Events
Various people and events related to the civil rights movement have attracted more attention than others. Often, there has been ample research and work done on these notable cases. Below is a repository for information from this site on several of the most thoroughly studied events that occurred in the movement between 1955 and 1972. (Note that Events are ordered here alphabetically.)
Please submit suggestions for additions!
Albany Movement, 1961
Birmingham Campaign, 1963
Martin Luther King, “Letter from Birmingham Jail”
Fred Shuttlesworth, “Birmingham Revisited” (published in Ebony magazine in August, 1971).
Dick Gregory, Speech at St. John’s Baptist Church – on May 20, 1963 in Birmingham, Alabama.
Bull Connor and the Civil Rights Movement
Bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church, 1963
Bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church Images
King’s Eulogy for the Victims. To read a student analysis of his eulogy, click here.
Brown v. Board of Education, 1954
Brown v. Board Timeline from the National Archives.
The History of Brown v. Board of Education from the official site of the U.S. Courts.
Chicago Campaign, 1966
Civil Rights Act of 1957
Civil Rights Act of 1957 from History Central.
Civil Rights Act of 1957 from the Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum.
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 from Stanford’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute.
Cold War and the Civil Rights Movement
African Americans – Racial reform and cold war ideology from the Encyclopedia of the New American Nation.
“’The Clock Will Not Be Turned Back’: A Rhetorical Analysis”: student Matt Crager writes about Roy Wilkins’s speech at the Commonwealth Club of California on November 1, 1957.
Desegregation of the Armed Forces
Desegregation of the Armed Forces: Chronology from the Harry S. Truman Library and Museum.
Emmett Till Murder, 1955
Fannie Lou Hamer at the 1964 Democratic Convention
Fannie Lou Hamer Resources for Research
Fannie Lou Hamer’s Testimony at the Democratic Convention
Fifty year anniversary of Fannie Lou Hamer’s testimony in 2014.
Freedom Rides, 1961
American Experience: Freedom Riders, from the PBS series American Experience, offers an excellent survey.
Freedom Summer, 1964
Freedom Summer from the Congress of Racial Equality.
Freedom Summer from the PBS series American Experience.
Ghanaian Independence, 1957
Martin Luther King, “The Birth of a New Nation”
Little Rock Crisis, 1957
The Little Rock Nine from Veterans of the Civil Rights Movement.
The Little Rock Episode Timeline
Charles Mingus, “Fables of Faubus”
March Against Fear (Meredith March), 1966
March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, 1963
The official announcement for the march.
March on Washington Resources for Research
Martin Luther King, Jr. and Roy Wilkins appear on Meet the Press on August 25, 1963 to discuss the upcoming March on Washington.
The official program for the march.
Martin Luther King, “I Have a Dream”
“Bob Dylan on Whites within a White Power System”: student Matt Schickling writes on Bob Dylan’s “Only a Pawn in Their Game” and his performance at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963.
Memphis Sanitation Workers Strike, 1968
Memphis Sanitation Workers Strike Timeline
Memphis Sanitation Workers Strike Images
Martin Luther King’s speech on April 3, 1968, “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop”
Montgomery Bus Boycott and related events, 1955-1956
Resources on The Montgomery Campaign
Nashville, 1960
Newark Riots, 1967
Newark Riot (1967) from BlackPast.org.
Niagara Movement, 1905-1910
The Niagara Movement from PBS.
Orangeburg Massacre, 1968
“The Orangeburg Massacre”: student Nicole Mapp writes on the rioting in Orangeburg, South Carolina on February 8, 1968, which resulted in death and destruction when protesters demonstrated against segregated facilities.
Philadelphia Race Riot, 1964
“The 1964 Philadelphia Race Riot – A Causal Analysis”: student Anna Lombardo discusses the fierce rioting that broke out in Philadelphia during Freedom Summer.
Selma Campaign, 1965
President Lyndon B. Johnson’s speech on March 25, at the Voting Rights Act signing ceremony.
–Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech at the end of the march,” How Long, Not Long”
–Eyewitness Accounts:
Testimony of John Lewis, Civil Rights Activist after Selma march
The PBS Civil Rights Movement documentary episode, “No Easy March”: Eyes on the Prize.
Background information about the events leading up to Selma can be found here.
An analysis of the film Selma can be found here.
An analysis of the LBJ’s portrayal in Selma can be found here.
“Bloody Sunday: A reporter’s notebook”: a CBS 60 Minutes extra about Bill Plante’s coverage of Bloody Sunday and the Selma to Montgomery March.
President Lyndon B. Johnson’s speech on March 25, at the Voting Rights Act signing ceremony
Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech at the end of the march,” How Long, Not Long”
University of Alabama (Desegregation of) and related events, 1963
Governor George C. Wallace’s School House Door Speech
John F. Kennedy, “Civil Rights Address”
University of Mississippi (Desegregation of), 1962
The Desegregation of the University of Mississippi
The Desegregation of the University of Mississippi Images
Bob Dylan, “Oxford Town”
Voting Rights Act, 1965
Voting Rights Act of 1965 from the United States Department of Justice.