U.S. Supreme Court declares school segregation unconstitutional in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka ruling. Federal Interstate Commerce Commission bans segregation on interstate trains and buses. Congress approves a watered-down voting rights act after a filibuster by Southern senators.
Freedom Rides begin from Washington, D.C., into Southern states.
The Supreme Court rules that segregation is unconstitutional in all transportation facilities. The Department of Defense orders full integration of military reserve units, the National Guard excluded. Race riots prompt modified martial law in Cambridge, Maryland. Church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama, leaves four young black girls dead. Riots in Harlem, Philadelphia.