Civil Rights Movement Timeline
Why Timelines Are Important:
Timelines help us understand the sequence of events and how history unfolds over time. They show us cause and effect, help us see patterns, and allow us to connect people, places, and movements. Without a clear timeline, it's easy to misunderstand what happened first, what influenced what, and how change really happens.
Why We Studied the Civil Rights Timeline Before Our Trip:
We studied the Civil Rights timeline before traveling to Georgia and Alabama to give ourselves historical context. Visiting landmarks is more powerful when you know what events happened there, who was involved, and why it mattered. Understanding the timeline helped us recognize the courage and strategy behind the movement, and it prepared us to fully appreciate the impact of the sites we visited—from the Montgomery Bus Boycott to the Selma marches and beyond.
Civil Rights Timeline
July 26, 1948: President Harry Truman issues Executive Order 9981 to end segregation in the Armed Services. Washington, D.C.
May 17, 1954: Brown v. Board of Education, Washington, D.C.
March 2, 1955: Claudette Colvin refuses to give up her seat on the Montgomery bus, nine months before Rosa Parks
August 28, 1955: Murder of Emmett Till, Mississippi
14-year-old Emmett Till from Chicago was murdered for being friendly with a white woman
December 1, 1955: Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat in Montgomery, Alabama
September 4, 1957: Little Rock Nine, Arkansas
The first nine black students at Little Rock Central High School were blocked from entering the school by mobs of white people. President Dwight D. Eisenhower sends in troops to escort the students into the building, but they continue to be harassed.
September 9, 1957: Eisenhower signs the Civil Rights Act of 1957,
Signed in Rhode Island
January 10, 1957: The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) was founded
April 1960: The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) was founded
February 1, 1960: Sit-ins Begin
Four African American college students in Greensboro, North Carolina, refuse to leave a Woolworth’s “whites only” lunch counter without being served. Located in Greensboro, North Carolina.
November 14, 1960: Ruby Bridges, New Orleans, Louisiana
Six-year-old Ruby Bridges becomes the first student to integrate into William-Frantz Elementary School.
1961: Freedom Rides
Started in Washington, D.C., traveled through Virginia, North and South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi, with the intended final destination being New Orleans.
April 16, 1963: "A Letter from Birmingham Jail” is written
A letter from MLK Jr that was against the current racial discrimination at that time
May 2, 1963: Children’s Crusade
Located in Birmingham, Alabama, over 1,000 young students skipped school and marched for civil rights. They were met with violent opposition from police, including fire hoses and attack dogs.
June 12, 1963: Medgar Evers is assassinated at his own home
Civil Rights Activist, Field Scouter for the NAACP
August 28, 1963: Martin Luther King gives his “I Have A Dream” speech
Washington D.C.
September 15, 1963: 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama; four young girls were killed
Birmingham Alabama
July 2, 1964: President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law
Washington, D.C.
February 21, 1965: Malcolm X assassination
Washington Heights, Manhattan, New York City.
March 7, 1965: Bloody Sunday
Peaceful demonstrators, advocating for voting rights for African Americans, were attacked by state troopers and local law enforcement with tear gas and billy clubs on the Edmund Pettus Bridge, Selma, Alabama.
John Lewis sustained a fractured skull as a result of the attack
March 21, 1965: Selma March to Montgomery
August 6, 1965: President Johnson signs the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Washington, D.C.
October 1966: The Black Panther Party is formed
October 2, 1967: Thurgood Marshall was appointed the first Black Supreme Court Justice
April 4, 1968: Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination.
Lorraine Motel, Memphis, Tennessee
April 11, 1968: President Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1968
Washington, D.C.
Student Sources:
https://www.britannica.com/list/timeline-of-the-american-civil-rights-movement
https://www.history.com/articles/civil-rights-movement-timeline
“Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.”
- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.