Student Article

The U.S. civil rights movement was shaped by powerful events that inspired people to stand up for justice. Here are five moments that made a difference.

1. Emmett Till’s Murder (1955)

In August 1955, 14-year-old Emmett Till traveled from Chicago to Mississippi to visit family. While there, he was accused of whistling at a white woman, which broke the strict social rules of the segregated South. A few nights later, two white men kidnapped, tortured, and murdered him. When Emmett’s mother, Mamie Till, held an open-casket funeral, people across the country saw the brutality of racism. The killers were found not guilty by an all-white jury. This tragedy shocked the nation and helped spark the civil rights movement. 

2. Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955–1956)

Just a few months after Till’s murder, Rosa Parks, a Black woman and activist in Montgomery, Alabama, refused to give up her bus seat to a white man. She was arrested, and the Black community responded by launching a bus boycott that lasted 381 days. With strong organization and support, the boycott succeeded. In 1956, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that segregating buses was unconstitutional. The boycott also helped introduce Martin Luther King Jr. as a national leader.

3. The March on Washington and “I Have a Dream” (1963)

On August 28, 1963, more than 250,000 people marched in Washington, D.C., demanding jobs and equal rights. It was one of the largest civil rights protests in U.S. history. The event ended with Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech. In the speech, he imagined a future where all Americans would be treated equally. The march added pressure on President John F. Kennedy to support civil rights laws.

4. Selma to Montgomery and “Bloody Sunday” (1965)

In early 1965, civil rights groups began marching from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, to protest barriers that kept Black people from voting. When they tried to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, they were attacked by police in an event known as “Bloody Sunday.” News footage shocked the country. Two weeks later, Martin Luther King Jr. led a successful march with thousands of people, gaining support for new voting laws.

5. The Voting Rights Act (1965)

Just months after the Selma marches, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act into law. This act banned unfair voting practices, like literacy tests and poll taxes, that had long kept Black Americans from voting in the South. It was one of the most important victories of the civil rights movement and helped millions of African Americans gain the right to vote.

© Rhiannon Davies / www.historyextra.com