Civil rights timeline

In the modern age, especially in the 18~20 century, black

people cannot avoid racism and suffer from discrimination. One

of the discrimination is slavery. Under the law, an enslaved

Background
person was treated as property that could be bought, sold, or

given away. In the decades after the end of Reconstruction,

many of slavery's economic and social functions were continued

through segregation, sharecropping, and convict leasing. Plus,

black people couldn’t use the same public facilities as white

people, live in many of the same towns or go to the same

schools. The picture on the right shows blacck people' lives that

suffer from slavery.

workers, domestics, or servants. While most African Americans serving at

the beginning of WWII were assigned to non-combat units and relegated to

World war ll /
service duties, such as supply, maintenance, and transportation, their work

behind the front lines was equally vital to the war. Despite this effort of

Executive
black people. many Black veterans were met with prejudice and scorn upon

returning home. This was a stark contrast to why America had entered the

Order 9981 war, to begin with—to defend freedom and democracy in the world.

President Harry Truman initiated a civil rights agenda, and in 1948 issued

Executive Order 9981 to end discrimination in the military. These events

helped set the stage for grass-roots initiatives to enact racial equality

legislation and incite the civil rights movement. The picture on the right

represents black people who participated in World War II and showed a

heroic performance.
Four days before the boycott began, Rosa Parks, an African American

woman, was arrested and fined for refusing to yield her bus seat to a white

man. To resist the disccrimination, The boycott took place from December

5, 1955, to December 20, 1956. Black ministers announced the boycott in

church on Sunday, December 4, and the Montgomery Advertiser, a general-

Bus boycott interest newspaper, published a front-page article on the planned action.

Besides, To ensure the boycott could be sustained, Black leaders organized

carpools, and the city’s African American taxi drivers charged only 10 cents

—the same price as bus fare—for African American riders. This movement is

very significant historically because as a result, The U.S. Supreme Court

ultimately ordered Montgomery to integrate its bus system, and one of the

leaders of the boycott, a young pastor named Martin Luther King Jr

emerged as a prominent leader of the American civil rights movement. This

picture shows black people who progress Bus Boycott campaign.

required prospective voters of color to take literacy tests that were

1957: Civil

nearly impossible to pass. On September 9, 1957, President

Eisenhower signed the Civil Rights Act of 1957 into law, the first major

right act
civil rights legislation since Reconstruction. It allowed federal

prosecution of anyone who tried to prevent someone from voting. It

also created a commission to investigate voter fraud.This was also a

cry for freedom and equality. In addition, It motivated the civil light

act of 1964 to require equal treatment and voting rights. The picture

on the picture shows black people who requires freedom and voting

rights.
Unfortunately, black people could not avoid discrimination regarding

getting jobs and were not guaranteed freedom.So, in order to refuse this

kinds of discrimination, the March on Washington occurred in August 1963,

March on
when some 250,000 people gathered in front of the Lincoln Memorial in

Washington, D.C. Also known as the March on Washington for Jobs and

washington
Freedom, the event aimed to draw attention to continuing challenges and

inequalities faced by African Americans a century after emancipation. That

spring, Randolph and his chief aide, Bayard Rustin, planned a march that

would call for fair treatment and equal opportunity for Black Americans, as

well as advocate for passage of the Civil Rights Act. It was also the occasion

of Martin Luther King Jr.’s now-iconic “I Have a Dream” speech. As a result,

this famous march on Washington and the King's sppech have been

considered as a slogan for equility and freedom. The picture on the right

represents Martin Luther King's speech during the progress of March on

Washington.
In the decades, various discriminatory practices were used to prevent

African Americans, particularly those in the South, from exercising their

Voting

right to vote. So, the exercise to get voting rights began. During the

movement, voting rights activists in the South were subjected to various

Rights Act

forms of mistreatment and violence. Some protesters were severely

beaten and bloodied, and others ran for their lives. In the wake of the

of 1965
shocking incident, the president Johnson called for comprehensive voting

rights legislation. As a result, the voting rights bill was passed in the U.S.

Senate by a 77-19 vote on May 26, 1965. Through this movement, black

also could get voting rights. The Voting Rights Act is considered one of the

most far-reaching pieces of civil rights legislation in U.S. history. The

picture on the right shows President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting

Rights Act.

Despite Supreme Court decisions that outlawed the exclusion of African

Americans or other minorities from certain sections of cities, race-based

housing patterns were still in force by the late 1960s. Those who

Fair
challenged them often met with resistance, hostility and even violence. In

this climate, organizations such as the National Association for the

Housing
Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the G.I. Forum and the

Act of 1968
National Committee Against Discrimination in Housing lobbied for new

fair housing legislation to be passed. After a strictly limited debate, the

House passed the Fair Housing Act on April 10, and President Johnson

signed it into law the following day. As a result, The Fair Housing Act of

1968 prohibited discrimination concerning the sale, rental and financing

of housing based on race, religion, national origin or sex.The Fair Housing

Act stands as the final great legislative achievement of the civil rights era.

The picture on the right shows black people requiring the provision of

non-discriminatory housing.