Road TO Civil Rights
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A Little Goes A Long Way
Through school segregation, lynchings, bombings, the injustice of the jury system and capital there's not a single hypocritical statement that hasn't been made to assure the continuation the dividing of the people. There are characters who are widely known through famous speeches, quotes and events but along side them were billions who had little recognition through with big parts. Even if you argued that none of this mattered or it was all futile you can't just say that everything that it was all a pointless work of effort to reunite the people because their sacrifices and inspiration really did help make a difference.
Events That Changed HIstory
September 1963 before the Birmingham morning church service- a church that served as a meeting place for civil rights leaders- was bombed by the KKK. The bombing killed 4 black girls:Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Wesley, Carole Robertson, and Denise McNair.
Freedom Riders
In 1961Blacks and whites together took buses to the South in protest for bus station segregation. Many are greeted with riots and beatings and was even bombed in the end.
Washington March
August 28, 1963 That is after Martin Luther Kings famous "I Have A Dream" Speech ringing through thousands. More than 200,000 blacks and whites gather before Lincoln Memorial to hear speeches and protest racial injustice
Bombing of Birmingham Church
Lunch Counter Protest
Jackie Robinson Joins Brooklyn Dodgers
In 1957 of Autumn after Little Rock school board voted to integrate schools, National Guard troops prevent the black children (Elizabeth Eckford, Minnijean Brown, Gloria Ray, Terrance Roberts, Ernest Green, Thelma Mothershed, Jefferson Thomas, Melba Patillo, and Carlotta Walls) from attending Little Rock High. 1000 federal paratroopers were needed to escort the black students and preserve peace.
Jackie Robinson Joins Brooklyn Dodgers
Pasadena resident Jackie Robinson breaks the color barrier by being the first black to play major league baseball in the modern era. He was named Rookie of the Year in 1947, and National League MVP in 1949 and a World Series champ in 1955.
Lunch Counter Protest
In 1961 ten men sat at a "whites only" counter in Rock Hill, South Carolina in a protest against segregation. They were arrested and nine ("The Friendship Nine") were sentenced to 30 days labor on a chain gang.
Little Rock NIne
Jackie Robinson Joins Brooklyn Dodgers
Lunch Counter Protest
Brave And Forgotten
Medgar Evers [1925-1963]
In 29, 1955 Medgar Evers was denied to attend Mississippi Law School after he quit his insurance job where his effort to desegregate the school did not go unnoticed. The propositions caught the attention of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). He was given the job as a field secretary recruiting members throughout Mississippi, organized voter-registration efforts, demonstrations, and economic boycotts of white companies that still practiced discrimination. Evers also investigated crimes that were against blacks.
His work as a Civil rights activist eventually made his popularity greatly known in Mississippi resulting in a number of threats and disturbances to him and his family for years including firebombing his house. On June 12, 1963 Evers was shot in the back in his own driveway.
Given full military honors Medgar Evers was buried in Arlington National Cemetery and was given the 1963 Springen Award by the NAACP.
Dorothy Heights [1912-2010]
In 1938 Dorothy was also hired by the Young Womens Christian Association (YWCA) and worked to better working conditions for domestic black workers that lead to her national leadership in the YWCA where she influenced the organization to desegregate on all levels.
Honorable Mentions