Bet You Didn't Know: March on Washington (2:33)
Find out how Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech became an impromptu addition to the March on Washington.
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Videos (23)
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Bet You Didn't Know: March on Washington
Bet You Didn't Know: March on WashingtonVideo Clip (2:33)
Video Clip (2:33)
Find out how Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech became an impromptu addition to the March on Washington.
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Blacks in the Military
Blacks in the MilitaryVideo Clip (3:12)
Video Clip (3:12)
Learn how blacks serving in WWII helped forward the Civil Rights Movement.
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Little Rock Nine
Little Rock NineVideo Clip (2:28)
Video Clip (2:28)
Led by civil rights pioneer Daisy Bates, these nine brave Arkansas teenagers broke through racial barriers to become the first black students to attend Little Rock High School.
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Separate But Not Equal
Separate But Not EqualVideo Clip (2:21)
Video Clip (2:21)
In 1954, the Supreme Court unanimously strikes down segregation in public schools, sparking the Civil Rights movement.
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Jackie Robinson Breaks Barriers
Jackie Robinson Breaks BarriersVideo Clip (3:06)
Video Clip (3:06)
Jackie Robinson's accomplishments on and off the field opens doors for all African Americans.
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Meet Madam CJ Walker
Meet Madam CJ WalkerVideo Clip (1:49)
Video Clip (1:49)
From her rough beginnings as an orphan, Madam CJ Walker went on to corner the market in black women's hair care and became the first self-made female millionaire.
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King Leads the March on Washington
King Leads the March on WashingtonVideo Clip (3:10)
Video Clip (3:10)
On August 28, 1963, a quarter million people gather to support civil rights, and share Dr. King's "dream" of equality.
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The Harlem Renaissance
The Harlem RenaissanceVideo Clip (2:53)
Video Clip (2:53)
As African Americans flocked to Northern cities in the 1920s, they created a new social and cultural landscape.
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761st Enters Combat
761st Enters CombatVideo Clip (2:16)
Video Clip (2:16)
Two Months after D-Day the first all black panther tank battalion was ordered to the front lines.
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761st Activated
761st ActivatedVideo Clip (2:42)
Video Clip (2:42)
The 761st Panther Tank division was called to duty in 1962.
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David Gilmore
David GilmoreVideo Clip (2:54)
Video Clip (2:54)
WWII veteran David Gilmore recalls his struggles during combat and the long road home.
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Civil Rights Act of 1964
Civil Rights Act of 1964Video Clip (2:57)
Video Clip (2:57)
After years of struggle and setbacks, advocates for equality celebrate the passage of sweeping legislation that prohibits racial discrimination.
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Fair Housing Act
Fair Housing ActVideo Clip (1:40)
Video Clip (1:40)
President Johnson signed the Fair Housing Act in 1968.
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Voting Rights Bill
Voting Rights BillVideo Clip (1:44)
Video Clip (1:44)
Newsreel footage of President Johnson signing the Voting Rights Bill.
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Stokely Carmichael
Stokely CarmichaelVideo Clip (1:14)
Video Clip (1:14)
Stokely Carmichael, leader of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, spoke to a crowd in Greenwood, Mississippi in 1964.
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W.E.B. Dubois and the Niagara Movement
W.E.B. Dubois and the Niagara MovementVideo Clip (3:44)
Video Clip (3:44)
W.E.B. Dubois was integral to the advancement of racial equality.
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Integration at Ole Miss
Integration at Ole MissVideo Clip (2:03)
Video Clip (2:03)
Newsreel footage of President Kennedy's address to the American people after the University of Alabama riots in 1962.
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Freedom March
Freedom MarchVideo Clip (1:38)
Video Clip (1:38)
Newsreel footage of the freedom march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, led by Martin Luther King, Jr.
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Bet You Didn't Know: Rosa Parks
Bet You Didn't Know: Rosa ParksVideo Clip (2:35)
Video Clip (2:35)
Did you know Rosa Parks wasn't the first African-American woman to refuse to give up her seat? Get the full story.
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Martin Luther King III on his Father
Martin Luther King III on his FatherVideo Clip (1:26)
Video Clip (1:26)
Martin Luther King III remembers his father's love of all people and transformative effects on the world.
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Doxie Whitfield's Personal Story of Integration
Doxie Whitfield's Personal Story of IntegrationVideo Clip (2:52)
Video Clip (2:52)
Doxie Whitfield was a nurse in Atlanta in 1963 when the hospital floors were desegregated.
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Barbara Jordan's Keynote Address
Barbara Jordan's Keynote AddressVideo Clip (2:12)
Video Clip (2:12)
An excerpt from Barbara Jordan's keynote speech at the Democratic National Convection. Jordan was the first African-American woman ever elected to Congress from a southern state.
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Forest Whitaker: Growing Up with Dr. King
Forest Whitaker: Growing Up with Dr. KingVideo Clip (1:12)
Video Clip (1:12)
Actor Forest Whitaker reflects on the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Photo Galleries (8)
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Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr.(16 Photos)
16 Photos
See pictures from the life of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
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March on Washington
March on Washington(9 Photos)
9 Photos
See pictures from the famous March on Washington.
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Black Women in Politics
Black Women in Politics(10 Photos)
10 Photos
View images of famous female African American politicians and activists.
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Black Women Authors
Black Women Authors(11 Photos)
11 Photos
View images of famous female African American authors.
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Black Women Musicians
Black Women Musicians(20 Photos)
20 Photos
View images of famous female African American singers and musicians.
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Black Women Athletes
Black Women Athletes(16 Photos)
16 Photos
View images of famous female African American athletes.
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Barack Obama
Barack Obama(18 Photos)
18 Photos
The 44th president of the United States, Barack Obama was elected in 2008 and is the first African American to hold the office.
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The Battle Over Slavery
The Battle Over Slavery(12 Photos)
12 Photos
Explore images of abolitionists, the Underground Railroad and much more as you learn about the battle over slavery in the United States.
Speeches & Audio (28)
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Harold L. Ickes Introduces Marian Anderson at Lincoln Memorial
Harold L. Ickes Introduces Marian Anderson at Lincoln MemorialAudio Clip (5:16)
Audio Clip (5:16)
Secretary of the Interior Harold L. Ickes stresses racial equality in his introduction of African-American singer Marian Anderson, who performs a concert on April 9, 1939, at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.
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Josephine Baker Confronts Racist
Josephine Baker Confronts RacistAudio Clip (1:03)
Audio Clip (1:03)
A Los Angeles news report explains how the African-American dancer Josephine Baker took a stand against racism by making a citizen's arrest.
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Helen Gahagan Douglas on the Anti-Lynching Bill
Helen Gahagan Douglas on the Anti-Lynching BillAudio Clip (3:14)
Audio Clip (3:14)
Broadway star turned New Deal politician Rep. Helen Gahagan Douglas is interviewed about an anti-lynching bill she presented to Congress in 1944.
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Booker T. Washington on Race Relations
Booker T. Washington on Race RelationsAudio Clip (3:28)
Audio Clip (3:28)
On September 18, 1895, at the Atlanta Exposition, Booker T. Washington rises to national fame when he delivers what came to be known as his “Atlanta Compromise” speech, in which he advocates for the races to work together while remaining separate socially.
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A. Philip Randolph on Struggle for Racial Equality
A. Philip Randolph on Struggle for Racial EqualityAudio Clip (0:59)
Audio Clip (0:59)
Born April 15, 1889, A. Philip Randolph was instrumental in leading the civil rights movement in America. In one of many speeches on racial justice, Randolph ponders the question of how to right past wrongs.
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Adam Clayton Powell Jr. on Racial Discrimination
Adam Clayton Powell Jr. on Racial DiscriminationAudio Clip (0:30)
Audio Clip (0:30)
A civil rights leader in Harlem before entering politics, Adam Clayton Powell Jr. served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1945 to 1971. The fiery politician's oratorical skills are on display in a speech on racial justice.
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Jackie Robinson on Racial Taunts
Jackie Robinson on Racial TauntsAudio Clip (0:52)
Audio Clip (0:52)
The first African-American to play major league baseball, Jackie Robinson describes his experience in the first few games of the 1947 season, when he was subjected to vicious epithets from other teams and spectators.
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Riot at Paul Robeson Concert
Riot at Paul Robeson ConcertAudio Clip (4:20)
Audio Clip (4:20)
On August 27, 1949, a concert by Paul Robeson and other left-wing singers in Peekskill, New York, was called off after an outbreak of violence in protest of Robeson's communist leanings. When the concert was rescheduled for September 4, CBS News was on hand to record another eruption of violence at the concert grounds.
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Fiorello LaGuardia Imposes Curfew to Halt Harlem Rioting
Fiorello LaGuardia Imposes Curfew to Halt Harlem RiotingAudio Clip (1:27)
Audio Clip (1:27)
In one of five radio broadcasts made on August 2, 1943, Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia informs New York City citizens that the curfew he ordered may soon be lifted. LaGuardia had called for the curfew when a riot broke out the previous night in Harlem after a white policeman shot and injured a black soldier who had intervened in the arrest of a woman.
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Brown v. Board of Education Ruling
Brown v. Board of Education RulingAudio Clip (2:32)
Audio Clip (2:32)
On May 17, 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. A commentary on the ruling explores the differing theories on integration at the time.
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NAACP's Walter White Decries Racial Inequality
NAACP's Walter White Decries Racial InequalityAudio Clip (2:28)
Audio Clip (2:28)
On June 29, 1947, at the closing session of the 38th annual conference for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Walter F. White, the organization’s executive secretary, warns that despite progress made in civil rights, true equality can’t be achieved with a "separate but equal" mandate.
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Brown v. Board of Education Ruling
Brown v. Board of Education RulingAudio Clip (1:02)
Audio Clip (1:02)
On May 17, 1954, U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren delivered the unanimous ruling against the "separate but equal" mandate and demanded desegregation of schools. Outside the courtroom, the attorneys who argued the Brown v. Board of Education case, James Nabrit Jr., Thurgood Marshall and George Hayes, give a press conference.
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Orval Faubus Blocks Little Rock High School Integration
Orval Faubus Blocks Little Rock High School IntegrationAudio Clip (0:27)
Audio Clip (0:27)
On September 2, 1957, Governor Orval Faubus called out the Arkansas National Guard to prevent a group of African-American students, who later became known as the Little Rock Nine, from entering the all-white Central High School. In a broadcast that evening, Faubus defends his decision to call in the state's National Guard.
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George Wallace on Desegregation
George Wallace on DesegregationAudio Clip (2:00)
Audio Clip (2:00)
Gov. George Wallace holds a press conference to argue against integration of the state's public schools. Almost 10 years after the U.S. Supreme Court ruling to desegregate schools, Alabama had still not complied. On June 11, 1963, Wallace made national news when he stood in the doorway at the University of Alabama to block African-American students from entering.
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Fannie Lou Hamer on Roots of Her Activism
Fannie Lou Hamer on Roots of Her ActivismAudio Clip (0:40)
Audio Clip (0:40)
Fannie Lou Hamer, who worked as a field organizer for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) to expand black voter registration, discusses her awakening to racial injustice.
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LBJ on Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
LBJ on Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.Audio Clip (1:39)
Audio Clip (1:39)
On April 4, 1968, civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot and killed by a sniper while standing outside his hotel room in Memphis. After attending a memorial service the next day, President Lyndon B. Johnson speaks to the nation about the tragedy in a broadcast from the White House.
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Stokely Carmichael on Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
Stokely Carmichael on Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.Audio Clip (2:42)
Audio Clip (2:42)
On April 5, 1968, in a press conference held the day after the slaying of Martin Luther King Jr., civil rights activist Stokely Carmichael predicts the outbreak of more violence across the nation in retaliation for "white America's biggest mistake."
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African-Americans Vote in South Carolina
African-Americans Vote in South CarolinaAudio Clip (1:28)
Audio Clip (1:28)
A report from Charleston, South Carolina, describes heavy voter turnout at the state's primary election on August 10, 1948. For the first time since the Reconstruction era, African-Americans were permitted to vote in a Democratic primary, after a federal judge ruled their exclusion unconstitutional.
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Julian Bond's Name Placed in Nomination for Vice Presidency
Julian Bond's Name Placed in Nomination for Vice PresidencyAudio Clip (0:37)
Audio Clip (0:37)
In Chicago in 1968, Julian Bond was nominated for the U.S. vice presidency as a protest candidate by Wisconsin delegate Ted Warshafsky on the third day of the convention. The microphone was then immediately turned off.
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Lyndon Johnson Signs Civil Rights Act of 1964
Lyndon Johnson Signs Civil Rights Act of 1964Audio Clip (3:44)
Audio Clip (3:44)
The Civil Rights Act of 1964, the most sweeping civil rights legislation since Reconstruction, prohibited racial discrimination in employment and education, and outlawed segregation in public facilities.
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Lyndon Johnson Signs Voting Rights Act
Lyndon Johnson Signs Voting Rights ActAudio Clip (4:41)
Audio Clip (4:41)
On August 6, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965 into law. In a speech delivered at the signing ceremony, Johnson describes the historic day as a triumph for freedom as huge as any victory won on any battlefield.
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Truman Supports Civil Rights
Truman Supports Civil RightsAudio Clip (2:38)
Audio Clip (2:38)
On June 29, 1947, as the first president to address the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Harry Truman pledges his support for upholding the civil rights of all Americans.
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John F. Kennedy on Desegregation at Ole Miss
John F. Kennedy on Desegregation at Ole MissAudio Clip (3:18)
Audio Clip (3:18)
When Mississippi Gov. Ross Barnett refused to comply with the U.S. Supreme Court ruling demanding desegregation at the University of Mississippi and the admittance of James Meredith, President John F. Kennedy was forced to intervene. In his address to the nation on September 30, 1962, Kennedy explains his decision to federalize the state national guard in order to maintain law and order while Meredith registers at the college.
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Tutu Speaks Out Against Apartheid
Tutu Speaks Out Against ApartheidAudio Clip (1:54)
Audio Clip (1:54)
In an October 28, 1985, address to the United Nations Special Political Committee, Bishop Desmond Tutu calls for the immediate dismantling of apartheid.
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John F. Kennedy Intervenes in James Meredith Case
John F. Kennedy Intervenes in James Meredith CaseAudio Clip (4:38)
Audio Clip (4:38)
In defiance of the Supreme Court ruling that the University of Mississippi desegregate and allow James Meredith to attend, Gov. Ross Barnett physically blocked the African-American student from entering the building to register on September 20, 1962. Nine days later, President John F. Kennedy telephones Barnett to persuade him to cooperate with the Court's ruling. Barnett does little to reassure Kennedy, and attempts to pawn off the decision on his lawyer friend Tom Watkins.
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Johnson on KKK Murder of Civil Rights Worker
Johnson on KKK Murder of Civil Rights WorkerAudio Clip (4:28)
Audio Clip (4:28)
On March 25, 1965, Viola Gregg Liuzzo was murdered in Selma, Alabama. The following day, President Lyndon Johnson announces on national radio and television the capture of her killers.
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Lyndon Johnson Learns Fate of Missing Civil Rights Workers
Lyndon Johnson Learns Fate of Missing Civil Rights WorkersAudio Clip (1:33)
Audio Clip (1:33)
On August 4, 1964, in a recorded phone call, FBI Deputy Director Cartha “Deke” DeLoach informs President Lyndon B. Johnson that the bodies of the three civil rights workers who had been missing in Mississippi since June 21, 1964, have been found.
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Lyndon Johnson on Death of Civil Rights Workers
Lyndon Johnson on Death of Civil Rights WorkersAudio Clip (0:59)
Audio Clip (0:59)
After receiving news that the bodies of three missing civil rights workers were found in Mississippi on August 4, 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson calls Civil Rights Counselor Lee White and asks him to inform the families of the victims.
Interactives (1)
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