the fight against racial discrimination
and segregation, and the search for justice of African American men and
women.
“Jim
Crow” Laws
Learn about the system of segregation used before the Civil Rights Movement
in the United States.
Tolerance.org
Fight hate and promote tolerance.
The Anti-Defamation
League's Education Page
The mission of the Anti-Defamation League is to secure justice and fair
treatment to all citizens alike.
Brown
v the Board of Education
Learn about the groundbreaking 1954 case that ruled that separate facilities
for blacks were not equal to those set aside for whites and that separation
of the races was harmful. The case involved the rights of black children
to attend a white public school.
Monroe
Elementary - Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site
Learn about the Topeka , Kansas elementary school that was at the center
of the Brown v. Board of Education landmark decision.
Plessy
v Ferguson
Learn about Plessy v Ferguson which, in 1892, established the principle
of separate but equal. Plessy had been removed from an all-white railroad
car by authorities who said that the facilities for blacks on railroad
cars were of equal quality. The case went to court, and Plessy lost.
This case made it constitutional for states to enact laws stating that
separate facilities such as bathrooms, water fountains, schools, train
cars, etc. could be provided for blacks and whites. Facilities for blacks
were separate but rarely were they equal to those of whites.
1956 – U.S. Supreme Court bans segregated seating on Montgomery, Alabama buses.
Rosa
Parks: The Woman Who Changed a Nation
Get to know Rosa Parks. When she refused to give up her seat to a white
man on December 1, 1955 , her "act of courage began turning the
wheels of the civil rights movement."
1957 – The federal government uses the military to uphold African Americans' civil rights, as soldiers escort nine African American students to desegregate a school in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Little
Rock Central High School
Visit Little Rock Central High School and learn about its tumultuous
efforts to desegregate in 1957. Find out what happened to the original
nine African American students who attended the school.
President
Dwight D. Eisenhower's Response Speech
The president delivered this speech from his office in the White House
on the evening of September 24, 1957.
1960 – Four African American students stage a sit-in at a “Whites Only” lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina launching a wave of similar protests across the South.
Greensboro Sit-Ins
Travel to Greensboro , North Carolina and learn about the famous sit-in
that took place there. Four young men who came to be called the "Greensboro
Four" were refused service at a white-only lunch counter at a Woolworth
store. So they staged the first sit-in. These four college students became
heroes of the civil rights movement, and theirs was the first of many
sit-ins.
F.W.
Woolworth Building
Here is the historically significant Woolworth's Five & Dime in Greensboro
, North Carolina where four African American students staged a sit-in
at a “Whites Only” lunch counter.
1962 – President Kennedy ordered Federal Marshals to escort James Meredith, the first black student to enroll at the University of Mississippi , to campus. A riot broke out and before the National Guard could arrive to reinforce the marshals, two students were killed.
Integrating
Ole Miss: A Civil Rights Milestone
Explore the JFK Library's educational exhibit on the integration of the
University of Mississippi , featuring primary documents, teacher resources
and a in depth look into this Civil Rights milestone.
President
Kennedy's Speech
President John F. Kennedy delivered this speech on the evening of September
30, 1962.
1963 – More than 200,000 people march on Washington, D.C., in the largest civil rights demonstration ever; Martin Luther King, Jr., gives his "I Have a Dream" speech.
The Martin
Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change
Virtually visit the King Center in Atlanta , Georgia. It is dedicated
to promoting the legacy and teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
through research and education in his principles, philosophy, and methods
of nonviolence.
Lincoln
Memorial
The Lincoln Memorial has been the location for many civil rights demonstrations,
including the 1963 March on Washington.
“I
Have a Dream” Speech
Delivered by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on the steps at the Lincoln
Memorial in Washington D.C. on August 28, 1963.
1964 - President Lyndon Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act, which gives the federal government far-reaching powers to prosecute discrimination in employment, voting, and education.
Civil
Rights Act of 1964
Read the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which secured for African Americans
the right to eat at any restaurant, rent a room in any hotel, ride in
any section of public transportation, be hired for any job whose qualifications
they met, or attend any school. In 1964, Congress passed the first of
several voting rights acts to enforce the rights of blacks to register
to vote.
1964 - Martin Luther King, Jr. is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Nobel
eMuseum – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
In addition to his biography, you can read Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s
Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech and lecture.
1965 - the Voting Rights Act is passed, outlawing the practices used in the South to disenfranchise African American voters.
The
Voting Rights Act of 1965
Get the scoop on the Voting Rights Act from the U.S. Department of Justice.
National
Voting Rights Museum
The National Voting Rights Museum and Institute was created to honor
the courage of civil rights supporters who endured hatred and violence
and died to gain the right to vote for Black Americans.
1967 - Thurgood Marshall becomes the first African American justice on the Supreme Court.
Thurgood
Marshall Biography
Learn about this remarkable man who was always at the forefront of the
Civil Rights Movement.
1968 – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. assassinated in Memphis , Tennessee. His murder sparks a week of rioting across the country.
Biographical
Outline of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Learn more about the major architect of the Civil Rights Movement and
his policy of nonviolent, passive resistance.
Memphis: We
Remember
This is a homage to Dr. King by the union of Memphis garbage workers
whose strike Dr. King was supporting when he was assassinated.
Robert
Kennedy's Statement on the Assassination of Martin Luther King,
Jr.
This speech was delivered by Robert F. Kennedy on the evening of April
4, 1968
1968 – Shirley Chisholm becomes the first African American woman to be elected to Congress.
African
Americans: Shirley Chisholm
In addition to being the first African American Congresswoman, Shirley
Chisholm was the first to campaign for the presidency.
1971 – Fifteen African American members of Congress form the Congressional Black Caucus to present a unified African American voice in Congress.
Congressional
Black Caucus
Although the Black Caucus was first formed in 1969, the group received
its first national recognition when its members met with former President
Richard Nixon in March of 1971. This web site provides historical and
current information about this group.
Ida
B. Wells
Make the acquaintance of Ida B. Wells. She was born in Missouri , the
daughter of slaves, in 1862. Ms. Wells became a crusader for women's
rights and for the rights of African Americans. In the 1870s, she was
forcibly removed from her seat for refusing to move to a "colored
car" on the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad. She brought suit against
the railroad for violating her civil rights, but it was rejected by the
Tennessee Supreme Court in 1877. She helped lay the groundwork for the
organization now known as the NAACP, the oldest civil rights organization
in the country.
Fanny
Jackson Coppin
Meet Fanny Jackson Coppin. She was a former slave who became a teacher
and was tireless in her efforts to educate other freed slaves.
Charles
Houston: The Man Who Killed “Jim Crow”
Meet the man who fought relentlessly against Jim Crow. Houston, a legal
visionary and staunch supporter of integration, orchestrated a series
of important, yet little-known legal battles throughout the 1930s and
'40s that laid the groundwork for the landmark 1954 Supreme Court decision
Brown v. Board of Education, which legally ended segregation in the United
States.
Medgar
Evers
Learn about Medgar Evers. He was a civil rights leader from Mississippi
who was shot and killed in the driveway of his home in June of 1963.
There were no consequences for his accused murderer after two mistrials,
and this led to many protests and disturbances in states throughout the
south.
Malcolm
X
Malcolm X was an activist who rejected the nonviolent civil-rights movement
and integration, and became a champion of African American separatism
and black pride.
Beyond
the Playing Field: Jackie Robinson
Spend some time with Jackie Robinson. Not only was he a groundbreaking
baseball player, he was also a civil rights advocate.
A
Time for Justice
Students will understand the protections and privileges of individuals
and groups in the United States.
A
Personal Experience With Discrimination
Students will participate in a simulation in which they do not have the
same civil rights as others. They will also view and discuss video of
the classroom of Jane Elliot, the Iowa teacher who first pioneered this
simulation.
The
Bill of Rights and the News
Students will examine current news stories and from them develop "BIG" questions
related to individual and group rights. They will then relate their questions
to the U.S. Constitution and supreme court decisions.
Essentials
of the US Constitution Unit
Students will understand how the content of the U.S. Government enables
the U.S. Government to function.