1960s Timeline

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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 9, 2021

Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy Won't Give American Nazis "Free Publicity"

Aug. 9, 1961 - Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy has informed Republican Senator Kenneth B. Keating of New York that he opposes branding...

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...

Jul 27, 2021

Dallas Restaurants Integrated Peacefully

July 27, 1961 - A total of 159 Negroes dined at 36 previously all-white restaurants and cafeterias in Dallas today. The Dallas Citizens...

Jul 25, 2021

Negro Opera Singer Hailed in Bayreuth after Wagner Performance

July 25, 1961 - Grace Bumbry, American Negro singer, was hailed today in Bayreuth for her performance as Venus in Wagner's "Tannhäuser"...

Jul 24, 2021

Southern Broadcaster Says TV Coverage of Freedom Riders "Overplayed"

July 24, 1961 - A Southern broadcaster said today that TV stations in his region were "getting it from our own people" because of network...

Jul 23, 2021

Vice President Johnson Speaks on Civil Rights (video)

July 23, 1961 - Here is Vice President Johnson's speech today on civil rights at the National Governors Conference. #LBJ #civilrights...

Jul 23, 2021

Racial Tension on Florida Beaches

July 23, 1961 - About 75 Negroes staged "wade-ins" at six spots on Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., beaches today, and one was arrested on a...

Jul 22, 2021

Some Germans Protest Grace Bumbry, Negro Opera Singer, in Wagner's "Tannhäuser"

July 22, 1961 - Richard Wagner's grandson today angrily rejected protests against the choice of Grace Bumbry (pictured), a Negro...

Jul 21, 2021

RFK to Clergy: Help Fight Racial Discrimination

July 21, 1961 - Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy today urged the nation's clergymen, especially those in the South, to take a more...

Jul 17, 2021

Chicago Police Appeal for Calm Amidst Racial Strife

July 17, 1961 - James B. Conlisk (pictured), Superintendent of the Police, appealed today for a sense of community responsibility to ease...

Jul 16, 2021

Racial Tension in Chicago

July 16, 1961 - Two hundred policemen arrested nine white men today at Rainbow Beach in Chicago. The arrests were made for refusing to...

Jul 12, 2021

NAACP Has Praise and Criticism for President Kennedy

July 12, 1961 - Members of the NAACP called on President Kennedy today to praise and criticize his actions on civil rights. Bishop...

Jul 7, 2021

Freedom Riders Arrested in Jackson, Mississippi

July 7, 1961 - Eight more Freedom Riders were arrested in Jackson, Miss., today after refusing orders to leave the white waiting room...