Homer Plessy sat on a white only section on a train and tried to go to court over it.  The supreme court ruled that there was no violation and that it was public policy.

Jim Crow laws enacted de jure segregation: which was segregation by law.  These laws forced blacks to do things separate from whites.

Emmett Till went to the south and whistled at a white woman.  A couple of white men brutally mutilated and murdered him in response.

Thurgood Marshall went to court to argue that having separate schools was unconstitutional.  The court favored him and it became known as Brown v. Board of Education.

The Little Rock Nine were the first group of black students to integrate into an all white school.  This would later pave the way for all blacks to integrate into schools.

Whites and blacks had to sit on separate parts of the buses.  It was against the law to sit in the front if you were black and a white person needed to sit.  Rosa Parks would become famous for this.

Rosa Parks refused to give her seat up and was jailed.  This angered many people and started the bus boycotts.

The Birmingham Campaign was used to end racial segregation in the south.  The country saw the brutal acts and started towards equality.

The Freedom Summer was a movement in Mississippi used to register as many blacks as possible to vote.  They also helped set up schools and communities.

Freedom Riders tried to end segregation on national buses.  Many times these people faced violence in there non violent ways.

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 struck down laws that prevented blacks from voting.  This was a key step for the civil rights movement.

A couple of students started the Greensboro Sit Ins.  A Sit In is where blacks would occupy white only seats to end the segregation.

The Selma Marches were at the peak of the civil rights movement.  With help from MLK and the SCLC they gained voting rights in Alabama.

The march on Washington was the second largest civil rights movement in the US.  MLK gave his I have a dream speech, calling for racial equality.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed racial discrimination.  It ended the racial segregation in schools and unequal voter registration policies.

The Civil Rights Act of 1968 banned discrimination in housing.  Now all races could buy, rent and sell land without unfair practices.

MLK was assassinated in 1968.  This was a major blow for civil rights activists because he was looked at as the leader.

Malcolm X was a civil rights leader.  He called for the Nation of Islam and for Black Power.

The Black Panthers was a group founded to combat police brutality.  They wanted to stop the brutality in predominately black neighborhoods.

The Kerner Commission reported on race relations in America.  It was set up by President Johnson to investigate race riots.

Rodney King was involved in  a police brutality case.  A witness videotaped Rodney getting repeated strikes while other officers stood by and watched.

Obama is the first black president in the history of the US.  This was  a major step in blacks finally realizing racial equality.

Tupac v. Biggie was a hip hop rivalry.  It was between the Eastcoast and the Westcoast.  Both ended up getting murdered.

Hip Hop/Rap music grew in popularity in the 1970's.  The roots of the music is from African music. Hip Hop is very popular today.

The Bet network targets mainly african americans.  It shows movies and TV shows as well as music videos towards African Americans.