Historical Event
Civil Rights Movement
The Civil Rights Movement was a pivotal struggle for social justice in the United States, centering on the fight to end racial segregation and discrimination against African Americans, particularly from the mid-1950s to the late 1960s. Key events took place across various locations, including the Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955), the March on Washington (1963), and the Selma to Montgomery marches (1965), with significant contributions from faith communities, educational institutions like Howard University, and cultural expressions through music and the arts.
Why This Matters
This movement is crucial to the Transatlantic Reconnection narrative as it not only highlighted the shared struggles against colonialism and oppression faced by African Americans and Africans, but also fostered international solidarity, inspiring liberation movements across Africa and deepening connections between the two diasporas. By advocating for rights and dignity, it laid the groundwork for ongoing dialogues about identity, heritage, and collective resilience within the global African community.
Timeline Context
HBCU Legacy Trail
See journey timeline
Related People
Absalom Jones
1746–1818
Alice Walker
1944–?
Alvin Ailey
1931–1989
Arthur Mitchell
1934–2018
Bryan Stevenson
1959–?
Chadwick Boseman
1976–2020
Charles Hamilton Houston
1895–1950
Daniel Payne
1978–?
Dr. Margaret Burroughs
1915–2010
Elias Camp Morris
1855–1922
Ellen Murray
?–?
Emmett Till
1941–1955
Enslaved laborers
?–?
Frederick Douglass
1818–1895
Gardner C. Taylor
1918–2015
Harriet Tubman
1822–1913
Henry McNeal Turner
1834–1915
James Forman
1928–2005
Jean Baptiste Point DuSable
1745–1818
Joseph H. Jackson
1884–1963
Judith Jamison
1943–2024
Julian Bond
1940–2015
Kamala Harris
1964–?
Karel Shook
1920–1985
Katherine Dunham
1909–2006
L. Venchael Booth
1919–2002
Laura Towne
?–?
Mamie Till-Mobley
1921–2003
Martin Luther King Jr.
1929–1968
Martin Luther King, Jr.
1929–1968
Medgar Evers
1925–1963
Mordecai Wyatt Johnson
1890–1976
Ralph David Abernathy
1926–1990
Richard Allen
1959–?
Robert Battle
?–?
Rosa Parks
1913–2005
Spike Lee
1957–?
T.J. Jemison
?–?
Thurgood Marshall
1908–1993
Toni Morrison
1931–2019
Virginia Johnson
1928–2007
William Augustus Jones Jr.
1934–2006
Zora Neale Hurston
1891–1960
Related Heritage Sites
African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church — National Headquarters
Philadelphia, PA
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
New York, NY
Atlanta University Center Historic District
Atlanta, GA
Dance Theater of Harlem
New York, NY
DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center
Chicago, IL
Emmett Till Interpretive Center
Sumner, MS
Golden Gate National Recreation Area
San Francisco, CA
Howard University
Washington, DC
Howard University Historic District
Washington, DC
Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial
Washington, DC
National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. (NBC) — Baptist World Center
Nashville, TN
National Museum of African American History and Culture
Washington, DC
Penn Center
St. Helena Island, SC
President's Park (White House)
Washington, DC
Progressive National Baptist Convention (PNBC) — National Headquarters
Washington, DC
The Legacy Museum: From Enslavement to Mass Incarceration
Montgomery, Alabama
Related Lessons
How Do We Know What We Know? An Introduction to the Curriculum's Questions
Unit 1
The Debate That Shaped a Century: Douglass, Washington, Du Bois & the Question of Black Freedom
Unit 4
The Black Church: Institution, Liberation & the HBCU Pipeline
Unit 4.5
Serving and Sacrificing: Black Military Service from Reconstruction to World War II
Unit 4.5
The Three Pillars: Black Church, HBCUs, and the Divine Nine
Unit 4.5
Related Journeys
Civil Rights Trail
From Montgomery to Memphis — The Movement That Changed America
The Great Migration
Six Million People. One of History's Greatest Movements.
HBCU Legacy Trail
Citadels of Black Intellectual Life
Pan-African World
Garvey to Nkrumah — The Global Movement That Linked African Americans to African Independence