Civil Rights Movement timeline
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James Meredith Becomes First Black Student at the University of Mississippi
Meredith was born in Kosciusko, Mississippi of Native American (Choctaw) and Black American heritage. He enlisted in the United States Air Force... Read more
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Violence Erupts as Civil Rights Protesters Clash with Police in Birmingham, AL
The Birmingham campaign was a strategic movement organized by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) to bring attention to the unequal... Read more
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Stand in the Schoolhouse Door
The Stand in the Schoolhouse Door took place at Foster Auditorium at the University of Alabama on 11 June, 1963. George Wallace, the Governor of... Read more
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"The St. Augustine Four" Jailed for Sitting at Whites-Only Lunch Counter
The civil rights movement brought forth many heroes who set an example for America and the world. Some were old. Some were middleaged. Some were... Read more
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James Meredith Becomes the first African-American to Graduate from the University of Mississippi
James H. Meredith returned to the University of Mississippi Sunday to become the 115-year-old institution's first Negro graduate. It was on... Read more
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Martin Luther King, Jr. Delivers "I Have a Dream" Speech
The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom was a large political rally that took place in Washington, D.C. on August 28, 1963. Martin Luther... Read more
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The 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama is Bombed
[A]bout 10:22 on that morning 34 years ago today, worshipers heard a clicking noise, like the very loud click of a clock. ''What was that?'' Sunday... Read more
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Council of Federated Organizations Launches Freedom Summer to Register Black Voters in Mississippi
Freedom Summer (also known as the Mississippi Summer Project) was a campaign in the United States launched in June 1964 to attempt to register as... Read more
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President Johnson Signs Civil Rights Act of 1964 into Law
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a landmark piece of legislation in the United States that outlawed racial segregation in schools, public places,... Read more
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Fannie Lou Hamer Speaks at 1964 Democratic National Convention
All of this is on account we want to register [sic], to become first-class citizens, and if the Freedom Democratic Party is not seated now, I... Read more
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Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Awarded Nobel Peace Prize
In 1964, King became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for his work to end racial segregation and racial discrimination through... Read more
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Malcolm X Assassinated in Manhattan's Audubon Ballroom
On February 21, 1965, in Manhattan's Audubon Ballroom, Malcolm X began to speak to a meeting of the Organization of Afro-American Unity when a... Read more
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Malcolm X's Funeral
The number of mourners who came to the public viewing in Harlem's Unity Funeral Home from February 23 through February 26 was estimated to be... Read more
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"Bloody Sunday", First March from Selma to Montgomery
On March 7, demonstrators start a 54-mile march in response to an activist's murder. They are protesting his death and the unfair state laws and... Read more
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Martin Luther King, Jr. Leads Second March from Selma to Montgomery
Immediately after "Bloody Sunday", Martin Luther King Jr. began organizing a second march to be held on Tuesday, March 9, 1965, calling for people... Read more
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Martin Luther King, Jr. Leads Third March from Selma, Successfully Reaching Montgomery
The five-day, four-night march began on March 21, and covered a 54-mile (87 km) route along U.S. Route 80 (in Alabama known as the "Jefferson Davis... Read more
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Lyndon B. Johnson Signs National Voting Rights Act of 1965 into Law
The National Voting Rights Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. § 1973–1973aa-6) outlawed discriminatory voting practices that had been responsible for the... Read more
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Coretta Scott King Founds The Martin Luther King Jr. Center For Nonviolent Social Change
Coretta Scott King started the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change in the basement of the couple's home in the year... Read more
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Riots Erupt in Washington, DC Following Martin Luther King, Jr. Assassination
The Washington, D.C. riots of April 4–8, 1968 erupted with the April 4, 1968 assassination of Civil Rights Movement leader Martin Luther King, Jr.... Read more
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Martin Luther King, Jr. Assassinated at Lorraine Motel
In March 1968, Reverend King went to Memphis, Tennessee in support of striking African American sanitation workers. The workers had staged a... Read more
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Robert F. Kennedy Delivers Speech on the Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.
A speech on the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. was given by New York Senator Robert F. Kennedy on April 4, 1968. Kennedy was campaigning... Read more
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Coretta Scott King Leads Silent Memorial March For Martin Luther King Jr.
An assassin finally snuffed out Dr. King's life on April 4, 1968, while he led a strike of 1,300 black sanitation workers - the working poor of... Read more
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Riots Erupt at the Democratic National Convention
The 1968 Democratic National Convention of the U.S. Democratic Party was held at the International Amphitheatre in Chicago, Illinois, from August... Read more
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Games of the XIX Olympiad Held in Mexico City, Mexico
The 1968 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Mexico City in October... Read more
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Coretta Scott King Publishes 'My Life With Martin Luther King Jr.
In the years immediately following her husband's death, King was involved in many things. For example, in June of 1969 Coretta Scott King published... Read more
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