Civil Rights history
The timeline depicts the major events before, during and after the Civil Rights era.
1954-05-17 00:00:00
Brown vs Board of Education
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that segregated public schools are unconstitutional
1955-12-01 00:00:00
Rosa Parks
Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat in the front of a public bus in Montgomery, Ala.
1957-09-01 00:00:00
Little Rock Nine
President Dwight Eisenhower sends federal troops to Central High School in Little Rock, Ark., to escort nine black students into the formerly all-white school.
1961-05-04 00:00:00
Freedom riders
Freedom riders begin taking bus trips throughout the South to test laws that prohibited segregation at facilities that served interstate travel.
1962-09-30 00:00:00
United Farm Workers
Cesar Chavez forms the precursor to the United Farm Workers in Delano, Calif.
1962-10-01 00:00:00
James Meredith
James Meredith becomes the first black student to enroll at the University of Mississippi. President John F. Kennedy sends in troops after rioting breaks out.
1963-08-28 00:00:00
I have a dream
Martin Luther King Jr. delivers his "I Have a Dream" speech before hundreds of thousands in Washington D.C.
1964-07-02 00:00:00
Civil Rights Act of 1964
President Lyndon Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibiting discrimination based on race, color, religion or national origin.
1965-03-07 00:00:00
Bloody Sunday
Blacks in Selma, Ala., marching to Montgomery for voting rights are tear gassed and clubbed by police.
1965-07-30 00:00:00
Medicaid
President Lyndon Johnson signs the federal law creating Medicare and Medicaid health insurance for the elderly and the poor.
1965-08-10 00:00:00
Voting rights
Congress passes the Voting Rights Act that makes literacy tests, poll taxes and other voting requirements illegal.
1965-08-11 00:00:00
L.A. Riots
Riots erupt in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles
1965-09-15 00:00:00
Grape boycott begins
The National Farm Workers Association joins grape boycott against Delano, Calif., grape growers. The boycott end in 1969 after the growers signed union contracts.
1966-04-29 00:00:00
Crusade for Justice formed in Denver
Rudolfo "Corky" Gonzalez is fired from the Neighborhood Youth Corps directorship and founds the Crusade for Justice in Denver. Gonzalez emerges as a national leader in the Chicano movement.
1967-01-01 00:00:00
I am Joaquin
Denver's Rudolfo "Corky" Gonzales writes the epic poem, "I am Joaquin," which becomes the battle cry for the Chicano movement in the U.S.
1967-04-19 00:00:00
Black power
Stokely Carmichael, leader of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, coins the phrase "black power" in a speech in Seattle.
1968-03-03 00:00:00
L.A. blowouts
More than 1,000 students walk out of Abraham Lincoln High School in Los Angeles to protest school conditions.
1968-04-04 00:00:00
King Assassination
Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated outside his hotel room in Memphis, Tenn., by James Earl Ray.
1969-05-27 00:00:00
First Chicano youth conference in Denver
The Crusade for Justice sponsors the nation's first National Chicano Youth Liberation Conference in Denver.
1971-04-20 00:00:00
Busing
The U.S. Supreme Court upholds busing as a legitimate means to integrate public schools.
1973-03-17 00:00:00
Crusade for Justice battles police
More than 200 Denver police officers raid the Crusade for Justice Offices looking for weapons. The raid results in a gun battle and explosion that kills one crusade member. The incident led to the eventual demise of the Crusade as an effective community agency.
1973-06-01 00:00:00
Denver busing
The U.S. Supreme Court ruling clears the way for busing to begin in Denver to integrate the city's schools.
1974-11-01 00:00:00
Poundstone Amendment
Colorado voters approve the Poundstone Amendment that effectively stops the city of Denver from expanding through annexation. It is one of the reactions against the city's school busing plan.
1978-06-28 00:00:00
College affirmative action limits
The U.S. Supreme Courts imposes limits on affirmative action in the case of University of California Regents vs. Bakke.
1983-06-21 00:00:00
Denver's first Latino mayor
Federico Pena is elected the first Latino mayor of Denver
1991-06-16 00:00:00
Denver's first African American mayor
Wellington Webb is elected Denver's first African American mayor.
1992-11-01 00:00:00
TABOR Amendment
Colorado voters approve the Tabor Amendment limiting spending and taxing by government.
1995-09-01 00:00:00
Denver busing ends
Federal Judge Richard Matsch clears the way for busing in Denver to end the following year.
1996-06-01 00:00:00
Welfare reform
President Clinton declares the "end of welfare as we know it" with the enactment of TANF that limits the duration of welfare payments and requires job training.
1997-11-03 00:00:00
Affirmative action ban
California voters pass a state ban on affirmative action.
2008-11-04 00:00:00
Colorado voters defeat affirmative action ban
Colorado voters narrowly defeat Amendment 46, which would have banned state affirmative action programs.