Laws & Citizen Rights Archives

The Fifteenth Amendment and its results poster | Zinn Education Project: Teaching People's History

Feb. 3, 1870: 15th Amendment Ratified

The 15th Amendment to the United States Constitution officially granted African American men the right to vote.

May 31, 1921: Tulsa Massacre

In one of countless white supremacist massacres in U.S. history, white supremacists destroyed a thriving Black community in Oklahoma, known today as the Tulsa Massacre.

Jan. 6, 1874: Robert B. Elliott Spoke of Need for Civil Rights Act

Rep. Robert B. Elliott gave a speech to advocate for the Civil Rights Act, which passed a year later.

March 6, 1857: Dred (and Harriet) Scott Decision

The Supreme Court declared in horrific Dred Scott v. Sandford ruling that “Any person descended from Africans, whether slave or free, is not a citizen of U.S.”

March 7, 1965: Bloody Sunday

To protest the police murder of Jimmie Lee Jackson and for voting rights, more than 600 people began a peaceful march from Selma to Montgomery.

Clarence Earl Gideon's handwritten petition for a writ of cert to the Supreme Court.

March 18, 1963: Gideon v. Wainwright

The ruling of Gideon v. Wainwright required states to provide counsel in criminal cases to represent defendants who are unable to afford to pay their own attorneys.

Stokely Carmichael talking with a local person about the Lowndes County Freedom Organization (LCFO) in 1966.

March 23, 1965: Selma to Montgomery March Continues

The Selma to Montgomery marchers traveled into Lowndes County, working with local leaders to organize residents into a new political organization: the Lowndes County Freedom Organization (LCFO).

March 25, 1931: Scottsboro Nine

Nine young African Americans were falsely charged with rape and collectively served more than 100 years in prison.

March 25, 1965: Last Selma March

The Selma marches were three protest marches about voting rights, held in 1965.

March 27, 1867: Staged Ride-ins in South Carolina Streetcars

Staged ride-ins during Reconstruction in South Carolina were among the first (recorded) organized protests of segregation on a streetcar.

Thomas Mundy Peterson wearing the medallion he was awarded by the citizens of Perth Amboy.

March 30, 1870: Fifteenth Amendment

The 15th Amendment to the United States Constitution was formally adopted.

March 31, 1944: Frank S. Emi Interrogated

Frank S. Emi protested the draft during Japanese American incarceration and was interrogated.

April 21, 1937: Congressman Ordered to Jim Crow Section of Train

Illinois congressman Arthur W. Mitchell was ordered to move to the Jim Crow car of the train once it entered Arkansas.

Reconstruction: The Second Civil War

Film. By Elizabeth Deane and Dion Graham. 2004. 174 minutes.
Through the voices of several historians and dramatic re-enactments by actors, PBS’s Reconstruction: The Second Civil War uses the stories of ordinary citizens to paint a picture of the Reconstruction era.

June 4, 1967: Muhammad Ali Summit

African American athletes gathered to support Muhammed Ali’s refusal to serve in Vietnam.

May 4, 1970: Kent State Massacre

During an anti-war protest at Kent State University, the Ohio National Guard shot unarmed college students, killing four. Students were also killed at Jackson State (May 15, 1970), and Orangeburg (February 8, 1968).

May 8, 1858: John Brown and Constitutional Convention

John Brown, Martin Delany, and others gathered for a Constitutional Convention in Chatham, Canada.

May 10, 1967: Army Captain Howard Levy Refuses to Train Green Berets During Vietnam War

Army Captain Howard Levy was imprisoned for three years for refusing to train U.S. Special Forces soldiers during the Vietnam War.

Pentagon Papers Charges Dismissed | Zinn Education Project

May 11, 1973: Pentagon Papers Charges Dismissed

Judge Byrne dismissed all charges against Daniel Ellsberg and Anthony Russo in the Pentagon Papers trial.

May 12, 1968: The Poor People’s Campaign Began

The Poor People’s Campaign was a multiracial effort to gain economic justice for poor people.

May 16, 1918: The Sedition Act of 1918 Enacted

The Sedition Act of 1918 was enacted to extend the Espionage Act of 1917. It forbade the use of “disloyal, profane, scurrilous, or abusive language” about the U.S. government.

Spottswood Thomas Bolling Jr. and his mother Mrs. Sarah Bolling of the Bolling v. Sharpe school desegregation case, decided on the same day as Brown v. Board. Image: © The Washington Post by permission from the Washingtoniana Division.

May 17, 1954: Brown v. Board Ruling

After decades of organizing and strategic efforts by parents, teachers, lawyers, and more — the U.S. Supreme Court issued the unanimous decision in Brown v. Board of Education on school segregation.