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Larva Pham

Civil Rights Timeline

Plessy vs. Ferguson (May 18, 1896)

Homer Plessy was arrested for boarding the “all-whites” compartment on the East Louisiana Railway. He was 1/8 black, but could easily pass for a white person. This wasn’t a mistake; Plessy planned on taking this case to the Supreme Court. The segregation law he got arrested for violated the 13th and 14th amendment, as his attorney argued in defense.

This case was one of the worst court decisions in the Supreme court. After being outvoted 8-1, the Supreme established a “separate but equal.” This means that it separated races within the bounds of the Constitution (equality.) Basically this was for the African Americans to accommodate their equal rights in the U.S.

Justice John Marshall Harlan, a pro-slavery politician said the Constitution is “colorblind and neither knows nor tolerates classes among citizens.”

Jim Crow Laws (1876-1965) After the Plessy vs. Ferguson case

was established, the South took advantage of it. They started coming up with the Jim Crow Laws, which mandated de jure racial segregation in all public facilities with “separate but equal” for African Americans.

In reality, this benefitted the white folks. They started systematizing a number of economic, educational, and social disadvantages to the African Americans. They started labeling schools, water fountains, parks, libraries, etc. with “Whites Only” and “Colored.”

Blacks were still unable to vote, violating the 15th amendment.

Brown v. Board of Education(May 17, 1954)

This event took place in Topeka, Kansas. Linda Brown, daughter to Oliver Brown had been denied to go to an all-white school that was just 5 blocks from her house. She was faced with long, hard days walking 21 blocks to and from her school.

This became a problem to Oliver, so he took this case to the Supreme Court. This case was one of the biggest and greatest case in the Supreme Court; it was ruled unanimously that racial segregation in public schools violated the 14th Amendment. Thanks to Chief Justice John W. Davis.

Thurgood Marshall was the first African American Supreme Court judge in this case.

Emmett Till (July 25, 1941-August 28, 1955)

Emmett Till was born in Chicago, Illinois by Mamie Till-Mobley. He decided to take a trip down to Money, Mississippi to visit his grandfather along with his other family members.

Clueless about the Jim Crows Law since he was from the North, he decided to whistle at Carolyn Bryant (a white lady) at a grocery store. His cousins, Curtis Jones and Simeon Wright who he were with at the time knew it was a bad idea, and they had to get Emmett out of the area real quick before something bad started to happen.

Three days after the incident, they found Emmett’s body in the river. Mamie, his mother decided to have an open casket funeral for the whole World to see what had happened to her son.

Roy Bryant and J.W Milam were arrested and charged with kidnapping and murder; they pleaded Not Guilty for both cases. After that, they were paid $4000 by Look Magazine to confess the kidnapping and murdering of Emmett Till.

Montgomery Bus Boycott(December 1, 1955-December 20, 1956)

Claudette Colvin was one of the first women to resist bus segregation. She was only 15 years old. Nine months later, Rosa Parks supported Colvin by refusing to go back to the “colored” section of the bus when the “white” section got full. She was then arrested on December 1, 1955, which then started the Bus Boycott.

On December 5, 1955, blacks began to boycott buses and used carpool to get to work. This went on for 381 days. During this time, the people of Montgomery chose Martin Luther King Jr. to speak for them. Not only did they boycotted, they also marched and protested, which is the first movement of the Civil War.

On November 13, 1956, the Supreme declared the law unconstitutional, and that blacks can ride where they please on buses. December 21, 1956 was when blacks returned to buses.

Martin Luther King Jr. (January 15, 1929-April 4, 1968)

Martin Luther King Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia. His birth name was Michael, but since he idolized his father, he named himself after him. Martin was so intelligent; he graduated high school at age 14 skipping grade 9 and 12. Martin then entered Moorehouse college at age 15, and graduated at age 18. Martin became a minister after college.

He moved to Boston to study about Ghani because Ghani practiced civil disobedient and passive resistance. While in Boston, Martin met Coretta Scott; they both got married and had 4 kids.

Life was great in Boston, until he became a minister for the Montgomery, Alabama bus boycott. He had a church called Dexter Ave Baptist Church. He used his good studying of Ghani to protest and give speeches in Montgomery for the blacks. One of his famous speeches are, “I have a dream…”

Martin Luther King Jr. became the youngest Nobel Peace Prize winner in 1964.

Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated by James Earl Ray in Memphis, TN on April 4, 1968 at the Loraine Motel after he gave his speech, “If I had sneezed…”

Little Rock 9 (September 4, 1957)Nine courageous black students were

recruited by Daisy Bates (President of NCAAP) to integrate the Little Rock Central High School. They were Gloria Ray, Terrance Roberts, Melba Patillo, Elizabeth Eckford, Ernest Green, Minnijean Brown, Jefferson Thomas, Carlotta Walls, and Thelma Mothershed.

For the first day of school, Elizabeth was supposed to meet up with the rest of the Little Rock 9, but she couldn’t get the message, so she walked to the bus stop by herself while white mobs were calling her names and mugging her head.

Governor Faubus had the Arkansas National Guard to help escort the students, but didn’t allow them to go into the school. President Eisenhower warned him, then later took over the National Guard and called in the Kentucky 101st Airborne Division.

By the end of the year, Ernest Green was the first black person to graduate from Central High School.

Greensboro sit ins (February 1, 1960)

The Greensboro Four consisted of four African American college students: David Richmond, Franklin McClain, Joseph McNeil, and Ezell Blair Jr. They were from North Carolina A&T State University, and they are known for demanding to be served at the Woolworth lunch counter where it said, “whites only.”

As the day went by, people from all over the country had heard about it. The next day, 12 African Americans sat at the counter and demanded to be served. By day 7, this went viral and other states started to sit at the counter at their local sit ins.

This lead to great violence; whites were throwing coffee, cake, etc. They were also spitting in people’s face, pushing them around and mugging them. Although the whites were torturing the blacks, they remained civil disobedient.

On July 26, 1960, the Greensboro sit ins were desegregated.

Freedom Riders (May 4, 1961 – September 22, 1961)The first freedom ride consisted of seven

blacks and six whites. They were part of CORE (Congress of Racial Equality.) Their plan was to travel from Washington D.C to New Orleans, Louisiana on to public buses: Greyhound and Trailways to end segregation in interstate bus and rail stations.

The first bus was sent off, and were severely attacked and bombed in Anniston, Alabama. Awaiting for them, was officer Bull Conner. He gave his troops 15 minutes to do whatever they wanted to the bus, and after that, he would step in and stop it.

Brutally beaten, this didn’t stop the Freedom Riders, so the second bus set off to Birmingham, Alabama. And from Birmingham, they went to Montgomery with the help of the National Guard. Once they go to Montgomery, the riders were attacked once again by a mob of more than 1000 whites.

By then, the CORE didn’t finish their mission

Although, CORE didn’t finish their mission, a group of college students from Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee finished it for them. This was lead by Diane Nash.

The governor of Alabama at the time, John Patterson, had heard about the news, and decided to call Nash to warn her about what’s awaiting for her and the riders. She told him, they had already signed papers about putting their lives on the line, and there was no turning back for them.

Their mission was to get to Birmingham to try to defeat the racist, Bull Conner.

Freedom Riders (May 4, 1961 – September 22, 1961)The same thing had happened to the

riders on the first bus when they arrived to Birmingham. The bus driver did not want to get involved with it, so he wouldn’t drive them anywhere. This meant they were stuck at Birmingham, getting tortured by the whites.

John Patterson stepped in and provided protection for the riders with the U.S Marshalls. This protection didn’t last long enough, and the riders were once attacked again.

On May 21, 1961, the movement, including Dr. King Jr. stepped in. They met at the Dexter Ave Church, which then got bombed. Patterson sent troops in to stop the riot.

On May 24th, in Jackson, Mississippi, the governor, Ross Barnett, had told the white folks to stay home and that he would’ve handled the situation. And the riders got arrested as soon as they arrived.

Just like the Greensboro sit ins, people from all over the country had heard about it, and decided to come to Mississippi and fill the prison up.

John F. Kennedy tried to call off the Freedom Riders. And on September 22, 1961, the ICC took the segregation signs down.

Children’s Crusade (May 2, 1963 – May 5, 1963)

Martin Luther King Jr. had went to Birmingham, Alabama to come face to face with Bull Conner; he wanted to get arrested. The reason for this was to get people to volunteer to fill up the jail cells in Birmingham. No one but the children wanted to do it. Dr. King wasn’t about to let this happen, but they still protested.

On May 2nd, known as “D-day,” thousands of students skipped school and met at 16th Street Baptist Church to march to downtown Birmingham. On this day, 973 students were arrested for protesting without a permit.

The next day, the fire department had got involved and sprayed the protesters with water holes to stop the protesting. This wasn’t going to stop anyone, and 1922 protesters were arrested on Day 2.

By day 3, 4163 protesters were arrested. Every child was interrogated

Medgar Evers (July 2, 1925 – June 12, 1963)

Medgar Wiley Evers as born near Decatur, Mississippi. He attended Alcorn College, majoring in business administration. While at Alcorn, he met Myrlie Beasley, and they were married the next year.

After Evers received his degree, he and his wife moved to Mound Bayou, Mississippi. He was organizing boycotts of gas stations that refused to allow blacks to use their restrooms. His attempt to integrate attracted the NAACP, and he was appointed Mississippi's first field secretary for the NAACP.

Evers and his wife then moved to Jackson, Mississippi and started an activist campaign. He wanted to demonstrate boycotting of companies that practiced discrimination.

On June 12, 1963, Evers was assassinated. He was buried in the Arlington National cemetery in Washington, D.C.

The legacy of Edgar Evers is everywhere in Mississippi. He was a peaceful man who had constantly urged that “violence is not the way” but who was true to his words.

Bloody Sunday (March 7, 1965)

This march was lead by John Lewis from Selma, Alabama to Montgomery, Alabama. They marched across the Edmond Pettus Bridge for voting rights.

When the civil rights marchers got across the bridge, local lawmen were awaiting for them in order to attack them with tear gas and billy clubs.

Two days later, everyone from all over the country came to Alabama to march with Dr. King Jr.

On March 21, about 3,200 marchers set out for Montgomery. On March 25th, they made it to the capitol and they were 25,000-strong.

In less than 5 months, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

While learning about the civil rights movement, I learned that the blacks had it hard on them in the late 1800’s to the 1970’s. They were beaten and discriminated by the color of their skin! I believe that everybody is the same, and I felt like the whites were hurting their brothers and sisters. And the blacks practiced civil disobedient; the only good people I see are the ones that were not creating violence with each other. I didn’t think they deserved cruel punishment since they were doing no harm to anyone, but trying to protest for their rights.

I learned that not everybody will like you, no matter who and what you are. There were white folks who was for the protesting, and I admire them for being so courageous. Because they were going to be the first to get killed for being “nigger lovers.”

I’ve come to appreciate everybody who were in the civil rights movement; if it wasn’t for them, my school, Central High School, wouldn’t be so diverse of students all over the world.

Findings