Test Timeline

APRIL 23, 1951
FARMVILLE, VA Walkout at Robert Russa Moton High School Sixteen-year-old Barbara Johns leads a student walkout of Robert Russa Moton High School in Farmville, Virginia, in protest of the school’s poor conditions. Learn More 1951 FARMVILLE, VA SEPTEMBER 1, 1954
MONTGOMERY, AL Dexter Avenue Baptist Church The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. begins his pastorate at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. Learn More 1954 MONTGOMERY, AL MAY 17, 1954
WASHINGTON, DC Brown v. Board of Education The U.S. Supreme Court rules in Brown v. Board of Education that American public schools should integrate. Learn More 1954 WASHINGTON, DC AUGUST 28, 1955
SUMNER, MS Emmett Till's Murder Emmett Till’s funeral and murder trial electrify the civil rights community. Learn More 1955 SUMNER, MS DECEMBER 1, 1955
MONTGOMERY, AL Rosa Park's Arrest Rosa Parks is arrested for refusing to surrender her seat to a white passenger on a Montgomery bus. Learn More 1955 MONTGOMERY, AL JUNE 5, 1956
MONTGOMERY, AL Desegregation of Public Buses Judge Frank M. Johnson Jr. and the U.S. District Court in Alabama strike down the legality of segregated bus seating. The Montgomery Bus Boycott ends after 12 months. Learn More 1956 MONTGOMERY, AL AUGUST 26, 1956
CLINTON, TN First Day of Class at Newly Integrated Clinton High School A group of African-American students – the Clinton 12 – attended their first day of class at Clinton High School, marking the first integration of a public high school in the South. Learn More 1956 CLINTON, TN DECEMBER 25, 1956
BIRMINGHAM, AL Bethel Baptist Church The home of the Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth, civil rights leader and pastor of Bethel Baptist Church, is bombed in Birmingham, Alabama. Learn More 1956 BIRMINGHAM, AL JANUARY 10, 1957
ATLANTA, GA Formation of the SCLC Dr. King is named president of the newly formed Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Learn More 1957 ATLANTA, GA SEPTEMBER 9, 1957
WASHINGTON, DC Civil Rights Act of 1957 President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs the Civil Rights Act of 1957 into law. Learn More 1957 WASHINGTON, DC SEPTEMBER 1957
LITTLE ROCK, AR Little Rock Central High School The Little Rock Nine are blocked from entering Central High School by the Arkansas National Guard, and then escorted in by the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division. Learn More 1957 LITTLE ROCK, AR FEBRUARY 1, 1960
GREENSBORO, N.C. Greensboro Sit-Ins Four Black students stage the first sit-in at a Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina. Learn More 1960 GREENSBORO, N.C. FEBRUARY 13, 1960
NASHVILLE, TN Nashville Sit-Ins Under the training of activist James Lawson, students begin nonviolent sit-ins in Nashville, Tennessee. Learn More 1960 NASHVILLE, TN MAY 20, 1960
NASHVILLE, TN House Bombing Protest Ends at the Davidson County Courthouse A bomb thrown at civil rights attorney Z. Alexander Looby’s house set off a protest in Nashville. The protest ended at the Davidson County Courthouse and in response to protestor questions, the mayor conceded that segregation was immoral and that the city’s lunch counters should be integrated. Learn More 1960 NASHVILLE, TN JULY 25, 1960
GREENSBORO, N.C. Integration of Woolworth's Lunch Counter Staff at the Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, serve their first Black customers. Learn More 1960 GREENSBORO, N.C. NOVEMBER 14, 1960
NEW ORLEANS, LA William Frantz Elementary Six-year-old Ruby Bridges becomes the first Black student to attend William Frantz Elementary in New Orleans, Louisiana. Learn More 1960 NEW ORLEANS, LA NOVEMBER 14, 1960
WASHINGTON, DC Boynton v. Virginia The United States Supreme Court holds that racial segregation of bus terminals is illegal in that it violates the Interstate Commerce Act. Learn More 1960 WASHINGTON, DC MAY 1961
ALABAMA Freedom Rides Freedom Riders are attacked by angry mobs across the South, including in the Alabama cities of Anniston, Birmingham and Montgomery. Learn More 1961 ALABAMA SEPTEMBER 30, 1962
OXFORD, MS Desegregation of the University of Mississippi Desegregation sparks a violent riot on the University of Mississippi campus after Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black orders Ole Miss to admit James Meredith, a Black student, to the university. Learn More 1962 OXFORD, MS APRIL - MAY 1963
BIRMINGHAM, AL The Birmingham Campaign Organized by the SCLC and the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights, the Birmingham Campaign protests segregation in the city with daily gatherings and demonstrations. Protesters are arrested and attacked with tear gas, fire hoses and police dogs. Learn More 1963 BIRMINGHAM, AL MAY 19, 1963
BIRMINGHAM, AL Letter From Birmingham Jail Dr. King’s “Letter From Birmingham Jail” is issued to the public. Learn More 1963 BIRMINGHAM, AL JUNE 11, 1963
TUSCALOOSA, AL Stand in the Schoolhouse Door Alabama Gov. George Wallace stands in the schoolhouse door at the University of Alabama to prevent the registration and enrollment of African-American students. Learn More 1963 TUSCALOOSA, AL JUNE 12, 1963
JACKSON, MS Medgar Ever's Murder NAACP field secretary Medgar Evers is shot in front of his Jackson, Mississippi, home. He dies in a hospital a short time later. Learn More 1963 JACKSON, MS AUGUST 28, 1963
WASHINGTON, DC March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom Dr. King delivers his “I Have a Dream” speech before 200,000 civil rights supporters in Washington, D.C. Learn More 1963 WASHINGTON, DC SEPTEMBER 15, 1963
BIRMINGHAM, AL Bombing of 16th Street Baptist Church 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham is bombed, killing four young girls Learn More 1963 BIRMINGHAM, AL NOVEMBER 22, 1963
DALLAS, TX President Kennedy's Assassination Shortly after noon on November 22, 1963, John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States and originator of the eventual Civil Rights Act of 1964, was assassinated as he rode in a motorcade through Dealey Plaza in downtown Dallas, Texas, in an open-top convertible. 1963 DALLAS, TX SUMMER 1964
PHILADELPHIA, MS Freedom Summer The Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party forms in April, leading to a large-scale push for voter registration and education in Mississippi. Learn More 1964 PHILADELPHIA, MS JULY 2, 1964
WASHINGTON, DC President Lyndon Johnson Signs Civil Rights Act of 1964 Into Law On July 2, 1964, President Lyndon Johnson signed into law the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the most sweeping civil rights legislation since Reconstruction. It prohibited discrimination in public places and places of employment, and provided for the integration of schools and public facilities. Learn More 1964 WASHINGTON, DC OCTOBER 14, 1964
WASHINGTON, DC Dr. King Receives Nobel Peace Prize Martin Luther King Jr. was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize In 1964. He was recognized for his dynamic leadership of the Civil Rights Movement and his unwavering commitment to achieving racial justice through nonviolent action. Learn More 1964 WASHINGTON, DC MARCH 7, 1965
SELMA, AL Bloody Sunday Marchers for voting rights crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge are met with violence on “Bloody Sunday” in Selma, Alabama. Learn More 1965 SELMA, AL MARCH 25, 1965
MONTGOMERY, AL How Long, Not Long Marchers from across the country successfully complete the journey from Selma to Montgomery, where Dr. King delivers his famous “How Long, Not Long” speech at the state Capitol. Learn More 1965 MONTGOMERY, AL AUGUST 6, 1965
WASHINGTON, DC President Johnson Signs Voting Rights Act of 1965 Into Law, Guaranteeing Equal Voting Rights for African-Americans On August 6, 1965, President Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act, guaranteeing Black Americans the right to vote as established under the 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The Voting Rights Act is considered one of the most important pieces of civil rights legislation in U.S. history. Learn More 1965 WASHINGTON, DC OCTOBER 2, 1967
WASHINGTON, DC Thurgood Marshall Swearing In Thurgood Marshall becomes the first African-American justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. Learn More 1967 WASHINGTON, DC FEBRUARY 12, 1968
MEMPHIS, TN Memphis Sanitation Workers Strike Sanitation workers in Memphis, Tennessee, go on strike to protest unfair working conditions for African-American employees. Learn More 1968 MEMPHIS, TN APRIL 4, 1968
MEMPHIS, TN Dr. King’s Assassination Dr. King is assassinated in Memphis. Learn More 1968 MEMPHIS, TN APRIL 11, 1968
WASHINGTON, DC President Johnson Signs Civil Rights Act of 1968 Into Law, Prohibiting Discrimination in Housing The Civil Rights Act of 1968, signed by President Johnson on April 11, picked up where the previous civil rights acts left off. The legislation achieved a national ban on housing discrimination based on race, religion, national origin, sex and, later, disability and family status. Learn More 1968 WASHINGTON, DC keyboard_arrow_down keyboard_arrow_up keyboard_arrow_up keyboard_arrow_down SKIP TIMELINE
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