1960s

The Montgomery Bus Boycott of 1955 and the violent desegregation of Little Rock Central High in 1957 began a more than decade long series of protests and demonstrations. 1961 saw the beginning of the Freedom Rides, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s only visit to Seattle where he spoke at two assemblies at Garfield High. The following year, at a time where only 5.3% of students in Seattle were African-American, Garfield became the first Seattle school with an African-American majority. In 1963, the city began the Voluntary Racial Transfer program, which stayed in place until the mid-1970s.

In response to protests, and the often violent reaction to them, Congress passed several pieces of legislation seeking to end racial discrimination. These included the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the Higher Education Act, the Voting Rights Act, the Fair Housing Act, and the Bilingual Education Act.

• Civil Rights Documentary

• American Civil Rights Movement Timeline

• Powerful Days in Black & White

• Thurgood Marshall’s FBI Records

• Martin Luther King, Jr.

• Freedom Summer