Early Steps in the Civil Rights Movement

NAACP

a civil rights organization that advocates for racial equality and justice

CORE

challenging public segregation and launching voter registration drives for African Americans

Southern Christian Leadership Conference

a civil rights organization that led nonviolent protests in the South during the 1950s, 1960s, and 1968

Thurgood Marshall,

was the first African American Supreme Court Justice

The Montgomery Bus Boycott

sparked by Rosa Parks’ arrest, showcased

the power of collective action and brought national attention to the civil rights movement

Executive Order 9981

desegregating the

armed forces and marking a significant federal step toward addressing racial inequality

Brown v. Board of Education

declared that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional, overturning

the precedent set by Plessy v. Ferguson and challenging segregation nationwide

Southern Manifesto

 opposed the 1954 Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board of Education

1957 Little Rock Crisis,

President Eisenhower deployed

federal troops to protect Black students integrating Central High School

the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965

aimed to end racial discrimination and promote equality for African Americans.