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1919
Congress Proposes 19th Amendment
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1919
Congress Proposes 19th Amendment
The suffrage movement led to the proposal of an amendment by Congress in 1919 that would grant women the right to vote. The amendment also contained a provision that would give Congress power to enforce the amendment by legislation, if necessary. The proposed amendment was ratified by the states on August 18, 1920.
June 1941
Discrimination in government contracts outlawed
July 1948
Desegregation of the armed forces is ordered
May 1954
"Separate but equal" education ruled unconstitutional
September 1957
Federal troops deployed to Little Rock, Arkansas
March 1961
"Affirmative Action" coined
August 1963
Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr tells America, "I Have A Dream"
July 2, 1964
Civil Rights Act becomes law
June 5, 1965
President Johnson outlines “affirmative action” approach to civil rights
September 24, 1965
New order issued to federal contractors to hire racial minorities
1969
Construction workers guaranteed fair hiring
April 20, 1971
Court-ordered desegregation of public schools found constitutional
1978
Affirmative Action in university admissions found constitutional
June 27, 1979
Voluntary affirmative action programs by employers are approved
May 19, 1986
Affirmative action through preferential layoffs ruled unconstitutional
March 25, 1987
Affirmative action under Title VII expanded
1989
Court Overturns City Set-Aside Program
July 2, 1980
Affirmative action requirement in federal public works projects found constitutional
1991
Civil Rights Act of 1964 amended by the Civil Rights Act of 1991
June 12, 1995
Standards for federal affirmative action programs made stricter
July 19, 1995
White House guidelines on affirmative action are issued
March 18, 1996
Texas program for affirmative action in college admissions declared unconstitutional
1997
California ends all forms of state-sanctioned affirmative action
1998
Washington ends all forms of state-sanctioned affirmative action
2000
Florida ends affirmative action in public education
2003
Affirmative action in education upheld
June 23, 2003
Affirmative action is constitutional up to a certain point
January 9, 2004
Texas A&M University Abolishes “Legacy” Admissions
August 2, 2005
Federal Appeals Court Rules Against Schools for Native Hawaiians
2007
Court Overrules Integration Plans
