Mississippi Civil Rights Timeline

The format for Dr. Harrison's timeline was changed in order to fit within this post. Blogger is not a big fan of tables. The dates appear in the left margin with national events centered in red and the Mississippi events in blue on the right margin. Please leave a comment if I need to change something.

1948

April - Gladys Noel Bates files suit for equal pay

1954

Brown vs. Wade

July - White Citizen Council formed
September - Medgar Evers denied into U. of MS Law School
December - Evers becomes NAACP Field Secretary

1955

Montgomery Bus Boycott

May - Rev. George Lee shot and killed
August - Lamar Smith shot in Brookhaven

August - Emmett Till murdered

1956

State Legislative Session establishes and funds MS State Sovereignty Commission

1957

Little Rock Crisis

Clyde Kennard attempts to enroll at the U. of S. MS

1959

April - Mack Charles Parker killed and no one tried
April - Gilbert Mason, Sr. led a wade-in of Biloxi beaches

1960

Civil Rights Act

Sit-ins at Greensboro, NC

Election of JFK

1961

Freedom Rides

March - Arrest of Tougaloo 9
September - Murder of Hubert Lee
October – McComb HS students jailed

1962

Anniston bus bombing

September – University of Mississippi Riot

1963

MLK arrested in Birmingham

March on Washington

Birmingham church bombing

Assassination of JFK

May - Tougaloo students attacked for sit-in at Woolworth’s lunch counter

June - Assassination of Medgar Evers

1964

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Democratic Ntl Convention

Freedom Summer

June - Neshoba County killings

1965

Assassination of Malcolm X

Bloody Sunday Selma, AL

Voting Rights Act

1966

Black Power Movement

Black Panther Party formed

January - Murder of Vernon Dahmer

June - Meredith March

1967

Thurgood Marshall appointed 1st black Supreme Court Justice

Robert Clark becomes first black to be elected

to the MS House of Representatives since Reconstruction

1968

Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.

1969

Meridian church bombing
Integration of Highland Park Pool in Meridian
Desegregation of Public Facilities in multiple communities

1970

School Desegregation

After typing this timeline, I was reminded of my town's embarrassing history. The 1970 desegregation of schools apparently scared community members and a decision to tear down the beautiful school was made. Some of the school's bricks now fill in the foundation of our 1873 home. A building to educate Mississippians now holds up one house; although, I think the recycling is nice I would rather see the school intact. ~ Maggie