The Progression of Civil Liberities for African Americans
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Updated: 25 Mar 2022
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Created byADEN LECHLEITNER
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Plessey v. Ferguson was a supreme court in 1896 that ruled that ‘Separate but Equal” facilities were constitutional.
This court case began when Homer Plessey (a mixed-raced man) challenged Louisiana’s Separate Car Act of 1890 by entering a “whites only” car.
This event Strengthened racial segregation laws and would be a decision for the supreme court to look back on all the way until the civil rights movementBrown v. The Board of Education (1954)
Brown v. The Board of Education was another supreme court case that ruled that segregation in public schools was not equal, as it violated the 14th amendment.
This case came to attention when Oliver Brown couldn’t take his daughter to an all-white school and had to be sent to a segregated school much farther away.
This case leads to the desegregation of the education system.The Montgomeru Bus Boycott (1955)
The Montgomery Bus Boycott was a collective effortAfricanican Americans to challenge the segregation of whites and blacks on public transport.
Rosa Parks was a major figure in the bus boycotts, as her actions inspired other African Americans to take action.
This event was a major turning point for the civil rights movement, as it was one of the first victories for desegregation.The Murder of Emmett Till was a famous criminal case of a murdered African man. Emmett Till was
allegedly seen flirting with a white cashier, which prompted Roy Bryant (the cashier's husband) and J.W Milam (Roy’s half-brother) to bludgeon and mutilate Emmett.
Both Roy and Milam have acquitted thanks to a jury that consisted of white males.
This event served as a “wake up call” for black Americans about the injustice of the judicial system to minorities.SCLC and MLK (1957)
SCLC and MLK, The Southern Christian Leadership Conference is an African civil rights organization that was founded in 1957.
Its president at the time was Martin Luther King Jr, who played a major role in bringing attention to the SCLC.
This organization was a key role in establishing many civil rights for minorities in the united states.The Little Rock Nine (1957)
The Little Rock Nine were a group of nine black students that were enrolled in an all-white school.
These students one the first day was surrounded by angry mobs until the police had to escort them away.
This event highlights the effects that the brown v board of education attempted to solve, and brought attention to the racial segregation of schools.Greensboro Sit-ins (1960)
Greensboro Sit-in: the Greensboro lunch counter sit-ins were a series of protests against the segregation of lunch counters.
These protests involved sitting at the counters and refusing to move for any white person that would force them off.
These protests brought attention to the public when they noticed that the protestors weren’t the aggressors in those situations.Freedom Summer was a volunteer campaign to organize many black Americans to vote.
These campaigns were done around 1964, so the voting rights act of 1965 had not been passed yet.
These events encouraged many black Americans to vote despite intimidation and segregation tactics.The Freedom Riders were a group of civil rights activists that rode interstate buses into segregated states.
Their goal was to challenge the segregation of interstate buses.
They were successful to bring media attention to their actions.The March on Washington was a major protest that took place in Washington D.C, with many kinds of people.
This protest was one of the largest gatherings of people toward the civil rights movement.
This event eventually brought attention to the justice system, in which they would pass the civil rights act of 1964 around a year later.The Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a bill that was passed that removed any racial discrimination laws such as Jim Crow laws.
Not only did it remove racial discrimination laws, but, it also prohibited discrimination on the basis of sex and race in hiring, firing, and promotions.
This was a massive victory for the Civil Rights movements and minorities altogether.Voting Rights Act of 1965
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was the last landmark for the Civil Rights Movement.
This bill prohibited discriminatory voting practices such as literacy tests and made it possible for minorities to vote.
This bill marked the beginning of a new racially integrated American society.
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