Index: african-americans

Mar 6,

1857

“A Constitutional Evil:” The Dred Scott Decision

Feb 1,

1902

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

Feb 18,

1903

“In Dahomey,” First All-African-American Musical, Opens on Broadway

Jul 11,

1905

Niagara Movement, Forerunner of NAACP, Founded

Apr 13,

1906

The Brownsville Outrage: African-American Soldiers Framed, Discharged

Jul 2,

1908

Thurgood Marshall, Civil Rights Giant, is Born

Feb 12,

1909

NAACP Founded – Civil Rights Crusade Begins

Nov 20,

1910

Pauli Murray, Civil Rights and Feminist Activist, is Born

Mar 17,

1912

Bayard Rustin, Civil Rights Activist, is Born

Mar 24,

1912

Dorothy Height, Matriarch of the Civil Rights Movement, is Born

Apr 4,

1913

Racially Integrated Suffrage Conference Held in St. Louis

Apr 11,

1913

President Wilson Segregates Federal Agencies

Feb 8,

1915

“Birth of a Nation” Opens: A Century of Controversy Follows

Jun 21,

1915

“Grandfather” Clauses Unconstitutional

Jul 2,

1917

Huge East St. Louis Race Riot Erupts

Jul 28,

1917

NAACP Leads Silent March Down Fifth Avenue to Protest Racist Violence

Apr 18,

1918

Dyer Anti-lynching Bill Introduced in House

Jul 19,

1919

Race Riot Erupts in Washington, DC

Jul 21,

1919

NAACP Demands President Wilson Condemn Racial Violence

Jul 27,

1919

Massive Chicago Race Riot Erupts

Jan 11,

1920

German Officials Slander African-American Troops

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

Oct 17,

1924

Democrats Accuse Republicans of Coercing Votes of Federal Employees

Nov 30,

1924

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

Aug 1,

1925

African-American Lawyers Form National Bar Association

Feb 7,

1926

“Negro History Week” First Celebrated

Mar 7,

1927

Texas White Primary Held Unconstitutional (For a While, Anyway)

Dec 27,

1927

“Show Boat” – First Racially Integrated Broadway Musical, And With Interracial Themes

Mar 25,

1931

Scottsboro Case Begins: Nine Young African-Americans Arrested in Alabama

Oct 2,

1932

LA Police, American Legion Break Up Scottsboro Defense Meeting in Long Beach, CA

Nov 7,

1932

Scottsboro Case Impact – Supreme Court Rules Lawyer Required in Capital Cases

May 8,

1933

Interracial March in Washington Demands Justice for Scottsboro Defendants

Nov 27,

1933

California Governor Praises Lynch Mob – ACLU, NAACP Protest

Mar 20,

1935

NYC Mayor La Guardia Launches Investigation of Police Brutality in Harlem

Apr 1,

1935

Scottsboro Case Conviction Overturned: African-Americans Excluded From Jury

Dec 27,

1935

Scottsboro Defense Committee Organized

Apr 12,

1936

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

Dec 12,

1938

Supreme Court: Missouri Must Provide Law School Opportunity for African-Americans

Oct 19,

1940

NYU Students Protest University Discrimination Against its Own Player

Jun 25,

1941

FDR Signs First-Ever Equal Employment Opportunity Order

Jul 1,

1941

March on Washington Cancelled After FDR Issues EEO Order

May 7,

1942

NY Governor Signs Two Early Anti-Discrimination Bills into Law

Jun 20,

1943

Detroit Race Riot Paralyzes City, Threatens War Effort

Aug 1,

1943

Harlem Race Riot Signals Rising African-American Discontent

Jun 3,

1946

Irene Morgan Wins Historic Court Victory Against Interstate Travel Segregation

Oct 14,

1946

Atlanta Officials Put “Negro” Designation After Coroner Candidate’s Name – Candidate Protests

Feb 21,

1947

College Students Protest “Jim Crow” Barber

Jul 26,

1948

President Truman Desegregates U. S. Military

May 20,

1951

NAACP Declares Today “Josephine Baker Day” in Harlem

Jun 13,

1956

Court Orders Montgomery, Alabama, Buses Desegregated

Feb 27,

1960

GOP Leader Senator Dirksen Supports “Good” Civil Rights Bill

Jun 24,

1960

Senator John F. Kennedy Praises Sit-Ins

May 9,

1961

Freedom Rider John Lewis Beaten in Rock Hill, South Carolina

Jun 16,

1961

Freedom Ride Leader Diane Nash Rebuffs AG Robert Kennedy

Apr 3,

1962

Defense Dept. Orders Racial Integration of all Military Reserves – But Not the National Guard

Jan 31,

1963

Folk Singer Josh White Performs for JFK at “Dinner with the President” on CBS TV

Jun 12,

1963

Mississippi Civil Rights Leader Medgar Evers Shot and Killed

Aug 28,

1963

“I Have a Dream”: King Delivers Historic Speech at March on Washington

Aug 28,

1963

John Lewis’ Speech at March on Washington Censored

Jun 21,

1964

Mississippi Freedom Summer Project Begins – Three Civil Rights Workers Murdered

Jul 16,

1964

Police Shooting Sparks Harlem Riot – Four Years of “Long Hot Summers” Begin

Apr 27,

1965

SCOPE Voter Registration Drive Launched

Jun 16,

1966

“Black Power!” A Slogan is Born

May 29,

1967

Cleveland Bar Association Criticizes Mayor for Not Meeting with Martin Luther King

Aug 25,

1967

J. Edgar Hoover Authorizes COINTELPRO Action Against Black Panther Party

Feb 10,

1969

Federal Judge Finds City of Chicago Guilty of Discrimination in Public Housing

Sep 3,

1971

FBI to Investigate Police Violence Against Latinos, African-Americans in Bridgeport, CT

Jun 30,

1982

President Reagan Signs 25-Year Extension of Voting Rights Act

Jun 8,

1992

Court Upholds Professor’s Free Speech Rights on African-American Inferiority

Jun 13,

2005

Senate Apologizes for Never Passing Anti-Lynching Law

Mar 2,

2013

Montgomery, Alabama, Police Chief Apologizes to John Lewis for 1961 Beating, Gives Lewis His Badge

Nov 21,

2013

Alabama Pardons Last Three Scottsboro Defendants; Historic Civil Rights Case Finally Ends

Aug 9,

2014

Unarmed Michael Brown Shot and Killed by Ferguson, Missouri, Police Officer – Nationwide Protests Follow

Feb 17,

2015

New Report Finds More African-Americans Lynched in U.S. Than Previously Believed

Mar 4,

2015

DOJ Issues Blistering Report on Ferguson, Missouri, Police Department

Mar 4,

2015

President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing Releases Interim Report

May 2,

2015

Folk Singer Guy Carawan Dies; Taught “We Shall Overcome” to Sit-In Leaders

Jun 2,

2015

African-American Soldier Awarded Medal of Honor – 97 Years Late

Oct 23,

2015

FBI Director James Comey Blames Police Critics For Recent Rise in Violent Crime

Apr 16,

2016

Washington Post Wins Pulitzer for Path-Breaking Reporting on People Shot by the Police

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