The Civil Rights Era.

During the civil rights era, African-Americans used nonviolent forms of protest including marches, boycotts, and sit-ins, to pressure lawmakers to outlaw segregation and guarantee equal rights to all citizens, regardless of race. Black activists also pressed their case in the courts, leading to one of the most important Supreme Court rulings of the last century, Brown v. Board of Education.

1948

The Military

President Harry S. Truman issues an executive order to desegregate the U.S. armed forces. After widespread resistance in the military, the last all-black unit is dissolved in 1954.

1954

Brown v. Board of Education

The U.S. Supreme Court rules that segregated public schools are unconstitutional, overturning the "separate but equal" standard established in 1896. Many schools in the South resist complying with the ruling.

1955

Bus Boycott

Rosa Parks is arrested in Montgomery, Alabama, for refusing to give up her seat to a white passenger on a bus. This sparks a boycott of city buses, led by Martin Luther King Jr.

1957

Little Rock Nine

Nine black students attempt to desegregate Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. They're turned away by an angry mob. Federal troops eventually escort the students inside.

1960

Greensboro

Four black college students in North Carolina stage a sit-in at a whites-only Woolworth's lunch counter. The protest forces Woolworth's to desegregate and...