Index: Civil Rights

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 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

Jan 6,

1915

Don Edwards, “Rights Champion” in Congress, is Born

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

Jul 19,

1919

Race Riot Erupts in Washington, DC

Jul 21,

1919

NAACP Demands President Wilson Condemn Racial Violence

Jan 11,

1920

German Officials Slander African-American Troops

Sep 13,

1920

NAACP Leaders Have “Cordial” Meeting the GOP Presidential Candidate Harding

Mar 15,

1922

Anti-KKK Group Formed in Oklahoma

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

Jan 15,

1929

Martin Luther King, Jr. is Born

Jun 12,

1929

First Lady Lou Henry Hoover Invites African-American to White House Tea – Racist Uproar Follows

May 7,

1930

NAACP “Comes of Age:” Helps Senate Reject Supreme Court Nominee

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

Apr 25,

1938

Supreme Court Footnote Outlines Future Protection of Civil Liberties

Dec 12,

1938

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

Feb 21,

1940

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

Sep 27,

1940

A. Philip Randolph Confronts FDR In White House Over Segregated Military

Oct 19,

1940

NYU Students Protest University Discrimination Against its Own Player

Jun 18,

1941

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

Jun 25,

1941

FDR Signs First-Ever Equal Employment Opportunity Order

Jul 1,

1941

March on Washington Cancelled After FDR Issues EEO Order

Feb 19,

1942

Tragedy: FDR Authorizes Japanese-American Evacuation

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

Sep 19,

1946

Truman Promises Presidential Civil Rights Committee

Oct 14,

1946

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

Feb 21,

1947

College Students Protest “Jim Crow” Barber

Jun 29,

1947

Truman First President to Address NAACP

Jan 7,

1948

President Truman Promises Civil Rights Message

Jul 26,

1948

President Truman Desegregates U. S. Military

Jun 5,

1950

Univ. Texas Law School Must Admit African-American: “Sweatt v. Painter”

May 20,

1951

NAACP Declares Today “Josephine Baker Day” in Harlem

Mar 25,

1952

Homophobic Scare: State Department Removes 126 “Perverts”

Jun 8,

1953

Supreme Court Orders Desegregation of Washington, D.C. Restaurants

Aug 9,

1953

ACLU Defends Federal Civil Rights Investigations

Jan 20,

1955

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

Jun 23,

1955

Rep. Adam Clayton Powell Rebuffs President Eisenhower Over Segregated National Guard

Jul 10,

1955

E. Frederic Morrow Becomes First African-American Presidential Aide

Jun 13,

1956

Court Orders Montgomery, Alabama, Buses Desegregated

Oct 24,

1956

J. Edgar Hoover Warns Eisenhower of Communist Infiltration of Civil Rights Movement

Jan 13,

1958

Supreme Court Ends Post Office Ban on Homosexual Materials

Jun 23,

1958

Eisenhower Meets with Four Civil Rights Leaders in the White House – Nothing Results

Feb 27,

1960

GOP Leader Senator Dirksen Supports “Good” Civil Rights Bill

May 6,

1960

Weak 1960 Civil Rights Act Signed Into Law

Jun 24,

1960

Senator John F. Kennedy Praises Sit-Ins

Dec 5,

1960

Supreme Court Rules Against Segregated Bus Terminals

Mar 6,

1961

President Kennedy Issues Equal Employment Opportunity Order

May 9,

1961

Freedom Rider John Lewis Beaten in Rock Hill, South Carolina

Jun 6,

1961

Notre Dame President Hesburgh: Civil Rights More Important Than Anti-Communism

Jun 16,

1961

Freedom Ride Leader Diane Nash Rebuffs AG Robert Kennedy

Sep 22,

1961

ICC Bans Segregation in Interstate Travel Facilities

Feb 9,

1962

Police Chiefs Hold 5-day Closed Meeting on Desegregation; Agree that Federal Law is Supreme

Apr 3,

1962

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

May 3,

1963

Fire Hoses and Police Dogs Attack Birmingham Civil Right Demonstrators

May 30,

1963

VP Lyndon Johnson Gives Powerful Civil Rights Speech at Gettysburg

Jun 11,

1963

President Kennedy Gives Historic Civil Rights Speech on National Television

Jun 12,

1963

Mississippi Civil Rights Leader Medgar Evers Shot and Killed

Jun 22,

1963

President Kennedy Pressures Dr. Martin Luther King to Fire Alleged Communist Associates, Fails

Jun 22,

1963

President Kennedy Tries, Fails to Get Civil Rights Leaders to Cancel March on Washington

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

Nov 26,

1963

LBJ: “What the Hell’s the Presidency For?”

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

Aug 25,

1964

FBI Spies on Civil Rights Groups at Democrats’ Convention — Under Orders from President Johnson

Mar 7,

1965

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

Apr 27,

1965

SCOPE Voter Registration Drive Launched

Jul 2,

1965

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Established

Feb 9,

1966

NYC Police Commissioner Opposes Civilian Review of the Police in Letter to Mayor

Apr 21,

1966

Gay Rights “Sip-In” at Julius’ Bar, NYC

Jun 6,

1966

“March Against Fear” in Mississippi Begins; James Meredith Shot and Wounded

Jun 16,

1966

“Black Power!” A Slogan is Born

May 29,

1967

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

Jun 12,

1967

A Loving Victory: Supreme Court Rules Ban on Interracial Marriage Unconstitutional

Apr 3,

1968

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

Feb 10,

1969

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

Mar 20,

1978

Florida Supreme Court Rules Homosexuals Can Practice Law

Feb 13,

1982

ACLU Report: Voting Discrimination Continues in South

Jun 30,

1982

President Reagan Signs 25-Year Extension of Voting Rights Act

Dec 9,

1983

FBI Ordered to Pay Jim Peck $25,000 for Assault as Freedom Rider

Jul 1,

1985

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

Jun 8,

1992

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

Sep 13,

1994

Violent Crime Control Act Addresses Police Abuse, Violence Against Women

Mar 16,

1995

Mississippi Ratifies 13th Amendment, 130 Years Late – But It’s Not Official

Jun 14,

1997

President Clinton Launches Initiative on Race – Effort Fails

Jun 23,

2003

Supreme Court Issues Mixed Decisions on Univ. Michigan Affirmative Action Plans

Jun 13,

2005

Senate Apologizes for Never Passing Anti-Lynching Law

Jun 28,

2007

Supreme Court Guts Race-Based School Integration Plans

Jul 18,

2011

Paul Oetken Confirmed as First Openly Gay Man to be Federal Judge

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

Dec 31,

2014

Acclaimed Film “Selma” Provokes Controversy over President Johnson, Other Issues

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

Jun 25,

2015

Supreme Court Affirms Federal Fair Housing Law

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

Jun 23,

2016

Supreme Court Upholds University of Texas Affirmative Action Plan

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