Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) established "separate but equal"! Homer Plessy, who was seven-eighths white and one-eighth Black, deliberately sat in a whites-only train car to challenge Louisiana's segregation law. The Supreme Court ruled 7-1 that segregation was legal as long as facilities were equal. In reality, Black facilities were never equal. The decision remained law until Brown v. Board of Education (1954) declared that "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal." The term "Jim Crow" came from a minstrel show character, a racist caricature of a Black man. Jim Crow laws lasted from the 1870s to the mid-1960s, when the Civil Rights Act (1964) and Voting Rights Act (1965) finally outlawed them.

Brown v. Board of Education declared school segregation unconstitutional! The unanimous decision was written by Chief Justice Earl Warren. It was a major victory for the civil rights movement, but Southern states resisted fiercely. Virginia's Senator Harry Byrd called for "massive resistance," closing some public schools rather than integrating. The Little Rock Nine (1957) faced the Arkansas National Guard blocking their entry to Central High School until President Eisenhower sent federal troops to escort them. Integration was slow – in 1964, only 2% of Black students in the South attended integrated schools. The decision, however, provided the legal foundation for the entire civil rights movement. Thurgood Marshall was appointed to the Supreme Court in 1967.

The Montgomery Bus Boycott was sparked by Rosa Parks! Parks was not the first person to refuse to give up a seat – 15-year-old Claudette Colvin had done so nine months earlier. But NAACP leaders believed Parks, with her impeccable character, would be a better public symbol. The boycott nearly bankrupted the city bus system. Black residents walked, carpooled, or took taxis (Black-owned taxi companies charged the same 10 cents as bus fare). King's home was bombed during the boycott, but he urged nonviolence. The Supreme Court's November 1956 ruling (Browder v. Gayle) declared bus segregation unconstitutional. The boycott ended on December 20, 1956. It launched King into national leadership and demonstrated the power of nonviolent mass protest.

King advocated nonviolent civil disobedience! He wrote in his "Letter from Birmingham Jail" (1963): "One who breaks an unjust law must do so openly, lovingly, and with a willingness to accept the penalty." His philosophy was tested by brutal police tactics – dogs, fire hoses, beatings – which were televised nationally, shocking the public and building support for civil rights. King's "I Have a Dream" speech, delivered to over 250,000 people at the Lincoln Memorial, called for racial equality and an end to discrimination. His assassination in 1968 sparked riots in over 100 U.S. cities. After his death, his birthday became a federal holiday (Martin Luther King Jr. Day, observed on the third Monday in January).

President Eisenhower sent federal troops! Despite his initial reluctance, Eisenhower was determined to uphold federal law. He signed Executive Order 10730 (September 24, 1957) to send the 101st Airborne Division to Little Rock. The soldiers escorted the nine students into Central High School. Throughout the year, the "Little Rock Nine" faced constant abuse – they were shoved, tripped, spat upon, and had food thrown at them. Melba Pattillo had acid thrown in her face. Still, by the end of the year, Minnijean Brown had been expelled (for fighting back), but the others persisted. In 1958, Faubus closed all Little Rock high schools rather than integrate them. The schools reopened in 1959 after court orders. The crisis showed the federal government's commitment to enforcing desegregation.

The March on Washington was on August 28, 1963! Over 250,000 people attended – about 75,000 of them white – making it the largest civil rights demonstration in U.S. history at that time. The march was broadcast on live television, bringing King's speech into millions of homes. The speech was improvised in the middle – King set aside his written text and began preaching, "I have a dream." The audience roared. Mahalia Jackson, the gospel singer, had shouted from behind him, "Tell them about the dream, Martin!" The march's official demands included passage of a civil rights bill, school desegregation, a massive public works program, and a federal law banning employment discrimination. President Kennedy watched the speech on television and was deeply moved.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed discrimination! It was the most sweeping civil rights legislation since Reconstruction. Title II banned discrimination in public accommodations (anyone could eat at any lunch counter, stay at any hotel). Title VII banned employment discrimination and created the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The bill faced a 72-day filibuster in the Senate – the longest in history on a civil rights bill. Senator Robert Byrd (former KKK member) spoke for over 14 hours. The bill passed the Senate 73-27 (with 27 of 33 Southern senators voting against). Johnson signed the bill on live television, using over 75 pens to sign the hundreds of copies. The act has been amended several times, including to add disability protections.

Bloody Sunday was March 7, 1965! The marchers, led by John Lewis (later a U.S. congressman) and Hosea Williams, crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge. Alabama state troopers and local police, under orders from Governor George Wallace, attacked them with clubs and tear gas. John Lewis suffered a skull fracture (the scar on his forehead is visible in photos). The attack was broadcast on national television, sparking outrage. President Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act on August 6, 1965. The act suspended literacy tests and allowed federal examiners to register voters in discriminating jurisdictions. Within four years, Black voter registration in the South tripled. John Lewis died in 2020; his body lay in state in the U.S. Capitol rotunda. The Edmund Pettus Bridge (named for a Confederate general) remains a symbol of the struggle for voting rights.

Malcolm X is known for "by any means necessary"! He argued that nonviolence was ineffective against violent oppressors. He was a brilliant orator who inspired many with his uncompromising demand for Black liberation. His autobiography (written with Alex Haley) is a classic of American literature. The pilgrimage to Mecca changed him: he wrote, "There were tens of thousands of pilgrims, from all over the world. They were of all colors... We were all participating in the same ritual, displaying a spirit of unity and brotherhood that my experiences in America had led me to believe could never exist between the white and non-white." He was assassinated while giving a speech in New York City. Three men were convicted of his murder. His legacy is complex – some remember his earlier militancy, others his later embrace of racial unity.

King was assassinated in Memphis at the Lorraine Motel! He was there to support striking sanitation workers, who had endured appalling conditions. The day before his death, he delivered his prophetic final speech, "I've Been to the Mountaintop": "Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now... I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land." The next day, he was shot. The Lorraine Motel is now the National Civil Rights Museum. Riots erupted in over 100 cities, including Washington, D.C., Chicago, and Baltimore. Many believe the civil rights movement lost its most effective leader. The assassination also hastened the passage of the Fair Housing Act (Civil Rights Act of 1968), signed by President Johnson on April 11, 1968, just one week after King's death.