Bet You Didn't Know: Rosa Parks (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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Videos (8)
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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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.
Photo Galleries (3)
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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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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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Integration of Central High School
Integration of Central High School(9 Photos)
9 Photos
In 1957 nine black students enrolled at the formerly all-white Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Speeches & Audio (10)
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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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Adam Clayton Powell Rallies Congregation
Adam Clayton Powell Rallies CongregationAudio Clip (3:54)
Audio Clip (3:54)
In a 1967 sermon, Adam Clayton Powell Jr., pastor and congressman from Harlem, New York City, reaches out to the downtrodden and depressed with his "keep the faith, baby" slogan.
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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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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 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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John F. Kennedy Appeals to Mississippi Governor
John F. Kennedy Appeals to Mississippi GovernorAudio Clip (3:42)
Audio Clip (3:42)
After many unfruitful telephone conversations with Mississippi Gov. Ross Barnett, President John F. Kennedy calls the governor one more time to discuss the building tension over James Meredith’s impending registration at the University of Mississippi. Though the governor has made clear his opposition to the Supreme Court order to allow Meredith to attend the school, President Kennedy tries to assess whether the governor will maintain law and order when Meredith arrives.
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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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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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Nelson Mandela Gathers Support to Abolish Apartheid
Nelson Mandela Gathers Support to Abolish ApartheidAudio Clip (2:03)
Audio Clip (2:03)
After being held for 27 years as a political prisoner, the newly freed Nelson Mandela stands before the United Nations on June 22, 1990. As deputy president of the African National Congress, Mandela delivers a speech to the Special Committee Against Apartheid and calls for continued economic sanctions against South Africa to help force an end to segregation.
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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.
Interactives (1)
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Black History Timeline
Black History TimelineInteractive
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Read More about Rosa Parks
Rosa Parks was an African American civil rights activist whose refusal to relinquish her seat on a public bus to a white man precipitated the 1955–56 Montgomery bus boycott.
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