Important Dates in America, a List

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1865- (Thirteenth amendment) Officially abolished and continues to prohibit slavery to this day 1868- (fourteenth amendment) States that all people born or naturalized in the U.S. are american citizens including african americans 1870- (fifteenth amendment) Prohibits each government in the U.S. from denying a citizen the right to vote based on the citizens race, color, or previous condition of servitude 1896- (Plessy vs. Ferguson) On June 7, 1892, 30-year-old Homer Plessy was jailed for sitting in the "White" car of the East Louisiana Railroad. Plessy could easily pass for white but under Louisiana law, he was considered black despite his light complexion and therefore required to sit in the "Colored" car. the U.S. Supreme Court rules that segregated, or "separate but equal," public facilities for whites and black African-American are legal. The ruling stands until 1954. 1948- (Integration of the armed forces) On July 26, 1948, President Harry S. Truman signed an executive order establishing the President's Committee on Equality of Treatment and Opportunity in the Armed Services, committing the government to integrating the segregated military. 1954- (Brown vs. Board) A class action suit was filed against the Board of Education of the city of Topeka, Kansas in the United States District Court for the District of Kansas in 1951. The plaintiffs consisted of thirteen parents of twenty children who attended the Topeka School District. They filed the suit hoping that the school district would change its policy of racial segregation. 1955- (Emmett Till is murdered) A 14 year old black boy by the name of Emmett Till was kidnapped and murdered while going to visiting his grandfather. The murderers were charged but not convicted they were not retrial even after a recorded confession after the trial. 1955- (Rosa parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott) In Montgomery a lady by the name of Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white man. The bus driver called the police and Rosa was arrested. African americans responded by holding a bus boycott that lasted for over a year. 1957-(Southern Christian Leadership Conference is founded) The sclc was founded after the montgomery bus boycott on december 5, 1955. 1957-(Crisis at Central High School And The Little Rock Nine) The little rock nine were the nine black students that were responsible for the desegregation of central high school. As the students walked up to the school they were turned away by the National Guard who were called by the governor Faubus. 1960-Greensboro Sit-ins-1960 Meanwhile in Greensboro North Carolina four african-american college students held a sit-in at segregated diner.

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