SNCC - Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee - Page 3 of 3

Jan. 3, 1966: Sammy Younge Jr. Murdered

Samuel Younge Jr., Navy vet, Tuskegee student, activist was killed in Alabama for using a “whites-only” bathroom. SNCC issued a powerful statement about his murder and in opposition to the Vietnam War.

April 1, 1965: Blackwell v. Issaquena Board of Education

The civil rights suit of Blackwell v. Issaquena Board of Education was filed on behalf of 300 African-American students from several schools across Issaquena County in Mississippi who had been suspended for wearing and distributing “freedom” buttons.

Sept. 5, 1964: Heffners Forced Out of Town for Crossing Color Line

A white family (the Heffners) in McComb, Mississippi, left after a campaign of harassment, ostracism, and economic retaliation for having spoken to civil rights workers.

July 15, 1964: Ozell Sutton Denied Service at Arkansas Capitol Cafeteria

WWII veteran Ozell Sutton was denied service at the Arkansas Capitol cafeteria after visiting the building to collect voter registration materials.

SNCC: The New Abolitionists

Book — Non-fiction. By Howard Zinn, with a new foreword by Anthony Arnove and a new afterword by the Barbara Ransby. 1964; updated third edition published in 2026. 304 pages.
A detailed history of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee.

Jan. 22, 1964: Freedom Day in Hattiesburg

The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) voting rights campaign held a Freedom Day in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

Nov. 17, 1961: Albany Movement

The Albany Movement engaged multiple civil rights organizations and students in the fight for desegregation and voting rights.

June 8, 1961: Freedom Riders Arrested

Freedom Riders traveling from New Orleans, Louisiana to Jackson, Mississippi were arrested in 1961.

April 15, 1960: Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee Founding

Founding of the youth-led Civil Rights Movement organization, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee.

March 15, 1960: Police Attack SC Students in Peaceful Protest

Police used firehoses to attack South Carolina college students engaged in a peaceful protest against segregation. The judge sends their NAACP lawyer to jail for “pursuing his case vigorously.”

Jan. 23, 1935: Robert Parris Moses Born

Lifelong organizer in SNCC and with the Algebra Project, Robert Parris Moses, was born on this day in Harlem, New York.

Dec. 13, 1903: Civil Rights and Human Rights Activist Ella Baker Born

Born on this day, Ella Baker was a civil rights and human rights activist beginning in the 1930s whose career spanned more than five decades.

Dec. 1, 1865: Shaw University Established

Shaw University was established as a co-ed campus with support from private donors and the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands. It is the second oldest HBCU in the South.