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On December 1, 1955, one woman's quiet act of courage sparked a revolution 336 years in the making.
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1619 |
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First slave ship reaches the New World. |
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1641 |
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Massachusetts colony legalizes slavery. |
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1776 |
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Declaration of Independence. |
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1783 |
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War of Independence ends. |
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1808 |
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Congress
makes it illegal to bring new slaves in to America. |
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1852 |
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Harriet
Beecher Stowe publishes Uncle Tom’s Cabin. |
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1854 |
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The
Dred Scott Decision: The U.S. Supreme Court declares that the main law
guaranteeing that slavery will not enter the Midwestern territories is
unconstitutional.
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1860 |
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Abraham Lincoln elected President; South Carolina secedes.
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1861-1865 |
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Civil War
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1865 (February 1) |
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Lincoln
ratifies the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution,
abolishing slavery throughout the country.
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1865 (April 15) |
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John Wilkes Booth assassinates President Lincoln.
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1870
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15th
Amendment to the U.S. Constitution enfranchises the African American man
by making it illegal to deny the right to vote based on
race.
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1892
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“Separate
but Equal”: The U.S. Supreme Court, in Plessy v. Ferguson, declares
that separate facilities for blacks and whites are constitutional as long
as they are “equal.” This would include restrooms, drinking fountains,
theaters, restaurants and just about any public
area.
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1909 (February 12)
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Formation
of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
(NAACP).
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1913 |
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President Woodrow Wilson officially introduces segregation into the Federal Government.
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1914-1918 |
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World War I
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1939-1945 |
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World War II |
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1950 (June 13) |
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The Republic of South Africa Implements Apartheid |
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1954 (May 17)
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Brown v. the Board of Education: The U.S. Supreme Court strikes down “separate but equal”.
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1955 (December 1)
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Rosa Parks is arrested for failing to yield
her seat to a white man on a bus.
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1956 (December 21)
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Galvanized
by this humble woman’s act of courage and defiance, blacks through out
Montgomery, Alabama boycott the buses. More than a year later, the boycott finally
ends when the U.S. Supreme Court desegregates the buses.
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1957 (September 23)
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In
Little Rock Arkansas, President Eisenhower calls in 101st
Airborne Division to escort nine black students to their first day of
classes at the previously all-white Central High.
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1960 (February 1) |
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Joseph McNeil, Franklin McCain, David Richmond and
Ezell Blair, Jr., begin the sit-in protest movement at a segregated
counter in an F.W. Woolworth Company store in Greensboro, North Carolina.
This movement quickly spreads across the nation.
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1961
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Freedom rides begin from Washington, D.C. Groups of blacks and whites, mostly
college students, ride buses through the South to challenge segregation.
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1962 |
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James
Meredith is the first black student to enroll at the University of
Mississippi. Riots ensue, killing two and injuring many others.
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1963 (May 2) |
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Birmingham,
Alabama police turn fire hoses and dogs onto some 900 peaceful
anti-segregation marchers, most of whom are children between the ages of 6
and 18.
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1963 (August 28)
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“I Have a Dream”: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
immortalizes these words in a speech given on the steps of the Lincoln
Memorial after leading 250,000 peaceful marchers on Washington, D.C.
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1963 (November 22)
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President John F. Kennedy is assassinated in Dallas,
Texas.
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1964 (March 7)
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“Bloody Sunday”: A group of demonstrators, while bowed in prayer, are attacked
at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in
Alabama. They are on a march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama to
protest police brutality and highlight their struggle for voter
rights.
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1964 (July 2)
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President
Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act guaranteeing basic Civil
Rights to all Americans.
“Freedom
Summer”: Throughout the deep South, Civil Rights leaders become active in
voter registration by organizing voter-registration classes.
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1964 (December 10) |
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Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
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1964 (December 10) |
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1964 (June 12) In South Africa, African National
Congress Leader, Nelson Mandela convicted of trying to overthrow the
government and sentenced to life in prison.
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1965 (August 6)
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President
Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Voting Rights Act eliminating literary tests,
which aim to prevent African American voters from registering.
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1967 |
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In Seattle, Washington Sam Smith is the first black city councilman.
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1968 (April 4) |
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Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee.
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1968 |
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The Black Movement launches the "Black and Beautiful"
campaign, aimed at school children, to instill in them a sense of pride in
their community and in themselves.
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1969 (July 20) |
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Neil Armstrong first walks on the moon
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1986 (January 20) |
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First national celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday as a public holiday.
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1987 |
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Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute is founded
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1989 |
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Douglas Wilder of Virginia becomes the first African American state governor.
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1990 (February 11) |
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In South Africa, ANC Leader, Nelson Mandella is
released from prison and so begins the fall of Apartheid.
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1996 |
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Rosa Parks awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
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1999 |
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Rosa Parks awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.
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For a study guide to "The Rosa Parks Story," please visit http://www.kidsnet.org/cbs/rosaparks/
For more information about The Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute, please visit www.rosaparksinstitute.org
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