Edward T. “Ned” Coll is a civil rights activist and one time (1972) presidential candidate from Connecticut known for taking on the privatized and segregated beaches along the Connecticut coast in the 1970s. Born in 1940, he grew up in Hartford, Connecticut and was educated at the Jesuit Fairfield University, graduating in 1962. Ned Coll, who … Read MoreNed Coll (1940- )
The Baton Rouge (Louisiana) Bus Boycott in 1953 was the first large-scale boycott of a southern segregated bus system. It inspired the Montgomery Bus Boycott that took place two years later. The boycott, however, remains controversial because many supporters felt its leader, Rev. T.J. Jemison, … Read MoreBaton Rouge Bus Boycott (1953)
The National Association of the Advancement of Colored People’s (NAACP) Silent Protest Parade, also known as the Silent March, took place on 5th Avenue in New York City, New York on Saturday, July 28, 1917. This protest was a response to violence against African Americans, … Read MoreNew York City NAACP Silent Protest Parade (1917)
The 1896 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson made segregationist laws permissible anywhere in the United States as long as railroads, streetcars, and other public conveyances provided equal accommodations for blacks and whites. The decision, which served as the constitutional underpinning for the … Read MoreNashville Streetcar Boycott (1905-1907)
The Birmingham Campaign was a movement led in early 1963 by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) which sought to bring national attention to the efforts of local Black leaders to desegregate public facilities in Birmingham, Alabama. The campaign was led by Dr. Martin Luther … Read MoreThe Birmingham Campaign (1963)
The Greensboro Sit-Ins were non-violent protests in Greensboro, North Carolina, which lasted from February 1, 1960 to July 25, 1960. The protests led to the Woolworth Department Store chain ending its policy of racial segregation in its stores in the southern United States. The Greensboro … Read MoreGreensboro Sit-Ins (1960)
The Albany Movement was a desegregation campaign formed on November 17, 1961, in Albany, Georgia. Local activists from the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the Ministerial Alliance, the Federation of Woman’s Clubs, and the Negro … Read MoreThe Albany Movement (1961–1962)
The Nashville Sit-Ins were among the earliest non-violent direct action campaigns that targeted Southern racial segregation in the 1960s. The sit-ins, which lasted from February 13 to May 10, 1960, sought to desegregate downtown lunch counters in Nashville, Tennessee. The protests were coordinated by the … Read MoreNashville Sit-Ins (1960)
Tommie Smith is best known as a world class sprinter and for protesting (along with John Carlos) U.S. racism and human oppression on the winner’s podium at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. Smith was born in Clarksville, Texas, and raised in Lemoore, California. … Read MoreTommie Smith (1944- )
John Carlos is best known for his black-gloved fist salute on the winner’s podium (with Tommie Smith) at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. Born on June 5, 1945, in Harlem, New York, Carlos was a promising student-athlete in high school. Following graduation, attended … Read MoreJohn Carlos (1945- )
