What are the key events in the Civil Rights Movement timeline?

The Civil Rights Movement in the United States was a struggle by African Americans and their supporters to end racial discrimination and gain equal rights under the law. The movement, which spanned from the mid-1950s to the late 1960s, was marked by numerous key events and milestones that helped to bring about significant change.

1954 - Brown v. Board of Education

The landmark Supreme Court case declared segregation in public schools unconstitutional, overturning the doctrine of 'separate but equal' established in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896).

1955 - Montgomery Bus Boycott

After Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama bus, African Americans boycotted the city's buses for over a year until the Supreme Court ruled that bus segregation was illegal.

1960 - Greensboro Sit-ins

African American college students staged sit-ins at a Woolworth's lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, sparking a wave of similar protests throughout the South.

1963 - March on Washington

Over 200,000 people gathered in Washington, D.C. to demand civil rights legislation and hear Martin Luther King Jr.'s 'I Have a Dream' speech.

1964 - Civil Rights Act

President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act, prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin in employment, voting, and public accommodations.

1965 - Voting Rights Act

The Voting Rights Act was signed into law, protecting the voting rights of African Americans and other minorities.

These are just a few of the key events that took place during the Civil Rights Movement. Other notable events include the Freedom Rides, the Selma to Montgomery marches, and the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968.