Truman officially ordered the end of racial discrimination throughout the federal government, including the armed forces.

The brutal murder of Emmett Till and the open-casket funeral galvanized the Civil Rights Movement and built support for change.

The Supreme Court overturned Plessy v. Ferguson, ruling that separate facilities are inherently unequal and unconstitutional, mandating the end of school segregation.

The Supreme Court ordered lower courts to proceed with "all deliberate speed" to desegregate public schools.

A statement of opposition to the Brown v. Board of Education decision, signed by 101 members of Congress, pledging to resist school integration.

A massive African American protest sparked by Rosa Parks' arrest, calling for the desegregation of Montgomery's buses.

Four African American college students began a sit-in protest at a Woolworth's lunch counter, sparking a wave of sit-ins across the South.

Enabled local officials to assign individual students to schools on the basis of scholastic aptitude, ability to adjust, and “morals, conduct, health, and personal standards.”

Cause: Truman's belief in equality. Effects: Establishment of the Committee on Civil Rights, order to end discrimination in the federal government, and strengthened Civil Rights Division.

Cause: Racial prejudice and false accusations. Effects: Galvanized the Civil Rights Movement and increased support for change.

Cause: Legalized segregation under the 'separate but equal' doctrine. Effect: Perpetuated racial inequality and discrimination.

Cause: NAACP's legal challenge to segregation and the argument that separate schools were psychologically damaging. Effects: Overturned Plessy v. Ferguson, declared segregation in schools unconstitutional, and sparked resistance in the South.

Cause: Opposition to the Brown v. Board of Education decision. Effects: Resistance to school integration and attempts to maintain segregation.

Cause: Rosa Parks' arrest for refusing to give up her seat on a bus. Effects: Supreme Court ruling declaring bus segregation unconstitutional and inspiration for other civil rights protests.

Cause: Segregation at lunch counters and the desire for equal treatment. Effects: Sparked a wave of sit-ins across the South and led to the desegregation of many facilities.

U.S. President who used his executive powers to challenge racial discrimination, establishing the Committee on Civil Rights and ordering the end of discrimination in the federal government.

A 14-year-old boy murdered in Mississippi in 1955; his death and open-casket funeral galvanized the Civil Rights Movement.

The white woman whose accusation led to the kidnapping and murder of Emmett Till.

NAACP lawyer who argued Brown v. Board of Education before the Supreme Court.

The African American student in Topeka, Kansas, who was denied enrollment at an all-white school, leading to the Brown v. Board of Education case.

Chief Justice of the Supreme Court who wrote the unanimous decision in Brown v. Board of Education.

Author of The Negro Motorist Green Book, a guidebook for Black travelers during segregation.

An African American woman whose refusal to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

Minister and leader of the Civil Rights Movement who advocated for nonviolent protest and civil disobedience.

The four African American college students who began the sit-in protest at a Woolworth's lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina.