Milestones in the modern civil rights movement by Elissa Haney 1954 1960 1964 1968 1971 1988 1991 1954 May 17 The Supreme Court rules on the landmark case Brown Vv. Board of Education of Topeka, Kans., unanimously agreeing that segregation in public schools is unconstitu- tional. The ruling paves the way for large-scale desegrega- tion. It is a victory for NAACP attomey Thurgood Marshall, who will later return to the Supreme Court as the nation’s first black justice. 1955 Dec. 1 (Montgomery, Ala.) NAACP member Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat at the front of the bus to a white passenger, defying a southern custom of the time. In response to her arrest the Montgomery black community launches a bus boycott, which will last for more than a year, until the buses are desegregated Dec. 21, 1956. As newly elected president of the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA), Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr, 1s instrumen- tal in leading the boycott. 1957 Jan.Feb. Rev. King, Charles K. Steele, and Fred L. Shuttlesworth establish the | Southern Christian Leadership Conference, of which King 1s made the first president. The SCLC becomes a major force in organizing the civil rights movement. Sept. ~ (Little Rock, Ark.) Formerly all-white Central High School learns that integration is eas- ier said than done. Nine black students are blocked from entering the school by crowds organized by Governor Orval Faubus. President Eisenhower sends federal troops and the National Guard to intervene on behalf of the students. 1960 Feb. 1 (Greensboro, N.C.) Four black students from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College begin a sit-in at a segregated Woolworth's lunch counter Although they are refused service, they are al- lowed to stay at the counter. The event triggers many simi- lar nonviolent _ protests throughout the south. April (Raleigh, N.C.) The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) 1S founded at Shaw University, providing young blacks a more organized place in the civil rights movement. The SNCC later grows into a more radical organization, espe- cially under the leadership of Stokely Carmichael (19661967). 1961 May 4 The C of Racial Equality (CORE) begins send- ing student volu : trips to test the implementa- tion of new laws prohibiting segregation in interstate travel facilities. One of the first two groups of “freedom riders," as they are called, encounters its first problem. two weeks later, when a mob in Alabama-sets the riders' bus on fire. The program continues, and by the end of the summer 1,000 volunteers, black and ‘white, have participated. 1963 June 12 (Jackson, Miss.) Mississippi's NAACP field secretary, 37- year-old Medgar Evers, 1s murdered outside his home. Byron De La Beckwith 1s tried twice in 1964, both trials resulting in hung juries. Thirty years later he 1s convicted for murdering Evers. Aug. 28 (Washington, D.C.) About 250,000 people join the March on Washington. Congregating at the Lincoln Memorial, participants listen as Reverend King delivers his famous "I Have a Dream" speech. Sept. 15 (Birmingham, Ala.) Four young girls attending Sunday school are killed when a bomb explodes at the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, a popu- lar location for civil rights meetings. Riots erupt in Birmingham, leading to the deaths of two more black youths. 1964 Summer The Council of Federated Organizations (COFO), a net- work of civil rights groups that includes CORE and SNCC, launches a massive effort to register black voters during what becomes known as the Freedom Summer. It also sends delegates to the Democratic National Convention to protestand at- tempt to unseatthe official all-white Mississippi contin- gent. July 2 President Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964, making segregation in public facilities and discrimination in employment illegal. Aug. 5 Three Mississippi civil-rights workers are officially declared missing, having disappeared on June 21. The last day they were seen, James E. Cheney, 21; Andrew Goodman, 21; and Michael Schwerner, 24, had been arrested, incarcer- ated, and then released on speeding charges. Their mur- dered bodies are found after President Johnson sends mili- tary personnel to join the search party. It is later re- vealed that the police released "| Have A Dream" August 28, 1963 These famous words of Dr. Martin Luther King are remembered today. He was a leader who allowed his dream to inspire the masses. His dream created a new way of life and a change for our nation. If you have a dream about your future, the counselors at Pitt Community College can help you explore your options and begin planning and training for a new career. Call today: 355-4245 volunteers on bus | $965 Feb. 21 ie Klan. The. trio had been working to register black- vot- os “ Malcolm X, black nationalist and founder of the Organization of = Afro- American Unity, is shot to death in Harlem. It is believed the assailants are members of the Black Muslim faith, which Malcolm had recently aban- doned. March 7 (Selma, Ala.) Blacks begin a march to Montgomery in sup- port of voting rights but are stopped at the Pettus Bridge by a police blockade. Fifty marchers are hospitalized af- ter police use tear gas, whips, and clubs against them. The incident 1s dubbed "Bloody Sunday" by the media. Aug. 10 Congress passes the Voting Rights Act of 1965, making it easier for southern blacks to register to vote. Literacy tests and other such requirements that tended to restrict black voting become illegal. 1968 April 4 (Memphis, Tenn.) Reverend King, at age 39, is shot as he stands on the balcony outside his hotel room. Although es- caped convict James Earl Ray later pleads guilty to the crime, questions about the actual circumstances of King's assassination remain to this day. April 11 . President Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1968, prohibiting discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of housing. 1971 April 20 The Supreme Court, in Swann Vv. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education, upholds busing as a legitimate means for achieving integration of public schools. Although largely unwelcome (and some- times violently opposed) in local school districts, court- ordered busing plans in cities such as Charlotte, Boston. and Denver continue until the late 1990s. 1988 March 22 Overriding President Reagan's veto, Congress passes the Civil Rights Restoration Act, which expands the reach of non-discrimination laws within private institutions re- ceiving federal funds. 199} Nov. 22 After two years of debates. vetoes, and threatened vetoes. President Bush reverses him- self and signs the Civil Rights Act of 1991, strengthening existing civil rights laws and providing for damages in cases of intentional employ- ment discrimination. An Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Institution Ex-Black ; Panther says murder trial is FBI conspiracy © Duncan Campbell The Guardian A murder trial under way in Atlanta, Georgia, has rekin- dled memories of one of the most turbulent periods of American racial politics, with the accused - a former leading figure of the Black Panthers - claiming to be the victim of an FBI witch-hunt. Jamil Abdullah al-Amin, 58, a Muslim cleric, was better known as "H Rap Brown" in the 1960s when he was one of the firebrands in the Black Panthers. The _ shortlived movement challenged the po- lice and played a leading part © in the black power movement. Mr al-Amin was a leading member of the Student Non- Violent Coordinating Committee and was active in the registration of black voters in the 1960s. Now he faces a possible death penalty after the fatal shooting of a sheriff's deputy in Atlanta in March 2000 Two deputies, Ricky Kinchen and Aldranon English, went to Mr al-Amin's house to serve him with a summons for some minor motoring charges and an accusation of impersonat- ing a police officer The visit came after he had failed to attend a court hearing. Both deputies were shot in an exchange of gunfire. Kinchen, who was black, later died. Mr English identified Mr al-Amin as the gunman The suspect was found four days later in woods near a small town in Alabama where he had helped to register - The Minority Voice December 20 - 28, 2001 ore | WIRES WITHOUT "CELLULAR "CONSULTANTS" YOU! dustry can help any individual or products and services offered by eve "the Right Choice’... Without Wires Cellular & Paging (Cellular Consultants) 4054 South 28590 252-353 - 4356 (withoutwires@earthlink.com) Prepaid Cingular Minutes Available Service CELLULAR'& PAGING | ‘Vithout Wires has done the research for business take advantage of the right cellular service provider in Eastern North Carolina. Let us help you make Memorial Dr., Suite 1 Winterville, NC Eroay this coupon and we'll give you $20.00 off any acs x svory with the purchase of.a new phone or cellular (Jur experience and knowledge of the ial ry voters in the 1960s. Police sav the weapon used in the fatal shooting was found nearby The prosecution says that this is a Straightforward case. Mr al-Amin was identified by one of his victims and the weapon used in the shooting was found near him But the defendant told the New York Times from prison that the charges resulted from the FBI's determination to jail him. "They still fear a person- ality, a character coming up among — African-Americans who could galvanise support among all the different ele- ments of the African- American community.. They are trying to crush Islam before it realises its own worth and strength," he said. Gifs Gnd Colac ries 407 Evans Street Greenville, NC Unique Gifts Student Discounts (252)792-2758 ° ge 7 ~ as . ~ . > SEAS < Ote2 a ‘ 4 ' NR vw ~ Nocona Tracieg «i Ningyin A ant Ih a PIAPRO WR RII AC aba: i SASK, pTalal pi Di dale Saarcs Keyes. lata Amarcar Drager Wf dics ee eR oe ee Oe as J Pitt Community College Greenville, NC | 321-4245