Civil Rights for African-Americans, Women, Latin Americans, and Native Americans- In the 1960's The Black Power Movement, The Chinco Movement by the Latin Americans, Feminism, and other movements started to try to gain equal rights. Many of these people wanted to be less discriminated against, have the right to vote, and gain equal pay.
NAACP-The NAACP stood for the National Advancement of Colored People. Although African Americans had gain the right to vote, they still needed to enforce it in the South, this was one of the things these civil rights workers worked for.
Martin Luther King Jr.-King, was a man who fought for justice for all African Americans. One of his first movements was raising a boycott on buses that lasted over a year, to try to stop segregation. During this period he was arrested, his house was bombed, and he was assaulted multiple times. From 1957 and 1968 King traveled to make over 2500 speeches to try to stop what was going on there against the African Americans. When he turned 35, he was the youngest man to achieve a Nobel Peace Prize, he then turned over 55,000 of it to his many causes to help stop racism and segregation. 
Malcolm X- Malcolm X was greatly discriminated against as a child. When he grew up be became a Islamic leader. He fought for human rights and spent some time in jail possibly because his beliefs to gain human rights were more violent. He had many assassination attempts.
Jackie Robinson-Robinson couldn't afford to stay in college so he dropped out and joined the Army. He enjoyed playing many sports including football, track, and baseball. When he left the army, he played for a black major league, but got noticed by the Dodgers. They enlisted him onto their team. This made Jackie the first African American major league baseball player.
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka-The supreme court ruled segregation in schools unconstitutional. This forced schools to allow the students of all races to intermingle. It was a huge impact on our society.
De-segregating the US Military- Passed by the Truman in 1981, it allowed the military to be unsegregated for the first time since the War of 1812. All armies at home and outside slowly became unsegregated. 
Little Rock 9- After the desegregation law was passed, many schools were 'trying to take it slow' and still not allowing some kids into their schools. The NAACP and President Eisenhower soon had to intervene in a case that took place in Little Rock. It forced the school to allow some black students into the school that were kicked out.
Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott-ON Thursday, December 1st IN 1955, Rosa Parks boarded a bus in downtown Montgomery. She loaded onto the first seat. When the conductor asked her why she didn't stand up and move for the boarding whites she replied, "I don't think I should have to stand up". Rosa was then arrested, but may have sparked the minds of other African Americans to stand up. 
Greensboro sit-ins-Until this point, many African Americans were alright with segregation. Until a few college students decided to sit in at white only diners, where they were refused service. Each time they would get thrown into jail, but once they'd get out, they'd go back to doing it again. The more they did it, the more support they would gain from people across the country to revolt.
Freedom Rides- A group of black and white people that strongly discouraged segregation in interstate buses and railroad stations. The first freedom ride left Washington D.C. in May of 1961. They intended to test the ruling of Boynton v. Virginia that deemed segregation in the buses unconstitutional. Along their way through the South, one of their buses was burned, and they were attacked by many whites in another state. They were very determined to continue their ride, even after getting mauled by 100 whites. Man of them got charges for unlawful assembly, and trespassing. They ended up getting imprisoned once reaching Missouri. These rides still had support from many people. This pressured President Kennedy to change the laws, and stop the violence.
Birmingham, Alabama:1963- In Birmingham, Alabama, many civil rights leaders met at a Baptist church. The Southern Christian Leadership Leadership Conference and the Congress of Racial Equality met here often. Their goal was to register the African Americans living there to get the ability to vote. Martin Luther King was one of the people involved in these groups.
During Church in September of 1963, Robert Chambliss of the Ku Klux Klan, was witnessed putting a box under the churches steps. Soon after, a bomb exploded causing four girls attending church to die and 23 others to be injured. Chambliss was tried, and found not guilty of murder, but received a fine for possessing dynamite without a permit. Later, when a new attorney of Alabama was hired, they re-opened the case. They found great evidence against Chambliss that wasn't used in the first trial, and sent him to jail for the rest of his life.
Mississippi Summer Project( Freedom Summer project)-In 1964 the United States started a campaign to attempt to register as many Mississippi African American voters. Mississippi at the time had very few registered African American voters. Other things the project did was set up schools and houses in small towns to help them out. Most of the input for the project came from Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and Robert Moses (the secretary).
Selma, Alabama:1965- On March 7th of 1965, the first march for voting rights took place, called the March of Fear. It consisted of 600 civil rights activists. They set off from Selma and attempted to make it to Montgomery. The march lasted for six blocks before they got stopped by police and were attacked with clubs and tear gas at Edmund Pettus Bridge. All of them were sent back to Selma.
Martin Luther King Jr. led a second march to the bridge, attempting to get the right for the march. The Federal District Court Judge allowed them their rights. A third march set off on March 21. When they left it consisted of 3,200 people but upon arrival they obtained 25,000. Just under three months later, President Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Voting Rights Act of 1965- Signed by President Johnson, outlawed mainly the Southern states from using discriminating voting practices. These practices consisted of forcing African Americans to take literacy tests or a prerequisite to vote.
Civil Rights Act of 1964- This act finally outlawed discrimination against race and women. It ended segregation, unnecessary tests for voting, public places to be open for everybody, and segregation at work and schools.
Stokely Carmichael- Carmichael started out as a Freedom Rider in 1961. He then worked for the Freedom Summer Project and became the chairman of the Soviet Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. He also participated in the March Against Fear, when the original leader of it got shot. He got arrested for his 27th time while in the march. After coming out of jail again, he produced a famous Black Power Speech. This speech advised for black people to unite, build a community sense, and to lead their own organizations for their rights. He later suggested black pride, which created a black style off dress and hair (Afros). He then became the honorary prime minister of the Black Panther party, and criticized Martin Luther King Jr's nonviolence ideals. He also wrote a couple books to influence others.
Black Panthers- This party lasted from 1966 to 1982. It accomplished becoming famous in trying to obtain Black Power and being involved in politics. It was originally organized to try to protect people from being beaten by racist police and others. It provided medical clinics.
Affirmative action- Affirmative action is trying to increase recognizance of women and certain races in employment, education, and business where they had been excluded from recently. It attempts to enforce laws against discrimination.
Jesse Jackson- Jesse Jackson was a civil rights leader, and baptist minister. He also became a politician, who ran for the Democratic President position in 1983 and 1987. He participated in the March of Fear and worked in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. He was with Martin Luther King Jr. when he got assassinated, and then got accused of using the group for his own advantage and got suspended from it.
He founded People United to Save Humanity and then the National Rainbow Coalition which tried to settle equal rights for blacks, women, and homosexuals. These two organizations combined and formed the Rainbow/Push organization. He became the main black leader in the states, and famous for his speeches. Jackson declined to run for President a third time.
Sources:
http://www.core-online.org/History/freedom%20rides.htm
http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/m_r/randall/birmingham.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_Summer
http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/civilrights/al4.htm
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