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- 1947: Jackie Robinson breaks Major League Baseball’s color barrier
- 1954: Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision declares school segregation unconstitutional
- 1955–1956: Rosa Parks sparks the Montgomery Bus Boycott
- 1960: Greensboro sit-ins launch a wave of nonviolent protests against segregation
- 1963: March on Washington; Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivers “I Have a Dream” speech
- 1964: Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination in public and private sectors
- 1965: Voting Rights Act protects African American voting rights
- 1968: Assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.; peak of civil rights struggle
- 1966: Founding of the Black Panther Party for Black empowerment and self-defense
- 1976: Black History Month is officially recognized by President Gerald Ford