Topic: Black History

Mar 6,

1857

“A Constitutional Evil:” The Dred Scott Decision

Jun 7,

1892

Homer Plessy Boards East Louisiana Railroad Car – Trip Ends at Supreme Court

Feb 1,

1902

Langston Hughes, Noted African-American Poet, Social Critic, is Born

Jul 11,

1905

Niagara Movement, Forerunner of NAACP, Founded

Jul 2,

1908

Thurgood Marshall, Civil Rights Giant, is Born

Feb 12,

1909

NAACP Founded – Civil Rights Crusade Begins

Mar 17,

1912

Bayard Rustin, Civil Rights Activist, is Born

Apr 11,

1913

President Wilson Segregates Federal Agencies

Feb 18,

1915

President Wilson Enjoys His First Movie: “Birth of a Nation”

Nov 11,

1915

Pacifist Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR) Founded

Apr 18,

1918

Dyer Anti-lynching Bill Introduced in House

Jul 27,

1919

Massive Chicago Race Riot Erupts

Oct 26,

1921

President Harding Gives Civil Rights Message in Segregated Birmingham, Alabama

Jun 14,

1922

5,000 March Silently Past the White House to Protest Lynching

Aug 2,

1924

Noted African-American Author James Baldwin is Born

Nov 30,

1924

Shirley Chisholm, First African-American Woman in Congress, Is Born in Brooklyn, NY

May 19,

1925

Malcolm [X] Little Is Born in Omaha, Nebraska

Feb 7,

1926

“Negro History Week” First Celebrated

Sep 1,

1926

Virginia KKK Kidnap Catholic Priest for Teaching African-American Children

Mar 4,

1929

Rep. Oscar De Priest Takes His Seat in the House; First African-American in the 20th Century

Apr 12,

1936

Benny Goodman, Teddy Wilson, Gene Krupa Play First Racially Integrated Jazz Concert in Major Venue

Mar 26,

1937

William H. Hastie Appointed First African-American Federal Judge

Apr 9,

1939

Marian Anderson Gives Historic Lincoln Memorial Concert

Feb 21,

1940

Civil Rights Leader and U.S. Representative John Lewis is Born in Troy, Alabama

Jan 14,

1941

A. Philip Randolph Calls For a March on Washington

Jun 18,

1941

Civil Rights Leader A. Philip Randolph Confronts FDR in the White House — Wins EEO Order

Apr 17,

1943

First Sit-in Challenges Segregated Washington D.C. Restaurants

Feb 3,

1944

Winfred Lynn’s Challenge to Segregated Draft Rejected

Apr 3,

1944

Supreme Court Declares All-White Primary Unconstitutional

Oct 18,

1944

Irene Morgan Convicted of Integrating Virginia Bus – Inspires Later Freedom Rides

Feb 12,

1946

Isaac Woodard, African-American Veteran, Beaten, Blinded in South Carolina; Incident Provokes National Outrage

Apr 27,

1946

Civil Rights Congress Formed

Apr 10,

1947

Branch Rickey Acquires Jackie Robinson’s Contract

Apr 15,

1947

Jackie Robinson Breaks Baseball Color Line

Jul 5,

1947

Larry Doby Integrates American League in Baseball

Oct 23,

1947

“An Appeal to the World” – NAACP Petition to the UN on Human Rights Violations in the U.S.

Mar 22,

1948

A. Philip Randolph Confronts Truman Over Segregated Military

Mar 30,

1948

A. Philip Randolph Threatens to Advise Young African-American Men Not to Register for a Segregated Draft

Apr 8,

1948

Southern Leaders Attack President Truman’s 1948 Civil Rights Speech

Dec 10,

1950

Ralph J. Bunche First African-American to Win Nobel Peace Prize

Sep 18,

1951

Evasion of Hollywood Blacklist by Film Studios Exposed

Jan 20,

1955

Sit-ins Integrate Baltimore Lunch Counters at Read’s Stores

Mar 2,

1955

Nine Months Before Rosa Parks: Four African-American Women Challenge Discrimination on Montgomery, Alabama, Bus

Jul 10,

1955

E. Frederic Morrow Becomes First African-American Presidential Aide

Jan 26,

1956

Martin Luther King’s First Arrest

Nov 5,

1956

Nat King Cole Show, First to Star an African-American, Debuts on NBC television

May 17,

1957

“Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom:” 1957 Civil Rights March on Washington

Sep 23,

1957

Segregationist Mob Blocks School Integration in Little Rock

May 13,

1958

Jackie Robinson Denounces President Eisenhower’s Weak Leadership on Civil Rights

Jul 19,

1958

1958 Wichita Sit-In Challenges Segregation

Feb 13,

1960

Nashville Students Begin Sit-ins

Mar 15,

1960

Julian Bond Leads Atlanta’s First Sit-In

May 10,

1960

Nashville Becomes First Major Southern City to Desegregate Public Facilities

Jul 11,

1961

Maryland Apologizes to African Envoys Denied Service at Segregated Restaurants

Nov 17,

1961

Albany, Georgia, Civil Rights Campaign Begins – Kennedy Administration Fails to Support

Sep 20,

1962

James Meredith Denied Registration at University of Mississippi

Apr 2,

1963

Supreme Court Invalidates Virginia Anti-NAACP Laws, Upholds Lawyers’ Activism

Apr 12,

1963

Martin Luther King Arrested in Birmingham Demonstration: Writes Famous “Letter from Birmingham Jail”

Apr 16,

1963

Martin Luther King, Jr., Writes Famous “Letter from Birmingham Jail”

May 3,

1963

Fire Hoses and Police Dogs Attack Birmingham Civil Right Demonstrators

Aug 27,

1963

W. E. B. Du Bois, African-American Intellectual Giant, Dies

Mar 25,

1964

LBJ Lectures Southern Ministers on Need for Civil Rights Bill

Apr 3,

1964

Malcolm X Gives Famous “The Ballot or the Bullet” Speech in Cleveland

Apr 26,

1964

Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party Founded

Dec 11,

1964

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Receives Nobel Peace Prize

Feb 21,

1965

Malcolm X Assassinated in New York City

Mar 7,

1965

“Bloody Sunday” in Selma, Alabama: John Lewis, Other Marchers Beaten and Tear Gassed

Mar 15,

1965

“We . . . Shall . . . Overcome:” LBJ Gives Historic Voting Rights Speech

Mar 16,

1965

LBJ Sends Federal Troops to Guard Selma Voting Rights March

Apr 21,

1965

Ohio State Bans Marxist Speaker, Herbert Aptheker

Apr 27,

1965

SCOPE Voter Registration Drive Launched

May 5,

1965

Music Giant Duke Ellington Denied Pulitzer Special Citation

Jan 18,

1966

Robert C. Weaver Sworn in as First African-American Cabinet Member

Jun 16,

1966

“Black Power!” A Slogan is Born

Nov 8,

1966

Edward W. Brooke First African-American Popularly Elected to U. S. Senate

Jan 23,

1967

Georgia’s Jury System Declared Discriminatory

Oct 2,

1967

Thurgood Marshall Joins Supreme Court – First African-American Justice

Nov 7,

1967

Real Black Power Arrives: The New Elected Black Mayors

Apr 3,

1968

King’s Final Speech: “I Have Been to the Mountaintop”

Apr 4,

1968

Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. Assassinated

Nov 5,

1968

Shirley Chisholm First African-American Woman Elected to the House of Representatives

Mar 23,

1970

Eleanor Holmes Norton Named Head of NYC Commission on Human Rights

Jan 22,

1971

Congressional Black Caucus Boycotts President Nixon’s State of the Union Address

Mar 30,

1971

Congressional Black Caucus Organized

Jan 25,

1972

Shirley Chisholm: First African-American Woman to Campaign for Presidential Nomination

Jul 10,

1974

Mary McLeod Bethune Memorial Statue Dedicated

Jan 30,

1977

Andrew Young Sworn in as Ambassador to the United Nations

Jul 1,

1985

Pauli Murray, Civil Rights Pioneer, Feminist, Civil Libertarian, Dies

Nov 8,

1989

Douglas Wilder Elected First African-American Governor of Virginia

Jun 13,

2005

Senate Apologizes for Never Passing Anti-Lynching Law

Oct 24,

2005

Rosa Parks, Hero of Montgomery Bus Boycott, Dies

Mar 18,

2008

“A More Perfect Union:” Obama’s 2008 Great Speech on Race at the Constitution Center in Philadelphia

Nov 4,

2008

First African-American Elected President – Barack Obama

Jul 17,

2014

“I Can’t Breathe:” Eric Garner Choked to Death by NYPD Police Officers

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