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Timeline of African-American history facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
"Colored" drinking fountain from mid-20th century with african-american drinking
"Colored" drinking fountain from mid-20th century with African-American drinking, July 1939.

This is a timeline of African-American history. It tells the story of Black people in the United States.

Europeans first arrived in what is now the United States on August 9, 1526. They brought with them families from Africa who had been captured and forced into slavery.

During the American Revolution (1776–1783), many enslaved African Americans in the South escaped. They were promised freedom if they fought with the British. Also, many free Black people in the North fought for the American colonists. The Vermont Republic, which was its own nation at the time, became the first future state to end slavery. After the Revolution, many slave owners in the Upper South freed their slaves.

Bringing new slaves into the country became a serious crime in 1808.

The American Civil War started in 1861. Thousands of enslaved African Americans escaped to the Union side to gain their freedom. Later, the Emancipation Proclamation was issued. This officially freed slaves in the Confederate states. After the Civil War ended, the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was passed in 1865. This law made slavery illegal everywhere, except as a punishment for a crime.

In the mid-1900s, the Civil Rights Movement happened. This movement worked to end racial separation and unfair treatment. Because of this movement, racial segregation and discrimination became against the law.

The 1500s: Early Arrivals

  • 1526: The first African slaves arrived in what is now the United States on August 9, 1526. They came to Winyah Bay, South Carolina. A Spanish explorer named Lucas Vázquez de Ayllón led about 600 settlers, including these enslaved Africans. They tried to start a colony, but it failed. The group moved to what is now Georgia. This colony also failed, but slavery continued in Georgia until 1865.
  • 1565: The Spanish colony of St. Augustine in Florida became the first lasting European settlement in the U.S. It also included enslaved Africans.

The 1600s: Slavery Takes Root

  • 1619: The first Africans arrived in English North America. They were "twenty and odd" men, women, and children. They were brought to Fort Monroe and then to Jamestown. They had been taken from a Portuguese slave ship. These Africans were first treated like servants who worked for a set time. At least one of them later owned land.
  • 1640: John Punch, a Black servant, ran away with three white servants. They were caught. Punch was sentenced to serve a Virginian landowner for life. This made John Punch the first person legally documented as a slave for life in colonial Virginia.
  • 1654: John Casor, a Black man, became the first person legally recognized as a slave for life in a court case. He had claimed his time as a servant was over. But the court sided with his master, who said Casor owed him service for life.
  • 1662: The Colony of Virginia made a new law. It said that children born to enslaved mothers would also be slaves. This was true even if their father was free or white. This was different from English law at the time.
  • 1664: September 20 – The Province of Maryland passed the first law in Colonial America. It made marriage between different races illegal.
  • 1670: Zipporah Potter Atkins, a free Black woman, became the first African-American landowner in Boston. She was also the first Black woman to own land in Colonial America.
  • 1676: Both free and enslaved African Americans fought in Bacon's Rebellion. They fought alongside white servants.
  • 1685: French King Louis XIV issued the "Black Code" (Code Noir). This set of rules for slavery applied to France's colonies, including Louisiana.

The 1700s: Revolution and Freedom's Dawn

* The Continental Congress asked all colonies to stop bringing in slaves. The colonies passed laws to do this. * The first Black Baptist churches were started in the American South. These included Silver Bluff Baptist Church in South Carolina and First African Baptist Church near Petersburg, Virginia.

  • 1775:

* April 14 – The Pennsylvania Abolition Society held its first meetings. It worked to help free Black people. Benjamin Franklin later led this group. * Thomas Paine published an important essay against slavery called "African Slavery in America."

  • 1776–1783: American Revolution:

* Thousands of enslaved African Americans in the South escaped to the British side. They were promised freedom if they fought for the British. * Many Black Loyalists were taken to England, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and the Caribbean after the war. About 8,000 to 10,000 enslaved people gained freedom this way. * Many Black Patriots in the North fought for the American colonists during the war.

  • 1777: July 8 – The Vermont Republic ended slavery. It was the first future state to do so. No slaves were held in Vermont.
  • 1780:

* Pennsylvania became the first U.S. state to abolish slavery. * Capt. Paul Cuffe and six other African Americans in Massachusetts asked for the right to vote. They argued for "no taxation without representation." They won this right.

  • 1781: Elizabeth Freeman and Quock Walker challenged slavery in Massachusetts courts. The courts ruled that slavery was illegal under the state's constitution. They declared both of them free.
  • 1783: The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court confirmed that the state's constitution had ended slavery. It said that rights and freedoms were "wholly incompatible" with slavery.
  • 1787: July 13 – The Northwest Ordinance stopped slavery from spreading into U.S. territories north of the Ohio River.
  • 1788: The First African Baptist Church of Savannah, Georgia was organized by Andrew Bryan.
  • 1790–1810: Freedom for many slaves: After the Revolution, many slave owners in the Upper South freed their slaves. The number of free Black people grew from less than 1% to 10%. By 1810, 75% of all Black people in Delaware were free.
  • 1791: February – Major Andrew Ellicott hired Benjamin Banneker, a Black draftsman. Banneker helped survey the land for what would become Washington, D.C..
  • 1793: February 12 – The Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 was passed. This law made it easier for slave owners to reclaim escaped slaves.
  • 1794:

* March 14 – Eli Whitney received a patent for the cotton gin. This machine made growing cotton much more profitable. It greatly increased the need for enslaved labor. This led to a forced movement of one million slaves from the Upper South to the Deep South. * July – Two independent Black churches opened in Philadelphia. These were the African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas and the Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church. The Bethel church later became the first independent Black church group in the U.S.

The 1800s: Civil War and New Rights

1800–1859: Growing Tensions

  • Early 1800s: The first Black Codes were put into law. These were strict laws that controlled the lives of free Black people.
  • 1800: August 30 – Gabriel Prosser planned a slave rebellion in Richmond, Virginia. It was stopped before it could begin.
  • 1807: Congress passed the Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves. This law made it a federal crime to bring new slaves into the country from abroad.
  • 1808: January 1 – Bringing slaves into the country became a serious crime. This was the earliest day allowed by the U.S. Constitution for such a law.
  • 1816:

* The African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME) was founded. It was the first separate Black church group. Richard Allen was its first bishop. * The American Colonization Society was started. Its goal was to send free African Americans to Liberia in West Africa. * The Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground was created in Richmond, Virginia. It is likely the largest burial ground for free and enslaved Black people in the U.S.

* March 6 – The Missouri Compromise allowed Maine to join as a free state and Missouri as a slave state. It also limited where new slave states could be formed. * The British and U.S. Navies began working together to stop the slave trade.

  • 1821: The African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church was formed.
  • 1822: July 14 – Denmark Vesey's planned slave rebellion in Charleston, South Carolina was stopped.
  • 1827: March 16 – Freedom's Journal, the first African American newspaper in the U.S., began publication.
  • 1829: September – David Walker began publishing his anti-slavery pamphlet, Walker's Appeal.
  • 1830: October 28 – Josiah Henson, an escaped slave, became an author and minister. He was an inspiration for the book Uncle Tom's Cabin.
  • 1831:

* William Lloyd Garrison began publishing the anti-slavery newspaper The Liberator. He said owning slaves was a great sin and must end immediately. * August – Nat Turner led the most successful slave rebellion in U.S. history. It was stopped after many deaths.

* June 1 – Isabella Baumfree, a former slave, changed her name to Sojourner Truth. She began to preach against slavery. * August – Henry Highland Garnet gave his famous speech, Call to Rebellion.

* Frederick Douglass began publishing his anti-slavery newspaper, the North Star. * Joseph Jenkins Roberts became the first president of Liberia.

  • 1849:

* Roberts v. Boston tried to end racial discrimination in Boston public schools. * Harriet Tubman escaped slavery. She then began helping other slaves escape using the Underground Railroad.

* President Franklin Pierce signed the Kansas–Nebraska Act. This law ended the Missouri Compromise. It allowed slavery in new territories. * The Republican Party was formed. It was against slavery.

  • 1855: John Mercer Langston was one of the first African Americans elected to public office. He became a town clerk in Ohio.
  • 1856:

* May 21 – The Sacking of Lawrence happened in Bleeding Kansas. * May 25 – John Brown attacked in the Pottawatomie massacre. This was in response to the Lawrence sacking. * Wilberforce University was founded. It was a collaboration between Methodist Episcopal and African Methodist Episcopal groups.

  • 1857: March 6 – In Dred Scott v. Sandford, the U.S. Supreme Court supported slavery. This decision is seen as a main cause of the Civil War.
  • 1859:

* Harriet E. Wilson wrote the novel Our Nig. * In Ableman v. Booth, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that state courts could not go against federal court decisions. This upheld the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. * August 22 – The last known slave ship, the Clotilde, secretly arrived in Mobile, Alabama.

1860–1874: Freedom and Reconstruction

  • 1861:

* April 12 – The American Civil War began. It lasted until April 9, 1865. * Thousands of enslaved African Americans escaped to Union lines for freedom. Many learned to read and write in special camps. * By the end of the war, over 180,000 African Americans fought for the Union Army and Navy. * May 24 – General Benjamin Butler refused to return three escaped slaves. He called them "contraband of war." * August 6 – The Confiscation Act of 1861 allowed the government to take Confederate property, including slaves who helped the Confederate military.

  • 1862:

* April 16 – Emancipation Day in Washington, D.C. The District of Columbia Compensated Emancipation Act freed slaves in the capital. * July 17 – The Confiscation Act of 1862 freed more confiscated slaves. * September 22 – President Lincoln announced the Emancipation Proclamation. It would take effect on January 1, 1863.

  • 1863–1877: Reconstruction Era: This was the period after the Civil War.
  • 1863:

* January 1 – The Emancipation Proclamation took effect. It changed the legal status of 3 million slaves in the South from "slave" to "free." * January 31 – The U.S. Army formed the 1st South Carolina Volunteers. This was a combat unit made of escaped slaves. * May 22 – The U.S. Army began recruiting United States Colored Troops. The 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Regiment was one famous unit. * July 13–16 – Riots against Black people broke out in New York City. These were protests against the military draft. * July 18 – The Second Battle of Fort Wagner began. The 54th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, a Black military unit, attacked a Confederate fort.

  • 1864: April 12 – The Battle of Fort Pillow happened. There was controversy about whether surrendered Black troops were massacred.
  • 1865:

* January 31 – The United States Congress passed the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. This law abolished slavery and sent it to the states to approve. * March 3 – Congress passed a bill to form the Freedmen's Bureau. It was meant to help newly freed slaves. * December 18 – The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was approved. It made slavery illegal everywhere. * Shaw University was founded in Raleigh, North Carolina. It was the first Black college in the South. * Southern states passed Black Codes. These laws limited the rights of newly freed Black people.

  • 1866:

* April 9 – The Civil Rights Act of 1866 was passed. It said that all people born in the U.S. were citizens. * The Ku Klux Klan was formed. It was a group of white Confederate veterans. They used violence to enforce white supremacy. * May 1–3 – The Memphis Massacre happened. * July – The New Orleans Riot occurred. White citizens rioted against Black people. * September 21 – The U.S. Army formed the Buffalo Soldiers, a regiment of African-American soldiers.

  • 1867:

* February 14 – Morehouse College was founded in Augusta, Georgia. * March 2 – Howard University was founded in Washington, D.C.

  • 1868:

* April 1 – Hampton University was founded in Hampton, Virginia. * July 9 – The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was approved. It required equal treatment and protection under the law for all citizens. * White groups attacked Black and white Republicans to stop them from voting. * Elizabeth Keckley published her book Behind the Scenes.

  • 1870:

* February 3 – The Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was approved. It gave Black men the right to vote. * February 25 – Hiram Rhodes Revels became the first Black member of the United States Senate. * The Christian Methodist Episcopal Church was founded.

  • 1871: October 10 – Octavius Catto, a civil rights activist, was killed on Election Day in Philadelphia.
  • 1872:

* December 11 – P. B. S. Pinchback became the first Black member of the U.S. House of Representatives. * Elijah McCoy invented an automatic lubricator for machines.

  • 1873:

* April 14 – In the Slaughter-House Cases, the U.S. Supreme Court gave a narrow meaning to the Fourteenth Amendment. * Easter – The Colfax massacre happened. More than 100 Black people were killed in Louisiana by a white militia.

  • 1874:

* Groups like the White League and Red Shirts were formed. They used violence to terrorize Black people and Republicans. * September – In New Orleans, political violence continued. The White League marched into the city and fought with police. Federal troops had to be sent in.

1875–1899: Jim Crow Laws and Resistance

* Lewis Howard Latimer prepared drawings for Alexander Graham Bell's telephone patent. * July 8 – The Hamburg massacre occurred. White people rioted against African Americans celebrating the Fourth of July. * White Democrats regained power in many Southern states. They passed the first Jim Crow laws, which enforced racial segregation.

  • 1877: The Compromise of 1877 ended the Reconstruction Era. Federal troops were removed from the South.
  • 1879: Spring – Thousands of African Americans, known as Exodusters, moved to Kansas. They refused to live under segregation in the South.
  • 1880: In Strauder v. West Virginia, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that African Americans could not be excluded from juries.
  • 1881:

* April 11 – Spelman Seminary was founded in Atlanta. * July 4 – Booker T. Washington opened the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute in Tuskegee, Alabama.

  • 1882: Lewis Howard Latimer invented the first long-lasting light bulb filament. He also installed his lighting system in major cities.
  • 1883: October 16 – In Civil Rights Cases, the U.S. Supreme Court said the Civil Rights Act of 1875 was unconstitutional.
  • 1884:

* Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was published. It featured the admirable Black character, Jim. * Judy W. Reed and Sarah E. Goode were the first African-American women inventors to receive patents.

  • 1886: Norris Wright Cuney became the chairman of the Texas Republican Party. This was the most powerful role held by any African American in the South during the 1800s.
  • 1887: October 3 – Florida A&M University was founded.
  • 1890: Mississippi passed a new constitution. It used poll taxes and literacy tests to stop most Black people from voting.
  • 1892: Ida B. Wells published her pamphlet Southern Horrors: Lynch Law in All Its Phases.
  • 1893: Daniel Hale Williams performed open-heart surgery. He founded Provident Hospital in Chicago, which had an interracial staff.
  • 1895:

* September 18 – Booker T. Washington gave his Atlanta Compromise speech in Atlanta, Georgia. * W. E. B. Du Bois became the first African American to earn a Ph.D. from Harvard University.

  • 1896:

* May 18 – In Plessy v. Ferguson, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld "separate but equal" racial segregation. * The National Association of Colored Women was formed. * George Washington Carver joined Tuskegee University. His work with peanuts and other crops revolutionized farming.

  • 1898:

* Louisiana passed the first statewide "grandfather clause." This allowed illiterate white men to vote even if they couldn't pass literacy tests. * In Williams v. Mississippi, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld Mississippi's voter laws. These laws effectively stopped most Black people and poor white people from voting. * November 10 – A coup d'état began in Wilmington, North Carolina. It led to violence against the African-American community.

  • 1899: September 18 – The "Maple Leaf Rag" by Scott Joplin was published. It was an early ragtime piano song.

The 1900s: Civil Rights Movement and Progress

1900–1949: Early 20th Century

  • 1900: Since the Civil War, 30,000 African-American teachers had been trained in the South. Most Black people had learned to read and write.
  • 1901: Booker T. Washington's autobiography Up from Slavery was published.
  • 1903: W. E. B. Du Bois's important book The Souls of Black Folk was published.
  • 1904: May 15 – Sigma Pi Phi, the first African-American Greek-letter organization, was founded.
  • 1905: July 11 – The first meeting of the Niagara Movement took place. This was an interracial group working for civil rights.
  • 1906: December 4 – African-American men founded Alpha Phi Alpha at Cornell University. It was the first fraternity for African-American men.
  • 1908: December 26 – Jack Johnson won the World Heavyweight Boxing Title.
  • 1909: February 12 – The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was planned. This interracial group worked for civil rights.
  • 1910:

* The NAACP began publishing The Crisis magazine. * The National Urban League was formed.

  • 1911:

* January 5 – Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity was founded at Indiana University. * November 17 – Omega Psi Phi fraternity was founded at Howard University.

  • 1913: January 13 – Delta Sigma Theta sorority was founded at Howard University.
  • 1914: January 9 – Phi Beta Sigma fraternity was founded at Howard University.
  • President Woodrow Wilson ordered federal workplaces to be separated by race again. This reversed nearly 50 years of integrated facilities.
  • 1915:

* February 8 – The film The Birth of a Nation was released. The NAACP protested it. * June 21 – In Guinn v. United States, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against "grandfather clauses" used to deny Black people the right to vote. * September 9 – Professor Carter G. Woodson founded the Association for the Study of African American Life and History.

  • 1916:

* Professor Carter Woodson began publishing the Journal of Negro History. It was the first academic journal about African-American history. * Marcus Garvey arrived in the U.S. * The Great Migration began. About 1.5 million African Americans moved from the South to the North and Midwest for jobs and better lives.

  • 1917:

* May–June – The East St. Louis Riot occurred. * August 23 – The Houston Riot happened. * In Buchanan v. Warley, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that banning property sales to Black people in white areas was unconstitutional.

* February 13 – The Negro National League (1920–1931) was established. * Fritz Pollard and Bobby Marshall were the first two African-American players in the National Football League (NFL). Pollard later became the first African-American coach in the NFL. * January 16 – Zeta Phi Beta sorority was founded at Howard University.

  • 1921:

* May 23 – Shuffle Along became the first major African-American musical hit on Broadway. * May 31 – The Tulsa race massacre occurred in Oklahoma. * Bessie Coleman became the first African American to earn a pilot's license.

  • 1922: November 12 – Sigma Gamma Rho sorority was founded at Butler University.
  • 1923:

* Garrett Morgan invented and patented the first automatic three-position traffic light. * February 19 – In Moore v. Dempsey, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that trials controlled by mobs were unfair.

  • 1924: Spelman Seminary became Spelman College.

1925–1949: Harlem Renaissance and World War II

  • 1925:

* August 8 – 35,000 Ku Klux Klan members marched in Washington, D.C. * The Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters was organized. * The Harlem Renaissance began. This was a time of great artistic and cultural growth for Black Americans.

* John Hope became president of Atlanta University. It became the first mostly Black university to offer graduate education. * Hallelujah! was released. It was one of the first films to star an all-Black cast.

* Zora Neale Hurston wrote the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God. * Joe Louis became the first African-American heavyweight boxing world champion since Jack Johnson.

  • 1939:

* Easter Sunday – Marian Anderson performed on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. This happened after she was denied permission to sing to an integrated audience elsewhere. * Billie Holiday first performed "Strange Fruit". This song was a protest against lynching. * The Little League was formed. It was the nation's first non-segregated youth sport. * August 21 – Five African-American men held a sit-in at a segregated library in Alexandria, Virginia. They were arrested.

  • 1940s to 1970: Second Great Migration: Over 5 million African Americans left the South. They moved to northern, midwestern, and western cities for jobs, education, and the right to vote.
  • 1940:

* February 29 – Hattie McDaniel became the first African American to win an Academy Award. She won for her role in Gone with the Wind. * October 25 – Benjamin O. Davis Sr. was promoted. He became the first African-American general in the U.S. Army. * Richard Wright wrote Native Son.

  • 1941:

* January 25 – A. Philip Randolph proposed a March on Washington. * Early 1941 – The U.S. Army formed African-American air combat units, the Tuskegee Airmen. They flew many combat missions and earned many awards. * June 25 – President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 8802. This order required equal treatment for all employees by defense contractors.

  • 1942: The Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) was founded.
  • 1943:

* Doctor Charles R. Drew developed ways to store blood. He led an American Red Cross effort to collect blood. * The 1943 Detroit race riot happened in Detroit, Michigan. * Lena Horne starred in the all African-American film Stormy Weather.

  • 1944:

* April 3 – In Smith v. Allwright, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that whites-only primary elections were unconstitutional. * April 25 – The United Negro College Fund was started. * November 7 – Adam Clayton Powell Jr. was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Harlem, New York.

  • 1945–1975: The Civil Rights Movement: This was a major period of activism for equal rights.
  • 1945: August – The first issue of Ebony magazine was published.
  • 1946: June 3 – In Morgan v. Virginia, the U.S. Supreme Court said that segregated seating on interstate buses was unconstitutional.
  • 1947:

* April 15 – Jackie Robinson played his first game for the Brooklyn Dodgers. He became the first Black baseball player in professional baseball in 60 years. * John Hope Franklin wrote the book From Slavery to Freedom.

  • 1948:

* January 12 – In Sipuel v. Board of Regents of Univ. of Okla., the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the University of Oklahoma Law School could not deny admission based on race. * May 3 – In Shelley v. Kraemer, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the government could not enforce racially restrictive housing agreements. * July 26 – President Harry S. Truman issued Executive Order 9981. This order ended racial discrimination in the Armed Forces.

1950–1959: Landmark Court Cases

  • 1950:

* June 5 – In McLaurin v. Oklahoma State Regents, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a public university could not treat a student differently because of their race. * June 5 – In Sweatt v. Painter, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a separate law school for Black students in Texas was unequal. * June 5 – In Henderson v. United States, the U.S. Supreme Court ended segregation in railroad dining cars. * September 15 – The University of Virginia admitted a Black student to its law school due to a court order. * Dr. Ralph Bunche won the 1950 Nobel Peace Prize. * Chuck Cooper, Nathaniel Clifton, and Earl Lloyd broke racial barriers in the NBA.

  • 1951:

* February 15 – The Maryland legislature ended segregation on trains and boats. * April 23 – High school students in Farmville, Virginia, went on strike. Their case later became part of Brown v. Board of Education. * July 26 – The United States Army announced it would end segregation in the Army. * December 17 – The "We Charge Genocide" petition was presented to the United Nations. It accused the U.S. of violating the Genocide Convention. * December 24 – The home of NAACP activists Harry and Harriette Moore was bombed by the KKK. Both died.

  • 1952:

* January 28 – Briggs v. Elliott: The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear this case as part of Brown v. Board of Education. * September 4 – Eleven Black students attended the first day of school at Claymont High School, Delaware. They were the first Black students to integrate a white public school in the 17 segregated states. * Ralph Ellison wrote the novel Invisible Man, which won the National Book Award.

  • 1953:

* June 8 – The U.S. Supreme Court ended segregation in Washington, D.C. restaurants. * September 1 – In Sarah Keys v. Carolina Coach Company, WAC Sarah Keys challenged bus segregation. * James Baldwin's novel Go Tell It on the Mountain was published.

  • 1954:

* May 17 – The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against "separate but equal" in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kans.. This overturned Plessy v. Ferguson. * July 11 – The first White Citizens' Council meeting took place in Mississippi. These groups worked to maintain segregation. * September 7 – Washington, D.C. ended segregated education. Baltimore, Maryland followed. * October 30 – Desegregation of U.S. Armed Forces was said to be complete.

  • 1955:

* January 7 – Marian Anderson became the first African American to perform with the New York Metropolitan Opera. * May 31 – The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in "Brown II" that desegregation must happen with "all deliberate speed." * August 28 – Teenager Emmett Till was killed in Money, Mississippi. * November 7 – The Interstate Commerce Commission banned bus segregation in interstate travel. The U.S. Supreme Court also banned segregation in public parks. * December 1 – Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus. This started the Montgomery Bus Boycott. * Roy Wilkins became the NAACP executive secretary.

  • 1956:

* January 16 – FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover criticized civil rights leader Dr. T. R. M. Howard. * February 3 – Autherine Lucy was admitted to the University of Alabama. Whites rioted, and she was suspended. * February 24 – The policy of Massive Resistance was declared by U.S. Senator Harry F. Byrd, Sr.. This aimed to block integration. * February/March – The Southern Manifesto, opposing school integration, was signed by many Southern members of Congress. * April 23 – The U.S. Supreme Court ended segregation on buses nationwide. * November 13 – In Browder v. Gayle, the U.S. Supreme Court ended Alabama laws requiring bus segregation. * December 20 – Federal marshals enforced the ruling to desegregate bus systems in Montgomery. * December 25 – The parsonage of Fred Shuttlesworth, a movement leader, was bombed in Birmingham, Alabama.

  • 1957:

* February 14 – The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) was formed. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was named its chairman. * May 17 – The Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom in Washington, D.C., was a large nonviolent civil rights demonstration. Dr. King gave his "Give Us The Ballot" speech. * September 2 – Orval Faubus, governor of Arkansas, used the National Guard to block integration of Little Rock Central High School. * September 24 – President Dwight D. Eisenhower sent U.S. Army troops to ensure Little Rock Central High School was integrated. They escorted the Little Rock Nine. * September 27 – The Civil Rights Act of 1957 was signed by President Eisenhower.

  • 1958:

* January 18 – Willie O'Ree broke the color barrier in the National Hockey League. * June 30 – In NAACP v. Alabama, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the NAACP did not have to share its membership lists. * July – The NAACP Youth Council held sit-ins at a Dockum Drug Store in Wichita, Kansas. They successfully ended segregated seating. * August 19 – Clara Luper and the NAACP Youth Council led a large sit-in in Oklahoma City. This started a successful campaign to desegregate businesses. * September 12 – In Cooper v. Aaron, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states had to follow the Court's decisions. Governor Faubus responded by closing all four high schools in Little Rock.

  • 1959:

* January 12 – Motown Records was founded by Berry Gordy. * April 18 – Dr. King spoke for school integration at a rally in Washington, D.C. * A Raisin in the Sun, a play by Lorraine Hansberry, debuted on Broadway.

1960–1969: The Peak of the Civil Rights Movement

  • 1960:

* February 1 – Four Black students sat at a Woolworth's lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina. This sparked the Greensboro sit-ins. * February 13 – The Nashville sit-ins began. Students, trained by James Lawson, successfully ended segregation in May. * April 15–17 – The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) was formed. * April 19 – Z. Alexander Looby's home was bombed. He was a civil rights lawyer active in the Nashville sit-in movement. * May 6 – The Civil Rights Act of 1960 was signed by President Eisenhower. * October 19 – Dr. King and fifty others were arrested at a sit-in in Atlanta. * November 14 – Ruby Bridges became the first African-American child to attend an all-white elementary school in the South in New Orleans. * December 5 – In Boynton v. Virginia, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that racial segregation in bus terminals was illegal.

  • 1961:

* January 11 – Rioting occurred over the admission of the first two African Americans at the University of Georgia. * March 6 – President Kennedy issued Executive Order 10925. This order created a committee that later became the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. * May 4 – The first group of Freedom Riders left Washington, D.C. They aimed to integrate interstate buses. * May 14 – The Freedom Riders' bus was attacked and burned in Anniston, Alabama. They were beaten in Birmingham. * May 21 – Dr. King, the Freedom Riders, and a church congregation were surrounded by a mob in Montgomery. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy sent federal marshals to protect them. * September 23 – The Interstate Commerce Commission issued new rules ending discrimination in interstate travel. * November 1 – All interstate buses were required to display a sign saying "Seating aboard this vehicle is without regard to race, color, creed, or national origin." * December 15 – Dr. King arrived in Albany, Georgia to help desegregate public facilities. * Black Like Me was published. It showed the harsh reality of "Jim Crow" segregation.

  • 1962:

* February 26 – Segregated transportation facilities were ruled unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court. * September 20 – James Meredith was blocked from enrolling as the first Black student at the University of Mississippi. * September 30-October 1 – James Meredith was admitted to Ole Miss, leading to a riot. * November 20 – President Kennedy signed Executive Order 11063, banning segregation in federally funded housing.

  • 1963:

* January 18 – Incoming Alabama governor George Wallace declared "segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever." * April 3–May 10 – The Birmingham campaign began. The SCLC led daily demonstrations against segregation in Birmingham, Alabama. * April 12 – Dr. King was arrested in Birmingham. * April 16 – Dr. King wrote his famous Letter from Birmingham Jail. * May 2–4 – The Children's Crusade began. Many African-American children and teenagers were arrested for protesting. * June 11 – "The Stand in the Schoolhouse Door": Governor George Wallace tried to stop two Black students from enrolling at the University of Alabama. He stepped aside only after being confronted by federal officials. * June 11 – President Kennedy gave his historic civil rights address. He promised a new civil rights bill. * June 12 – NAACP field secretary Medgar Evers was killed in Jackson, Mississippi. * August 28 – The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom was held. Dr. King gave his "I Have a Dream" speech. * September 15 – The 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham killed four young girls. * November 22 – President Kennedy was assassinated. President Lyndon B. Johnson continued Kennedy's civil rights goals.

  • 1964:

* January 23 – The Twenty-fourth Amendment abolished the poll tax for federal elections. * Summer – Mississippi Freedom Summer focused on voter registration in the state. * April 13 – Sidney Poitier won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Lilies of the Field. * July 2 – The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was signed. It banned discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin in jobs and public places. * August – The Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party challenged the all-white Mississippi representatives at the Democratic national convention. * December 10 – Martin Luther King Jr. was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

  • 1965:

* February 21 – Malcolm X was assassinated in Manhattan, New York. * March 7 – Bloody Sunday: Civil rights workers in Selma, Alabama, began a march but were violently stopped by state troopers. * March 15 – President Lyndon B. Johnson used the phrase "We Shall Overcome" in a speech about voting rights. * August 6 – The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was signed by President Johnson. It removed literacy tests and poll taxes that stopped African Americans from voting. * August 11–15 – The Watts riots erupted in South Central Los Angeles. * September 15 – Bill Cosby co-starred in I Spy. He became the first Black person to have a starring role on American television without playing a domestic worker.

  • 1966:

* June 5 – James Meredith began a solitary March Against Fear. He was shot and injured. Other civil rights leaders continued the march. * June 16 – Stokely Carmichael first used the slogan Black power in a speech. * September – Nichelle Nichols was cast as a Black officer on Star Trek. Dr. King encouraged her to stay in the role as an example. * October – The Black Panther Party was founded by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale in Oakland, California. * November – Edward Brooke was elected to the U.S. Senate from Massachusetts. He was the first Black senator since 1881.

  • 1967:

* June 12 – In Loving v. Virginia, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that banning interracial marriage was unconstitutional. * June 13 – Thurgood Marshall became the first African American appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court. * July 23–27 – The Detroit riot erupted in Detroit, Michigan. It was one of the most destructive riots in U.S. history. * August 2 – The film In the Heat of the Night, starring Sidney Poitier, was released.

  • 1968:

* February 8 – The Orangeburg massacre occurred during a university protest in South Carolina. * April 4 – Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in Memphis, Tennessee. * April 4–8 – Over 150 cities experienced rioting in response to Dr. King's killing. * April 11 – The Civil Rights Act of 1968 was signed. Its Fair Housing Act part banned discrimination in housing sales and rentals. * September 17 – Diahann Carroll starred in Julia. She was the first African-American actress to star in her own television series where she did not play a domestic worker. * October – Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised their fists at the 1968 Summer Olympic Games to symbolize Black power and unity. * November 22 – The first interracial kiss on American television happened on Star Trek. * Shirley Chisholm became the first African-American woman elected to Congress.

  • 1969:

* April 19 – Armed African-American students protested discrimination and took over Willard Straight Hall at Cornell University. They demanded an Afro-American studies program. * October 29 – The U.S. Supreme Court ordered immediate desegregation of public schools in Alexander v. Holmes County Board of Education. This ended the "all deliberate speed" rule. * The Congressional Black Caucus was formed.

1970–2000: Continued Change

  • 1970:

* May 27 – The film Watermelon Man was released. It was a comedy about a bigoted white man who wakes up with black skin. * First blaxploitation films were released.

* August 30 – Guion Bluford became the first African American to go into space. * November 2 – President Ronald Reagan signed a bill creating a federal holiday to honor Martin Luther King Jr.. * Alice Walker received the Pulitzer Prize for her novel The Color Purple.

  • 1984: The Cosby Show began. It was a very popular television show.
  • 1986: January 20 – Martin Luther King Jr. Day was first celebrated as a national holiday.
  • 1987: The documentary Eyes on the Prize was first shown. It covered the Civil Rights Movement.
  • 1989:

* February 10 – Ron Brown became the first African American to lead a major U.S. political party. * October 1 – Colin Powell became Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. * December 15 – The film Glory was released. It featured African-American soldiers in the Civil War.

  • 1990: January 13 – Douglas Wilder became the first elected African-American governor in Richmond, Virginia.
  • 1991: March 3 – Four white police officers were videotaped beating African-American Rodney King in Los Angeles.
  • 1992:

* April 29 – The 1992 Los Angeles riots erupted after the officers accused of beating Rodney King were found not guilty. * September 12 – Mae Jemison became the first African-American woman to travel in space. * November 3 – Carol Moseley Braun became the first African-American woman elected to the United States Senate.

The 2000s: A New Millennium

2001–2010: Into the 21st Century

* July 30 – The United States Congress apologized for slavery and "Jim Crow" laws. * November 4 – Barack Obama was elected 44th President of the United States of America.

  • 2009:

* January 20 – Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th President of the United States, the first African-American president. * January 30 – Michael Steele became the first African-American Chairman of the Republican National Committee. * October 9 – Barack Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

2011–2020: Recent History

* January 20 – Barack Obama was sworn in for his second term as president. * June 25 – The U.S. Supreme Court overturned part of the 1965 Voting Rights Act in Shelby County v. Holder. * July 13 – George Zimmerman was found not guilty, leading to protests. The Black Lives Matter movement was created in response to ongoing racial profiling and police brutality against young Black men.

  • 2014:

* August 9 – The Shooting of Michael Brown led to demonstrations and protests. The phrase "Hands up, don't shoot" became a protest symbol. * July 17 – Eric Garner died in New York City after a police officer used a chokehold on him.

* May 25 – George Floyd's death led to widespread protests around the world. * August 19 – Kamala Harris became the first African American to be nominated as a major party U.S. vice-presidential candidate. * November 7 – Kamala Harris was elected the first African-American Vice President of the United States.

2021-2022: Current Events

See also

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