Slideshow: how the civil rights movement started

* Steve Schapiro/Corbis 1964 FREEDOM SUMMER En español | Fifty four years ago this month, the civil rights movement exploded into America’s consciousness. As the U.S. Senate wrestled with

historic legislation addressing segregation and discrimination, events in the South, across the nation and around the world grabbed headlines and demanded attention. 1 of 13 * Hulton-Deutsch

Collection/Corbis NELSON MANDELA Nelson Mandela is sentenced to life in prison on June 12 for committing sabotage against the South African apartheid government. 2 of 13 * AARP OFFER:

REMEMBER THE PAST, HELP SHAPE THE FUTURE Share your stories and help advocate for political support to protect your future.   JOIN AARP TO SUPPORT LIVING WITH DIGNITY AND PURPOSE. 3 of 13 *

Bettmann/Corbis ORGANIZERS James Farmer (in middle) was national director of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) in June 1964. 4 of 13 * Steve Schapiro/Corbis VOTER REGISTRATION Civil

rights leader Julian Bond stands next to a bus full of young people taking part in a CORE training session aimed at registering voters in Mississippi. 5 of 13 * The Granger Collection

MALCOLM X Malcolm X announces on June 28 the creation of the Organization of Afro-American Unity, to win freedom for blacks “by any means necessary.” 6 of 13 * Bettmann/Corbis CIVIL RIGHTS

ACT President Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act on July 2 after the U.S. Senate passes the landmark legislation, which prohibits discrimination in public places, education and employment on

the basis of race, color, religion, national origin or sex. 7 of 13 * Bettmann/Corbis VIOLENCE Three civil rights workers —Andrew Goodman, James Chaney and Michael Schwerner — disappear on

June 21 after investigating a church burning near Philadelphia, Miss., triggering a massive FBI investigation. 8 of 13 * SIT-INS In 1960, a black student picketed outside Woolworth’s in

Greensboro, N.C., in support of the lunch counter sit-in taking place inside, while a white counter-demonstrator kept in step with him. 9 of 13 * CIVIL RIGHTS EDUCATION Freedom Schools were

established to address the unequal education received by blacks. Volunteers taught the history of the civil rights movement and leadership development in addition to reading, 
writing and

arithmetic. 10 of 13 * BARRY GOLDWATER Barry Goldwater won the 1964 GOP nomination for president. The founder of the conservative movement opposed the Civil Rights Act, saying it was

unconstitutional for the federal government to intrude into states’ affairs. 11 of 13 * UNITY AMONG PROTESTORS Black and white civil rights demonstrators gather together in Mississippi. 12

of 13 * Steve Schapiro/Corbis SAD ENDINGS The bodies of Schwerner, Goodman and Chaney were found two months later, buried in an earthen dam.   Next Slideshow: The impact of the civil rights

movement   13 of 13 ALSO OF INTEREST * Civil Rights - Stories of the Struggle