Milestones in the moderncivil rights movementby Elissa Haney1954 1960 1964 1968 19711988 19911954 May 17The Supreme Court rules onthe landmark case Brown Vv.Board of Education ofTopeka, Kans., unanimouslyagreeing that segregation inpublic schools is unconstitu-tional. The ruling paves theway for large-scale desegrega-tion. It is a victory for NAACPattomey Thurgood Marshall,who will later return to theSupreme Court as the nationTsfirst black justice.1955 Dec. 1(Montgomery, Ala.) NAACPmember Rosa Parks refuses togive up her seat at the front ofthe bus to a white passenger,defying a southern custom ofthe time. In response to herarrest the Montgomery blackcommunity launches a busboycott, which will last formore than a year, until thebuses are desegregated Dec.21, 1956. As newly electedpresident of the MontgomeryImprovement Association(MIA), Reverend MartinLuther King, Jr, 1s instrumen-tal in leading the boycott.1957 Jan.Feb.Rev. King, Charles K. Steele,and Fred L. Shuttlesworthestablish the | SouthernChristian LeadershipConference, of which King 1smade the first president. TheSCLC becomes a major forcein organizing the civil rightsmovement.Sept.~ (Little Rock, Ark.) Formerlyall-white Central High Schoollearns that integration is eas-ier said than done. Nine blackstudents are blocked fromentering the school by crowdsorganized by Governor OrvalFaubus. President Eisenhowersends federal troops and theNational Guard to interveneon behalf of the students.1960 Feb. 1(Greensboro, N.C.) Four blackstudents from North CarolinaAgricultural and TechnicalCollege begin a sit-in at asegregated Woolworth's lunchcounter Although they arerefused service, they are al-lowed to stay at the counter.The event triggers many simi-lar nonviolent _ proteststhroughout the south.April(Raleigh, N.C.) The StudentNonviolent CoordinatingCommittee (SNCC) 1Sfounded at Shaw University,providing young blacks amore organized place in thecivil rights movement. TheSNCC later grows into a moreradical organization, espe-cially under the leadership ofStokely Carmichael(19661967).1961 May 4The C of RacialEquality (CORE) begins send-ing student volu :trips to test the implementa-tion of new laws prohibitingsegregation in interstate travelfacilities. One of the first twogroups of ofreedom riders," asthey are called, encounters itsfirst problem. two weeks later,when a mob in Alabama-setsthe riders' bus on fire. Theprogram continues, and by theend of the summer 1,000volunteers, black and white,have participated.1963 June 12(Jackson, Miss.) Mississippi'sNAACP field secretary, 37-year-old Medgar Evers, 1smurdered outside his home.Byron De La Beckwith 1s triedtwice in 1964, both trialsresulting in hung juries. Thirtyyears later he 1s convicted formurdering Evers.Aug. 28(Washington, D.C.) About250,000 people join theMarch on Washington.Congregating at the LincolnMemorial, participants listenas Reverend King delivers hisfamous "I Have a Dream"speech.Sept. 15(Birmingham, Ala.) Fouryoung girls attending Sundayschool are killed when a bombexplodes at the SixteenthStreet Baptist Church, a popu-lar location for civil rightsmeetings. Riots erupt inBirmingham, leading to thedeaths of two more blackyouths.1964 SummerThe Council of FederatedOrganizations (COFO), a net-work of civil rights groupsthat includes CORE andSNCC, launches a massiveeffort to register black votersduring what becomes knownas the Freedom Summer. Italso sends delegates to theDemocratic NationalConvention to protestand at-tempt to unseatthe officialall-white Mississippi contin-gent.July 2President Johnson signs theCivil Rights Act of 1964,making segregation in publicfacilities and discrimination inemployment illegal.Aug. 5Three Mississippi civil-rightsworkers are officially declaredmissing, having disappearedon June 21. The last day theywere seen, James E. Cheney,21; Andrew Goodman, 21;and Michael Schwerner, 24,had been arrested, incarcer-ated, and then released onspeeding charges. Their mur-dered bodies are found afterPresident Johnson sends mili-tary personnel to join thesearch party. It is later re-vealed that the police released"| Have A Dream"August 28, 1963These famous words ofDr. Martin Luther Kingare remembered today.He was a leader whoallowed his dream toinspire the masses.His dream created anew way of life and achange for our nation.If you have a dreamabout your future,the counselors atPitt Community Collegecan help you exploreyour options andbegin planning andtraining for a new career.Call today: 355-4245volunteers on bus |$965 Feb. 21ieKlan. The. trio had beenworking to register black- vot-os oMalcolm X, black nationalistand founder of theOrganization of = Afro-American Unity, is shot todeath in Harlem. It is believedthe assailants are members ofthe Black Muslim faith, whichMalcolm had recently aban-doned.March 7(Selma, Ala.) Blacks begin amarch to Montgomery in sup-port of voting rights but arestopped at the Pettus Bridgeby a police blockade. Fiftymarchers are hospitalized af-ter police use tear gas, whips,and clubs against them. Theincident 1s dubbed "BloodySunday" by the media.Aug. 10Congress passes the VotingRights Act of 1965, making iteasier for southern blacks toregister to vote. Literacy testsand other such requirementsthat tended to restrict blackvoting become illegal.1968 April 4(Memphis, Tenn.) ReverendKing, at age 39, is shot as hestands on the balcony outsidehis hotel room. Although es-caped convict James Earl Raylater pleads guilty to thecrime, questions about theactual circumstances of King'sassassination remain to thisday.April 11 .President Johnson signs theCivil Rights Act of 1968,prohibiting discrimination inthe sale, rental, and financingof housing.1971 April 20The Supreme Court, in SwannVv. Charlotte-MecklenburgBoard of Education, upholdsbusing as a legitimate meansfor achieving integration ofpublic schools. Althoughlargely unwelcome (and some-times violently opposed) inlocal school districts, court-ordered busing plans in citiessuch as Charlotte, Boston. andDenver continue until the late1990s.1988 March 22Overriding President Reagan'sveto, Congress passes theCivil Rights Restoration Act,which expands the reach ofnon-discrimination lawswithin private institutions re-ceiving federal funds.199} Nov. 22After two years of debates.vetoes, and threatened vetoes.President Bush reverses him-self and signs the Civil RightsAct of 1991, strengtheningexisting civil rights laws andproviding for damages incases of intentional employ-ment discrimination.An Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action InstitutionEx-Black ; Panthersays murder trial isFBI conspiracy ©Duncan CampbellThe GuardianA murder trial under way inAtlanta, Georgia, has rekin-dled memories of one of themost turbulent periods ofAmerican racial politics, withthe accused - a former leadingfigure of the Black Panthers -claiming to be the victim of anFBI witch-hunt.Jamil Abdullah al-Amin, 58, aMuslim cleric, was betterknown as "H Rap Brown" inthe 1960s when he was one ofthe firebrands in the BlackPanthers. The _ shortlivedmovement challenged the po-lice and played a leading part ©in the black power movement.Mr al-Amin was a leadingmember of the Student Non-Violent CoordinatingCommittee and was active inthe registration of black votersin the 1960s. Now he faces apossible death penalty afterthe fatal shooting of a sheriff'sdeputy in Atlanta in March2000Two deputies, Ricky Kinchenand Aldranon English, went toMr al-Amin's house to servehim with a summons for someminor motoring charges andan accusation of impersonat-ing a police officer The visitcame after he had failed toattend a court hearing.Both deputies were shot in anexchange of gunfire. Kinchen,who was black, later died. MrEnglish identified Mr al-Aminas the gunmanThe suspect was found fourdays later in woods near asmall town in Alabama wherehe had helped to register-The Minority Voice December 20 - 28, 2001ore |WIRESWITHOUT"CELLULAR"CONSULTANTS"YOU!dustry can help any individual orproducts and services offered by eve"the Right ChoiceT...Without Wires Cellular & Paging(Cellular Consultants) 4054 South28590 252-353 - 4356(withoutwires@earthlink.com)Prepaid Cingular Minutes AvailableServiceCELLULAR'& PAGING |Vithout Wires has done the research forbusiness take advantage of the rightcellular service provider in EasternNorth Carolina. Let us help you makeMemorial Dr., Suite 1 Winterville, NCEroay this coupon and we'll give you $20.00 off any acsx svory with the purchase of.a new phone or cellular(Jur experience and knowledge of the ialryvoters in the 1960s. Police savthe weapon used in the fatalshooting was found nearbyThe prosecution says that thisis a Straightforward case. Mral-Amin was identified by oneof his victims and the weaponused in the shooting wasfound near himBut the defendant told theNew York Times from prisonthat the charges resulted fromthe FBI's determination to jailhim. "They still fear a person-ality, a character coming upamong " African-Americanswho could galvanise supportamong all the different ele-ments of the African-American community.. Theyare trying to crush Islambefore it realises its ownworth and strength," he said.Gifs Gnd Colac ries407 Evans StreetGreenville, NCUnique GiftsStudent Discounts(252)792-2758°ge 7 ~ as .~ . SEAS Ote2 a 4 'NRvw~ Nocona Tracieg«i Ningyin A ant Ih aPIAPRO WR RII AC aba: i SASK, pTalal pi Di daleSaarcs Keyes. lata Amarcar Drager Wf dicsee eR oe ee Oe asPitt Community CollegeGreenville, NC |321-4245