Important Dates of the Civil Rights Movement (1965-1969)
1968
1969
- Between February and May, African-American students protest at major universities, including Columbia University and Howard University, demanding changes in faculty, living arrangements and curriculum.
- On February 11, African-American sanitation workers in Memphis, Tennessee, go on strike, a protest that would eventually bring King to Memphis several times in their support.
- On April 4, Martin Luther King, Jr., is assassinated as he stands on the balcony outside his motel room at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee.
- On April 11, President Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1968 (or the Fair Housing Act) into law, which prohibits discrimination by sellers or renters of property.
- Between May 14 and June 24, over 2500 impoverished Americans set up a camp called Resurrection City in Washington, D.C. under the leadership of Rev. Ralph Abernathy, who is trying to carry out King's vision. The protest ends in riots and arrests without the strong leadership of King.
1969
- Between April and May, African-American students hold protests at universities, including Cornell University and North Carolina A & T University in Greensboro, asking for changes such as a Black Studies program and the hiring of African-American faculty.
- On December 4, Fred Hampton, chairman of the Illinois Black Panther party, is shot and killed by police during a raid. A federal grand jury refutes the police's assertion that they fired upon Hampton only in self defense, but no one is ever indicted for Hampton's killing.
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