Civil Rights Movement in the United States (1954–1968)

1. Supreme Court rules school segregation unconstitutional

   May 17, 1954Labels: Brown v, U S

   • National Archives
   • Britannica

2. Montgomery Bus Boycott launches mass protest era

   Dec 5, 1955Labels: Rosa Parks, Montgomery Bus

   • Britannica

3. Montgomery bus segregation ends after court order

   Dec 20, 1956Labels: Montgomery Bus, Federal court

   • Britannica

4. Civil Rights Act of 1957 becomes law

   Sep 9, 1957Labels: Civil Rights, Dwight D

   • Wiki

5. Federal troops enforce Little Rock school integration

   Sep 25, 1957Labels: Little Rock

   • NPS
   • HISTORY

6. Greensboro sit-in sparks nationwide sit-in movement

   Feb 1, 1960Labels: Greensboro sit-in, Woolworth's

   • Britannica
   • Census

7. SNCC forms to coordinate student activism

   Apr 15, 1960Labels: SNCC, Shaw University

   • Shaw U
   • Wiki

8. Freedom Rides begin to test desegregation rulings

   May 4, 1961Labels: Freedom Rides, Interstate travel

   • King Inst

9. James Meredith enrolls at the University of Mississippi

   Oct 1, 1962Labels: James Meredith, University of

   • UPI

10. Birmingham Campaign begins coordinated direct action

    Apr 3, 1963Labels: Birmingham Campaign, Birmingham Alabama

    • King Inst
    • NPS

11. King writes “Letter from Birmingham Jail”

    Apr 16, 1963Labels: Martin Luther, Letter from

    • NPS

12. Medgar Evers is assassinated in Mississippi

    Jun 12, 1963Labels: Medgar Evers, NAACP Mississippi

    • FBI

13. March on Washington draws national support

    Aug 28, 1963Labels: March on, Lincoln Memorial

    • National Archives
    • NPS

14. Freedom Summer voter-registration campaign begins

    Jun 14, 1964Labels: Freedom Summer, Mississippi

    • National Archives
    • King Inst

15. Civil Rights Act of 1964 is signed

    Jul 2, 1964Labels: Civil Rights, Lyndon B

    • National Archives

16. Selma’s “Bloody Sunday” exposes voting-rights violence

    Mar 7, 1965Labels: Selma March, Edmund Pettus

    • Britannica
    • Britannica

17. Voting Rights Act of 1965 becomes law

    Aug 6, 1965Labels: Voting Rights, U S

    • National Archives
    • NatGeo

18. Watts uprising signals rising urban crisis

    Aug 11, 1965Labels: Watts uprising, Los Angeles

    • Britannica
    • HISTORY

19. Supreme Court ends bans on interracial marriage

    Jun 12, 1967Labels: Loving v, Interracial marriage

    • Britannica
    • Justia

20. King is assassinated; national civil disorder follows

    Apr 4, 1968Labels: Martin Luther, Assassination 1968

    • Britannica
    • DOJ CRS

21. Fair Housing Act becomes law after King’s death

    Apr 11, 1968Labels: Fair Housing, Civil Rights

    • AP News