-----1954-----
May 17, 1954
Brown V. Board Case Decided
This Supreme Court case overruled the precedent established in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) and resulting doctrine of "separate but equal" by stating that segregation of public schools was unlawful.
-----1955-----
May 7, 1955
George W. Lee Assassinated
Born 1903; Lee was a leader of his local chapter of the NAACP and of RCNL. He was assassinated in retaliation for his attempts to register Black voters. No charges were ever brought against any suspect for Lee's murder.
August 13, 1955
Lamar Smith assassinated
Born 1892; Smith was a WWI veteran-turned-farmer who organized Black voters during registration and absentee filing to avoid harassment at the polls. After he was shot around 10 a.m. in front of the local courthouse, an all-white jury failed to indict any of those arrested in connection with his assassination.
-----1956-----
February 18, 1956
Dr. Thomas Brewer Assassinated
Born 1894; Dr. Thomas Brewer was a Black physician and Civil Rights actvist. Dr. Brewer was one of the founding members of the local NAACP in Colombus. Dr. Brewer was shot this day by a department store owner who shared a building with him. The jury found the killer not-guilty, but in 1957 he was found dead in an apparent suicide.
-----1957-----
January 19, 1957
SCLC was formed
The organizations full name is the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. According to the National SCLC website, "Basic decisions made by the founders at these early meeting included the adoption of nonviolent mass action as the cornerstone of strategy, the affiliation of local community organizations with SCLC across the South, and a determination to make the SCLC movement open to all, regardless of race, religion, or background".
September 9, 1957
Civil Rights Act of 1957
This act, passed by Congress, was the first Civil Rights bill passed since 1875. President Eisenhower signed this bill into law on this day. This act established the Civil Rights Section of the Justice Department and began the pursuit of federal prosecutors who could now obtain court injunctions against interference with voting rights.
-----1958-----
June 30, 1958
NAACP v. Alabama Case decided
This Supreme Court case ruled that the First Amendment protected free association rights of the NAACP and its members.
-----1960-----
February 23, 1960
Bates v. Little Rock case decided
This case grew from the famous attempt of integrating the High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. This case ruled that freedom of association for the purpose of advocating ideas and airing grievances is protected under the First Amendment's free speech and assembly clauses.
April, 1960
SNCC was formed
The organization's full title is the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, and it was founded this day by young activists from the South who were advocating for the cause of nonviolence and direct action.
May 6, 1960
Civil Rights Act of 1960
This act signed into law by President Eisenhower on this day, amended the previous act of 1957. The act established federal inspections of local voter registration polls and would penalize anyone who interfered with another person's voting registration process.
-----1961-----
January 20, 1961
John F. Kennedy was inaugurated
JFK on this day was inaugurated as America's 35th
President
September, 1961
Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc. (PNPBC) was
formed
This organization was formed this day after years of arguments and disagreements over the structure and stance on Civil Rights of the National Baptist Convention.
September 25, 1961
Herbert Lee was assassinated
Born 1912; Lee was a Civil Rights activist from Mississippi who largely helped with the local Black population with voting who had been disenfranchised since the 1800s. Lee was also involved with SNCC, and this is believed to be the reason for his murder. Lee was shot by a state legislator in broad daylight, but despite this the local police coerced Black witnesses into testifying that the murder was in self-defense. An all white jury acquitted Lee's killer of all charges.
December 11, 1961
Garner v. Louisiana case decided
The Supreme Court voided the application of a breach of the peace statute that was used in stopping peaceful sit-in demonstrations at various locations such as lunch counters.
-----1963-----
January 14, 1963
NAACP v. Button case decided
The Supreme Court ruled to protect the First Amendment rights of the Virginia chapter of the NAACP to engage in public interest litigation.
February 25, 1963
Edwards v. South Carolina case decided
The Supreme Court ruled that the police in South Carolina had violated the students' First Amendment rights of assembly, speech, and petition, as the police dispersed a peaceful protest against segregation.
March 25, 1963
Gibson v. Florida case decided
The Supreme Court ruled that the First Amendment rights of free speech and associations protected organizations from having to disclose memberships to a legislative investigative committee when there was insufficient evidence to show an association with communist activity.
April 23, 1963
William Moore assassinated
Born in 1927; Moore was a postal service worker and apart of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE). Moore held protests against segregation, and he delivered numerous handwritten letters to leaders protesting segregation. Moore was marching to deliver some of his letters when he was shot and his body was found by a driver passing through town. The gun used to shoot Moore was traced back to a man but the man was never charged. Moore's final letter wrote "the white man cannot be truly free himself until all men have their rights".
June 12, 1963
Medgar Evers assassinated
Born 1925; Evers was a Civil Rights activist and served as the first field secretary of the Mississippi NAACP. Evers was a veteran who served during WWII, and he advocated for integrating schools, ending public segregation, and to extend Black voting rights. On this day, Evers pulled into his driveway after a meeting with NAACP lawyers. Upon exiting his car and walking towards his door, he was shot in the back with a rifle. He was taken to a local hospital but was refused admission because of his race, however, upon finding out who he was, he was granted entry but died just under an hour later.
August 28, 1963
MLK's "I Have a Dream" speech
This speech, delivered on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to Civil Rights activists surrounding the reflecting pool in Washington, D.C., is one of the most famous speeches given in history. The speaker was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who at the time was leading the March on Washington. Dr. King called for the end of racism and for the beginning of increased rights and opportunites for Black people in America.
November 22, 1963
JFK was assassinated
JFK was assassinated in Dealey Plaza in Dallas Texas while riding in a 10-mile Presidential Motorcade route across Texas. JFK was afraid of losing Southern support after his advancement of Civil Rights, and the point of the motorcade was to campaign in Southern Texas to hopefully gain more support for the upcoming Presidential election in 1964. JFK was taken to the nearby Parkland Memorial hospital and pronounced dead 30 minutes later.
November 22, 1963
Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ) was sworn in
LBJ was sworn in as the 36th President aboard the Presidential Air Force One after
JFK was pronounced dead.
December 10, 1963
Malcolm X's "Grassroots" speech
This speech, delivered by Malcolm X, was delivered at the Northern Negro Grass Roots Leadership Conference in the King Solomon Baptist Church in Detroit. This was one of Malcolm's final speeches before formally leaving the Nation of Islam (NOI). In the speech Malcolm frequently references a revolution that should be held against the powerful members of society that are benefitting from systemic racism.
-----1964-----
1964
The Vietnam War draft began
The draft included lotteries that were held over the course of the Vietnam War which chose any elgible Americans who were going to serve abroad in the War.
January 23, 1964
The 24th Amendment was ratified
This amendment prohibits Congress and the states from conditioning the right to vote in federal elections in payment of a poll tax or other types of taxes.
January 31, 1964
Louis Allen was assassinated
Born 1919; Allen was from Mississippi and he faced harassment there from locals and from the authorities. Allen was denied the ability to register to vote and witnessed the assassination of the aforementioned Herbert Lee. The day before Allen was supposed to move out of Mississippi, he was shot on his property and to this day, the murderer is still unknown and noone therefore was charged for his murder.
April 12, 1964
Malcolm X's "Ballot or the Bullet" speech
This speech delivered by Malcolm X in Detroit was given at the King Solomon Baptist Church. In the speech, Malcolm frequently references the Ballot or the Bullet, and calls upon his audience to either choose between voting or violence because the white man in the government has given nothing but false promises. Something needs to be done, and Malcolm argues you must do whatever it takes to make changes.
June 21, 1964
Freedom Summer Murders
On this day, 3 men had gone missing from Philadelphia, Mississippi. The men included Andrew Goodman, a college student who joined the effort to encourage voter registration, education, and push for the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The other two were Michael Schwerner and James Chaney who were Congress of Racial Equality members. Activism in this time was extremely dangerous as the KKK had soared in membership to over 10,000 members. The police stopped and arrested the 3 men who were driving together adn they were taken to the local prison. After a friend paid their fines, the men were told to leave the county but they were never seen again. The investigation led to the men's bodies being discovered on August 4 of that year.
July 2, 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed
This act signed into law on this day by President Johnson was groundbreaking for the CRM. The act prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
September 19, 1964
Jackson's "Vote" speech
This speech, delivered by Joseph Jackson at the 84th annual National Baptist Convention's meeting in Detroit. This speech is largely concerned with voting, and Jackson his feelings about obtaining and using your vote is the necessary course of action to bring racial equality in the US.
-----1965-----
January 18, 1965
Cox v. Louisiana case decided
The Supreme Court ruled that an otherwise constitutionally valid law regulating public demonstrations can be unconstitutional if the statute grants undue discretion to public officials charged with administering and enforcing the statute.
February 21, 1965
Malcolm X assassinated
Born 1925; Malcolm was in the Audubon Ballroom in Washington Heights preparing to deliver a speech to the Organization of Afro-American Unity when he was shot multiple times and killed. The cause of his murder is widely speculated, but it is believed to be an act of revenge on Malcolm for speaking badly about the Nation of Islam.
March 11, 1965
James Reeb assassinated
Born 1927; Reeb was a minister who participated in Civil Rights demonstrations and was a member of SCLC. Reeb was marching from Selma to Montgomery with other activists when he was beaten by white segregationists and died two days later. His killers were acquitted by an all-white jury.
March 25, 1965
Voila Liuzzo assassinated
Born 1925; Voila was a civil rights activist and famously participated in the marches from Selma to Montgomery at the request of Dr. MLK. While on a shuttle to the Montgomery airport, Liuzzo was shot from passengers in another car full of KKK members. The men were found guilty by an all-white jury and sentenced to ten years in prison.
August 4, 1965
Voting Rights Act of 1965 was ratified
This act was signed into law by President Johnson. It tackled legal barriers at state and local levels that prevented Black Americans from voting as guaranteed under the 15th Amendment.
August 20, 1965
Jonathan Daniels assassinated
Born 1939; Daniels was a Civil Rights activist who participated in the Selma to Montgomery march and worked to integrate the local Episcopal church as well as worked to help voters register themselves, tutored children, and helped local families in need. In early August, 1965, Daniels was apart of a group of protestors who were going to protest segregated stores in Alabama, but were all arrested. After the group was released they had to call on some friends for a ride back home. While they waited, they went to a non whites-only store to buy some soda where they were greeted by the towns special deputy who was holding a shotgun. The officer threatened to shoot the 17 year-old Black girl Ruby Sales, but Daniels shielded Sales from the bullets and was killed instantly. The killer was charged of manslaughter but acquitted by an all-white jury.
-----1966-----
January 3, 1966
Sammy Younge Jr. assassinated
Born 1944; Sammy was a Civil and voting Rights activist who served in the Navy, SNCC, and the Tuskegee Institute Advancement League. Sammy had a verbal altercation with a white gas station worker who accused Sammy of using a whites-only bathroom. The worker shot Sammy in the face and he died that day. Sammy was the first Black student to be killed for his activist role in the CRM. After much deliberation and the movement of the trial, Sammy's killer was found not guilty by an all-white trial. This decision sparked numerous protests across the city.
January 10, 1966
Vernon Dahmer assassinated
Born 1908; Vernon was a Civil Rights activist and member of the Forrest County chapter of the NAACP. He also encouraged voter registration. In the 1950s, Vernon partnered with Medgar Evers to form a youth NAACP chapter, but it fell out after a year. On this day, members of the KKK broke into Vernon's home and set it on fire. Vernon suffered severe burns and was taken to the hospital where they discovered his lungs were severly burned. He died shortly after from smoke inhaliation. 14 men total were charged, with 4 being convicted.
February 23, 1966
Browns v. Louisiana case decided
The Supreme Court riled that a silent sit-in demonstration protesting segregation in a public library was protected symbolic speech under the First and 14th Amendments.
October 15, 1966
Black Panther Party (BPP) was formed
Full title the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense was founded by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale. This was a revolutionary organization that advocated Black nationalism, socialism, and armed self-defense, especially against the police.
October 29, 1966
Stokley Carmichael "Black Power" speech
This speech, delivered by Carmichael at the University of California, Berkeley, aimed to unite Black Americans and for them to recoginize their own power and heritage. Carmichael called for Black owned and led companies and organizations.
November 14, 1966
Adderley v. Florida case decided
The Supreme Court ruled that there was no violation of federal law or of the First Amendment in the arrest of students that were demonstrating against segregation at a Florida country jail, as well as for the arrests of other protestors.
December 5, 1966
Bond v. Floyd case decided
The Supreme Court ruled that legislators do not forfeit their constitutional rights to speak publicly on issues. This reaffirmed the principle that the First Amendment protects controversial political speech, even that critical of war.
-----1967-----
February 27, 1967
Wharlest Jackson assassinated
Born 1929; Jackson was a Civil Rights activist who served in the Korean War and was the treasurer of the Natchez, Mississippi branch of the NAACP. On this day, a bomb was placed under the driver's seat frame on his car which detonated and killed Jackson. His killer was never found, but there is speculation that the local KKK was involved. However, the investigation has led to no leads.
April 22, 1967
Muhammad Ali "What's Your Name" speech
This speech, delivered by Ali in Washington at Howard University. This speech largely deals with the Vietnam War and especially the draft, as Howard students were involved in their own protests over the War considering that Howard identified itself as a Black university.
April 28, 1967
Ali refused the Vietnam War draft
Ali famously refused the Vietnam War draft, stating that his religion forbade him from serving, as well as his ethical beliefs on the War. Ali was found guilty of draft evasion and stripped of his boxing titles.
June 12, 1967
Walker v City of Birmingham case decided
The Supreme Court ruled that protestors who deliberately violate an injunction without first seeking to modify it cannot attack its constitutionality during a trial for order violation.
-----1968-----
April 3, 1968
MLK's "I've Been to the Mountaintop" speech
This speech was delivered by Dr. MLK in Memphis, Tennessee in support of striking sanitation workers at the Mason Temple. In the speech, Dr. MLK calls for unity, economic action, boycotts, and nonviolent protest to challenge the US.
April 4, 1968
MLK was assassinated
Born 1929; Dr. MLK is one of the most well recognized and revered Civil Rights activists. Dr. King was a Baptist Minister who led the group SCLC to protest racism in America with nonviolent tactics and civil disobediance. Dr. King was shot standing outside his hotel room on the balcony at the Lorraine Motel. Dr. King's killer was arrested after confessing and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. The news of Dr. King's death sparked outrage and mass protests across America.
April 11, 1968
Civil Rights Act of 1968 was ratified
This act was signed into law by President Johnson amidst the uproar over Dr. King's assassination. The act expanded upon previous acts and prohibited discrimination on the sale, rental, and financing of houses based on race, religion, national origin, sex, handicap, and family status.
April 16, 1968
Bobby Seale's "Kaleidoscope Theater" speech
This speech, delivered by Bobby Seale at the Kaleidoscope Theater in Los Angeles. This event was funded by the Peace and Freedom Party, which included speakers, social critics, senators, and comedians. In Seale's speech, he spoke in defense of Huey Newton, who was imprisoned for the murder of a police officer.
June 5, 1968
Robert F. Kennedy assassinated
Right after accepting his win at the Democratic National Primary, RFK was shot in the lobby of the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. RFK died from his wounds in the hospital the next day.
-----1969-----
January 20, 1969
LBJ's end in office
Lyndon Johnson's final day in office came with the inauguration of Richard Nixon.
January 20, 1969
Richard Nixon was inaugurated
Nixon was inaugurated as America's 37th President.
March 10, 1969
Gregory v. City of Chicago case decided
The Supreme Court upheld the First Amendment rights of peaceful Civil Rights protestors over actions by the police that tried to supress civil disorder.
March 10, 1969
Shuttlesworth v. Birmingham case decided
The Supreme Court ruled that the conviction of the Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth for leading a protest march without a permit, was improper because the ordinance under which he was convicted was unconstitutional prior to restraint on speech.
April 27, 1969
Fred Hampton "You Can Murder a Liberator but you Cant Murder
Liberation" speech
This speech was delivered by Fred Hampton, a member of the BPP. In the speech, Hampton defends the BPP leaders, especially Newton. Hampton calls upon his audience to understand they are part of a bigger fight and a bigger force. He called upon class unity and understanding.
December 4, 1969
Fred Hampton assassinated
Born 1948; Hampton was a Civil Rights Activist and a member of the BPP. Hampton advocated unity, and he founded the Rainbow Coalition which included Black Panthers, poor whites, hispanics, and more. In 1967 the FBI labeled Hampton as a threat, and in order to deal with him, he was drugged then shot in his Chicago apartment. A trial held saw the jury decide that the murder was "justifiable". Years later, a civil lawsuit filed by survivors was settled with 1.85 million dollars.
-----1970-----
June 22, 1970
Voting Rights Act of 1970 ratified
This act, signed into law by President Nixon, after numerous rejections. The provisions were extended another five years, the coverage formula was strengthened, and all tests and devices involved in voting were banned nationwide.
August 15, 1970
Huey Newton "The Women's Liberation and Gay Liberation Movements"
speech
This speech was delivered by BPP member Huey Newton in NYC where he outlined the party's position on emerging movements at the time: the women's liberation movement and the gay liberation movement.
-----1972-----
March 24, 1972
Equal Employment Opportunity Act was signed into law
This act signed into law by President Nixon, was an amendment of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which addressed the employment discrimination against Black Americans and other minorities.
December 7, 1972
The Vietnam War draft last call held
With the end of the draft marked the near end of the war. The Vietnam War would officially end in 1975. From the draft's beginning a few years earlier, over 2 million men were drafted out of an eligible pool of over 20 million.
-----1974-----
August 8, 1974
President Richard Nixon resigned
A President of scandals and controversies is what Nixon is mostly remembered for to this day. After realizing his Presidency was basically over and he was going to be impeached, Nixon resigned as President. Raymond Price wrote the resignation speech and it was delivered on television and radio from the Oval office. Some of Nixon's final words were "So, let us all now join together in affirming that common commitment and in helping our new President succeed for the benefit of all Americans. I shall leave this office with regret at not completing my term, but with gratitude for the privilege of serving as your President for the past 5 1/2 years".