Affirmative Action has been used since 1961 to expand opportunity and promote equality.

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1968 Desegregation of Southern Schools Required
The Supreme Court, in Green v. County School Board of New Kent County (Virginia), rules that "actual desegregation" of schools in the South is required, effectively ruling out so- called school "freedom of choice" plans and requiring affirmative action to achieve integrated schools.

1967 La Rasa Unida Political Party
Jose Angel Gutierrez founds the Mexican American Youth Organization in San Antonio, Texas. The group would become over time La Rasa Unida Party, the first Chicano political party.

1967 Amendment to E.O. 11246
President Johnson amended E.O. 11246 to include affirmative action for women; federal contractors now required to make good-faith efforts to expand employment opportunities for women and minorities

1965 Executive Order 11246
President Lyndon B. Johnson issued E.O. 11246, requiring all government contractors and subcontractors to take affirmative action to expand job opportunities for minorities. Established Office of Federal Contract Compliance (OFCC) in the Department of Labor to administer the order.

1964 24th Amendment outlaws poll taxes for national elections.
The Twenty-Fourth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States bans the use of the poll tax in federal elections (a device imposed by some states to circumvent the Fifteenth Amendment guarantee of equal voting rights). Intended to alleviate the burdens of black and poor citizens, it states that in any presidential or congressional election, no citizen can be denied, by the state or federal government, the right to vote because of failure to pay either a poll tax or any other tax.

1964 Civil Rights Act of 1964
Landmark legislation prohibiting employment discrimination by large employers (over 15 employees), whether or not they have government contracts. Established the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

1963 MLK Jr. Awarded Nobel Peace Prize
Martin Luther King Jr., receives the Nobel Peace Prize.

1961 Affirmative Action Used for the First Time
President John F. Kennedy's Executive Order (E.O.) 10925 used affirmative action for the first time by instructing federal contractors to take "affirmative action to ensure that applicants are treated equally without regard to race, color, religion, sex, or national origin." Created the Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity.

1960 Several African Countries Win Independence
Following Sudan (1956) and Ghana (1957), 11 African nations achieve independence.

1960 John F. Kennedy Wins Presedential Elections
After presenting a campaign emphasizing civil rights John F. Kennedy elected president.

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