1960s Timeline

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Sep 25, 2021

Martin Luther King Announces Vote Registration Drive

Sept. 25, 1961 - The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King said today that a campaign to double the number of Negro voters in the South this fall...

Sep 23, 2021

Robert Kennedy says ICC Ban on Segregated Busing Will Be Enforced

Sept. 23, 1961 - Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy said today the Justice Department "will cooperate fully" in enforcing the new...

Sep 23, 2021

Martin Luther King, SCLC Push Integration Policies

Sept. 23, 1961 - More than 200 representatives of organizations affiliated with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference will gather...

Sep 20, 2021

TV: Some Louisiana Viewers Protest Documentary on Negroes

Sept. 20, 1961 - A storm of protest arose in Shreveport, Louisiana, today over "Walk in My Shoes," a documentary on the plight of the...

Sep 20, 2021

Robert Kennedy Quits Metropolitan Club over Segregation Policy

Sept. 20, 1961 - Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy has resigned from the Metropolitan Club because of its segregation policy. Assistant...

Sep 13, 2021

Thurgood Marshall of NAACP To Be Appointed Judge

Sept. 13, 1961 - Thurgood Marshall (pictured right with Roy Wilkins), chief counsel to the NAACP, is slated for appointment to one of...

Sep 9, 2021

World Champion Oilers Open Season with 55-0 Thrashing of Raiders

Sept. 9, 1961 - The Houston Oilers set a scoring record today while opening the defense of their American Football League championship by...

Sep 8, 2021

NAACP Protests Segregating Seating Policy at Houston Stadium

Sept. 8, 1961 - An official of the NAACP said today that Negroes playing with the Oakland Raiders would be asked not to cross picket...

Sep 6, 2021

Kennedy Sees Progress in Civil Rights

Sept. 6, 1961 - President Kennedy today called the peaceful integration of many schools in the South a "dramatic demonstration of...

Sep 1, 2021

Nine Men Indicted in Firebombing of Freedom Rider Bus

Sept. 1, 1961 - Nine men accused of bombing the first "freedom rider" bus to enter Alabama have been indicted by a Federal grand jury....

Aug 30, 2021

Atlanta Public Schools Integrate Peacefully

Aug. 30, 1961 - Public school desegregation came peacefully today to Atlanta despite efforts by a handful of racists to disrupt the...

Aug 25, 2021

Two Freedom Riders Convicted of Breach of Peace in Jackson, Mississippi

Aug. 25, 1961 - A County Court jury in Jackson, Miss., convicted a second Freedom Rider today on appeal from a City Court conviction. The...

Aug 21, 2021

First Freedom Riders Arrested in Louisiana Convicted of Breach of Peace

Aug. 21, 1961 - Louisiana District Judge John A. Dixon Jr. found six Negro Freedom Riders guilty today of having an intent to provoke a...

Aug 16, 2021

Rev. Martin Luther King Announces "Stand-Ins" at Voter Registration Sites

Aug. 16, 1961 - A program of "stand-ins" at registration points will be started soon in the South, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr....

Aug 15, 2021

James Meredith, Negro Veteran, Seeks to Enter University of Mississippi

Aug. 15, 1961 - Attorneys for James H. Meredith (pictured), 28, a Negro seeking entry to the University of Mississippi, rested their case...

Aug 13, 2021

Rev. Martin Luther King Sees End to Freedom Rides Soon

Aug. 13, 1961 - The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King said in New York today that Negro integration leaders would end the Freedom Rides when...

Aug 12, 2021

Alabama Senate Passes Bill to Prohibit Freedom Rides in Alabama

Aug. 12, 1961 - The Alabama Senate gave swift approval today to a bill to prohibit Freedom Rides in Alabama. The House-passed bill was...

Aug 8, 2021

State Department Officer Quits Metropolitan Club over Segregation Policy

Aug. 8, 1961 - Angier Biddle Duke, the State Department's chief of protocol, has resigned from the Metropolitan Club in a dispute over...

Aug 7, 2021

In Africa, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy Affirms U.S. Civil Rights Goals

Aug. 7, 1961 - Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy said today at a news conference in Ivory Coast, a country on the south coast of West...

Aug 3, 2021

U.S. Files Three Civil Rights Suits, Says Negroes Denied Voting Rights in South

Aug. 3, 1961 - The U.S. Government filed three civil rights suits today which charged that Negroes had been denied voting rights in...