1960s Timeline

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May 22, 2023

JFK Stands Firm on University of Alabama Integration

May 22, 1963 - President Kennedy made it clear today he would use federal marshals or troops to desegregate the University of Alabama if...

May 21, 2023

Integration Showdown at University of Alabama

May 21, 1963 - Federal District Judge Hobart H. Grooms told the University of Alabama today that it must admit two Negroes June 10....

May 20, 2023

Anti-Segregation Demonstrations in Greensboro, N.C.

May 20, 1963 - An estimated total of 420 more Negro demonstrators have been arrested and jailed in Greensboro, N.C., in the sixth day of...

May 20, 2023

Negro Student Demonstrators Expelled or Suspended in Birmingham

May 20, 1963 - The Board of Education of Birmingham, Alabama today ordered the expulsion or suspension of some 1,100 Negro students who...

May 20, 2023

Mahalia Jackson Raises Funds for Civil Rights Drive

May 20, 1963 - Mahalia Jackson, the Gospel singer, hopes to raise $40,000 next Monday for the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King and his...

May 19, 2023

Governor Wallace Not for Kennedy in ‘64

May 19, 1963 - Alabama Governor George C. Wallace plainly indicated at a news conference yesterday that he would seek to withhold...

May 18, 2023

JFK Meets with Wallace

May 18, 1963 - President Kennedy flew back to Washington tonight after having been well received on a one-day tour of the South during...

May 17, 2023

Muslim Students in Elizabeth, N.J. Suspended for Refusing to Salute Flag

May 17, 1963 - Five Negro pupils, described as followers of “Islamic teachings,” have been suspended from a public school in Elizabeth,...

May 16, 2023

Malcolm X Criticizes President Kennedy on Race Issue

May 16, 1963 - Malcolm X (pictured) attacked President Kennedy today for the manner in which he has dealt with the Birmingham crisis and...

May 15, 2023

Violence in Harlem after anti-Segregation Rally

May 15, 1963 - A television newsman was beaten and 11 store windows were broken in the aftermath of an anti-segregation rally last night...

May 14, 2023

President and Attorney General Meet with Alabama Newspaper Editors

May 14, 1963 - President Kennedy and Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy suggested to Alabama editors today that failure of the...

May 14, 2023

Jackie Robinson Charges Assassination Plan against MLK and Others

May 14, 1963 - Jackie Robinson (far right), the former baseball star, charged last night that plans were being formulated in Birmingham,...

May 13, 2023

President Kennedy Sends Telegram to Governor Wallace

May 13, 1963 - President Kennedy (pictured after last night’s televised statement) said today that any further disposition of Federal...

May 13, 2023

MLK Conducts Pool Hall Pilgrimage in Birmingham

May 13, 1963 - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. conducted a pool-hall pilgrimage today to keep the Negro population in Birmingham, Alabama calm...

May 13, 2023

U.S. Army Troops Move Into Alabama

May 13, 1963 - The Army has moved about 3,000 infantrymen, paratroopers, military policemen, and other troops into Alabama. The Pentagon...

May 12, 2023

Wallace to JFK: We Can Handle Situation in Birmingham

May 12, 1963 - Alabama Governor George C. Wallace told President Kennedy tonight that “we have sufficient state and local forces” to...

May 12, 2023

🚨President Kennedy Activates Federal Troops in Alabama

🚨May 12, 1963 - President Kennedy tonight dispatched Federal troops to bases near Birmingham, Ala., for use if racial violence breaks...

May 12, 2023

MLK: No Protests over Bombings Planned

May 12, 1963 - Dr. Martin Luther King flew to Birmingham, Ala., from Atlanta and announced that Negroes planned no protest demonstrations...

May 12, 2023

Birmingham Mayor: “Arrest and Punish All Agitators”

May 12, 1963 - Albert Boutwell, Birmingham’s Mayor-elect, whose authority has been challenged in the courts by the current three-member...

May 12, 2023

🚨Riots in Birmingham Follow Bombings of Negro Motel and Home of MLK’s Brother

May 12, 1963 - The bombings of a Negro motel and an integration leader’s home (pictured top) touched off widespread rioting on the edge...