Events
April 16, 1963:
Martin Luther King is arrested and jailed during
anti-segregation protests in Birmingham,
Alabama; he writes his seminal "Letter from
Birmingham Jail," arguing that individuals have
the moral duty to disobey unjust laws.August 28, 1963:
About 200,000 people join the March on
Washington. Congregating at the Lincoln
Memorial, participants listen as Martin Luther
King delivers his famous "I Have a Dream"
speech.July 2, 1964:
President Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of
1964. This act prohibits discrimination of all kinds
based on race, color, religion, or national origin.March 7, 1965 (Bloody Sunday):
Blacks begin a march to Montgomery in support
of voting rights but are stopped at the Pettus
Bridge by a police blockade.August 10, 1965:
Congress passes the Voting Rights Act of 1965,
making it easier for Southern blacks to register to
vote. Literacy tests, poll taxes, and other such
requirements that were used to restrict black
voting are made illegal.September 24, 1965:
President Johnson issues Executive Order 11246,
which enforces affirmative action for the first
time. It requires government contractors to "take
affirmative action" toward prospective minority
employees in all aspects of hiring and
employment.June 12, 1967:
In Loving v. Virginia, the Supreme Court rules that
prohibiting interracial marriage is unconstitutional.
Sixteen states that still banned interracial marriage
at the time are forced to revise their laws.April 4, 1968:
Martin Luther King, at age 39, is shot as he stands
on the balcony outside his hotel room. Escaped
convict and committed racist James Earl Ray is
convicted of the crime.April 11, 1968:
President Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of
1968, prohibiting discrimination in the sale,
rental, and financing of housing.December 1, 1943:
Dorothy Vaughan begins her first day of work
at the Langley Memorial Aeronautical
Laboratory.November 4, 1943:
Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox
gives a speech to the workers
of LangleyAugust 15, 1945:
Victory over Japan (V-J) DayJune 18, 1940:
Alston v. NorfolkApril 5, 1951:
A New York federal court handed down a death
sentence against Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, a
New York couple accused of spying for the
Russians.July 26, 1948:
President Truman signs Executive Order 9981May 17, 1954:
The Supreme Court rules on the landmark
case Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka,
Kans., unanimously agreeing that segregation
in public schools is unconstitutional.December 1, 1955:
NAACP member Rosa Parks refuses to give up
her seat at the front of the "colored section" of a
bus to a white passenger, defying a southern
custom of the time.January - February 1957:
Martin Luther King, Charles K. Steele, and Fred L.
Shuttlesworth establish the Southern Christian
Leadership Conference, of which King is made
the first president.April 1960:
The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee
(SNCC) is founded at Shaw University, providing
young blacks with a place in the civil rights
movement.October 1, 1962:
James Meredith becomes the first black student
to enroll at the University of Mississippi. Violence
and riots surrounding the incident cause
President Kennedy to send 5,000 federal troops.February 4-11, 1945:
Yalta Conference meeting of FDR, Churchill, Stalin - the 'Big Three'
Soviet Union has control of Eastern Europe. The Cold War BeginsAugust 6, 1945:
The United States drops atomic bomb on
Hiroshima; kills 80,000August 9, 1945:
The United States drops atomic bomb on
Nagasaki; kills 70,000October 4, 1957:
Sputnik launched into orbitNovember 3, 1957:
Sputnik II launched; Laika died in spaceJanuary 31, 1958:
Explorer I launchedJuly 20 :
Apollo 11 lands on the moonAugust 1991:
End of Soviet Union
and the Cold War ends
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