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Civil Rights Movement Timeline
The Civil Rights Movement was a struggle by Black Americans to end legal discrimination and win equal rights under the law, led by figures like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Put the Events in Order
The events shuffled, to number from first to last. With answer key.
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After the Civil War ended slavery in 1865, Black Americans in the South faced a new set of laws called Jim Crow laws that kept them separated from white Americans, blocked them from voting, and treated them as second-class citizens. For decades, Black Americans and their allies fought back through the courts, the churches, and the streets. The Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s used peaceful protest, legal challenges, and moral persuasion to force the country to live up to its founding promise that all people are created equal. It was dangerous work — activists faced beatings, arrests, and worse — but by 1965 two landmark laws had been passed and the face of American democracy had changed.
- 1954
Brown v. Board of Education
The Supreme Court unanimously rules that racial segregation in public schools is unconstitutional.
Why it mattered: It overturned the ruling that had made separate-but-equal the law of the land, striking the legal foundation of segregation in America.
- 1955
Montgomery Bus Boycott
Rosa Parks is arrested for refusing to give up her bus seat to a white passenger; Black residents boycott the city's buses for 381 days.
Why it mattered: The boycott succeeded — bus segregation was ruled unconstitutional — and it launched Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as a national civil rights leader.
- 1957
Little Rock Nine
Nine Black students attempt to integrate Central High School in Arkansas; the governor calls the National Guard to block them.
Why it mattered: President Eisenhower sent federal troops to enforce integration, showing the federal government would protect civil rights against state resistance.
- 1960
Greensboro Sit-Ins
Four Black college students sit at a segregated lunch counter in North Carolina and refuse to leave when denied service.
Why it mattered: Their peaceful protest spread to dozens of cities and helped desegregate lunch counters across the South.
- 1963
Birmingham Campaign
Civil rights leaders organize peaceful marches in Birmingham, Alabama; police use fire hoses and dogs on the protesters, including children.
Why it mattered: Shocking photos and TV footage of peaceful demonstrators being attacked shifted national opinion and put direct pressure on Congress.
- 1963
March on Washington
About 250,000 people gather at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., where Dr. King delivers his famous speech including the words I Have a Dream.
Why it mattered: The march showed the enormous public support for civil rights and pushed Congress and the Kennedy administration toward legislation.
- 1964
Civil Rights Act of 1964
President Johnson signs a landmark law banning discrimination based on race, color, or religion in public places and employment.
Why it mattered: It made legal segregation across the United States illegal — the most sweeping civil rights legislation since Reconstruction.
- 1965
Bloody Sunday — Selma
State troopers attack peaceful marchers at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, in full view of television cameras.
Why it mattered: Footage of the brutal attack shocked the nation and directly led President Johnson to push for the Voting Rights Act within weeks.
- 1965
Voting Rights Act
President Johnson signs a law banning discriminatory practices like literacy tests that had been used to prevent Black Americans from voting.
Why it mattered: Millions of Black citizens in the South could now vote for the first time, permanently changing American politics.
- 1968
Assassination of Dr. King
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is shot and killed in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, while supporting striking sanitation workers.
Why it mattered: The nation mourned the movement's most prominent leader; Congress passed the Fair Housing Act — another major civil rights law — just days later.
Civil Rights Movement Quiz
Check what you learned — read on screen, or download the Quiz with Answer Key above for a worksheet version.
What did the Supreme Court decide in Brown v. Board of Education?
- A) Racial segregation in public schools is unconstitutional
- B) Racial segregation on city buses is unconstitutional
- C) Literacy tests for voters in the South are unconstitutional
- D) Separate schools are legal as long as they are equal
Why was Rosa Parks arrested in 1955?
- A) She led a voting rights march across a bridge in Selma
- B) She tried to enroll at an all-white high school in Arkansas
- C) She refused to leave a whites-only lunch counter in Alabama
- D) She refused to give up her bus seat to a white passenger
What were sit-ins?
- A) Protests where people marched across a bridge to demand voting rights
- B) Protests where people refused to ride segregated city buses for a year
- C) Protests where people sat at segregated counters and refused to leave
- D) Protests where students walked out of segregated schools for a week
What footage from Birmingham in 1963 shocked the nation?
- A) Police using fire hoses and dogs on peaceful protesters
- B) State troopers attacking marchers on a bridge with clubs
- C) National Guard soldiers blocking students from a high school
- D) Police arresting students at a segregated lunch counter
What famous phrase did Dr. King repeat in his speech at the 1963 March on Washington?
- A) Black Is Beautiful
- B) We Shall Overcome
- C) Power to the People
- D) I Have a Dream
What did the Civil Rights Act of 1964 do?
- A) Banned discrimination in the sale and rental of housing
- B) Banned discrimination in public places and employment
- C) Banned slavery in every state and territory of the country
- D) Banned poll taxes in elections for president and Congress
What was Bloody Sunday?
- A) National Guard soldiers blocking Black students in Little Rock
- B) An angry mob attacking Freedom Riders at a bus station in Alabama
- C) State troopers attacking peaceful marchers on a bridge in Selma
- D) Police turning fire hoses on young marchers in Birmingham
What did the Voting Rights Act of 1965 do?
- A) Banned segregation in restaurants, hotels and other public places
- B) Banned practices like literacy tests that had blocked Black voters
- C) Banned discrimination when people tried to rent or buy a home
- D) Banned segregated seating that had divided riders on city buses
Show answer key
1. A · 2. D · 3. C · 4. A · 5. D · 6. B · 7. C · 8. B
Related timelines
Reconstruction Era Timeline — Reconstruction was the period after the Civil War when the federal government worked to reunite the nation and define the rights of formerly enslaved Black Americans. Open →
Vietnam War Timeline — The Vietnam War was a long and deeply divisive conflict in which the United States spent two decades trying to prevent a communist takeover of South Vietnam — and ultimately failed. Open →
For younger students
Martin Luther King Jr. Timeline for Kids — 7 short events with a picture for each, written for grades 2–4. Open →
How to print
Every sheet above is a ready-to-print PDF sized for US Letter paper (8.5 × 11"). The fill-in version keeps the dates and gives students lines to write each event, with the events listed at the bottom to place — good for review. The ordering activity and the quiz each end with an answer key.
Frequently asked questions
What was the Civil Rights Movement?
The Civil Rights Movement was a long effort by Black Americans and their allies to end racial segregation and win equal rights under the law. Its most active period was roughly 1954 to 1968, during which peaceful protests, court cases, and political pressure won landmark legislation — the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Who was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.?
Dr. King was a Baptist minister from Atlanta, Georgia, and the most prominent leader of the Civil Rights Movement. He championed nonviolent protest, led the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the March on Washington, and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. He was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1968.
What paper size should I print this on?
The timeline is sized for standard US Letter paper (8.5 × 11 in.). The Download PDF button gives you a print-ready file that fits the page automatically.