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Virginia Slave Codes of 1705
The code legalized the trade of enslaved African Americans and other Indigenous Americans. -
Phillis Wheatley was born.
She was the first published African American female poet. After she was purchased by the Wheatley family, they taught her to read and write. -
Phillis Wheatley's book of poems was published, She became the first African-American woman poet to publish her writings.
Phillis Wheatley's book of poems, Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, consisted of 39 poems, was published in Boston and then in England, making her the first professional African-American woman poet in America whose writings were published. -
Phillis Wheatley died at the age of 31
Phillis Wheatley was the first published African American writer. She died in Boston, December 5, 1784, aged 31. -
Sarah Grimké was born
"The mistaken notion of the inequality of the sexes." She was a abolitionist, women's rights proponent. Sarah and Angelina Grimké had been criticized as women for speaking publicly -
Lucretia Mott was born
Lucretia Mott was an abolitionist, women's rights activist. She is known for initiating Seneca Falls Woman's Rights Convention with Elizabeth Lady Stanton. -
African Female Benevolent Society of Newport, Rhode Island, was founded
New York began recognizing marriages of African Americans. African Female Benevolent Society of Newport, Rhode Island, was founded. Fanny Kemble was born, who wrote about slavery. -
Men and women of the slave ship Amistad demand that the US recognize their freedom
Men and women of the slave ship Amistad demand that the US recognize their freedom • (1861) Underground Railroad helped thousands of African American men, women, and children to freedom in the Northern states and Canada -
Maria W. Stewart began series of four public lectures and supported rights of African Americans
Maria W. Stewart started working on her series of four public lectures on religion and justice, advocating for racial equality, racial unity and standing up for rights among African Americans. -
Female Anti-Slavery Society was founded in Salem
Female Anti-Slavery Society was founded in Salem, Massachusetts, by and for African American women. -
Prudence Crandall admitted an African American student to her girls' school
In Connecticut, Prudence Crandall admitted an African American student to her girls' school. It responded the disapproval by dismissing the white students in February. In April, it reopened it as a school for African American Girls. -
Sarah Mapps Douglass founded a school for African American girls.
Sarah Mapps Douglass founded a school for African American girls in Philadelphia. Sarah Mapps Douglass worked in education of African American youth in Philadelphia. She was also known for her role in antislavery work. -
Philadelphia Female Anti-Slavery Society was founded
The Philadelphia Female Anti-Slavery Society was founded by Lucretia Mott and others. -
Prudence Crandall closed her school for African American girls
Prudence Crandall closed her school for African American girls because of harassment. -
Rebecca Cole was born
She was the second African American woman to graduate from medical school, worked with Elizabeth Blackwell in New York. -
Harriet Tubman escaped from slavery
Harriet Tubman (c. 1820 – 1913) escaped slavery and becomes a leading abolitionist who led hundreds of enslaved people to freedom along the route of the Underground Railroad. -
Hallie Quinn Brown was born
She was an African-American educator, writer and activist. She was known as a popular lecturer and dramatic elocutionist role in Harlem Renaissance. She graduated from Wilberforce University in Ohio and taught in schools in Mississippi and South Carolina. -
Charlotte Ray was born
She was the first African American woman lawyer in the United States and the first woman admitted to the bar in the District of Columbia. -
"Ain't I A Woman" speech
Sojourner Truth gave her "Ain't I A Woman" speech to a women's rights convention in Akron, Ohio, in reaction to male hecklers. -
Lucy Terry published her poem, Bar's Fight
Lucy Terry, an enslaved African American women in 1746 who became the earliest known black American poet. Her poem, Bar's Fight, is about an Indian raid on Terry's Massachusetts town on August 25, 1746. It was preserved orally until being published in 1855. It is considered the oldest known work of literature by an African American. -
First African American woman to graduate from an American college
Mary Jane Patterson graduated from Oberlin College as the first African American woman to graduate from an American college. -
Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation
President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation during the Civil War. The proclamation declared "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free." -
A journal of African American army nurse was published
Susie King Taylor, African American army nurse with the Union army, began to write her journal and was later published as In Reminiscences of My Life in Camp: Civil War Nurse. -
Mary Church Terrell
She was an early civil rights leader, women's rights advocate, and the founder of National Association of Colored Women. She worked against both gender and racial discrimination. -
The first African American woman M.D.
Rebecca Ann Crumple graduated from the New England Medical College as the first African American woman M.D. -
"Life on the Sea Islands" was published.
Charlotte Forten published "Life on the Sea Islands" about her teaching experiences as an African American northerner who went south to teach former slaves. -
Second African American woman of graduating from medical school
Rebecca Cole graduated from medical school, the second African American woman to do so. She went on to work with Elizabeth Blackwell in New York. -
The 14th Amendment made African Americans U.S. citizens
It granted citizenship to "all persons born or naturalized in the United States," which included former slaves recently freed. It forbids states from denying any person "life, liberty or property, without due process of law" or to "deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” By directly mentioning the role of the states, the 14th Amendment greatly expanded the protection of civil rights to all Americans and is cited in more litigation than any other amendment. -
National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA) founded.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton was the first president of NWSA. It supported a federal Constitutional Amendment for women's suffrage. and it later got involved in other women's rights issues beyond suffrage such as the rights of working women, reform of marriage and divorce laws. -
Susan McKinney Stewart as an African American woman physician
Susan McKinney Stewart was an early African American woman physician who received an M.D. from the New York Medical College and Hospital for Women. -
Sojourner Truth died
She was one of the most famous black abolitionists. She was also an itinerant preacher in the abolitionist movement, and later in the women's rights movement. -
Charlotte Ray died
She was the first African American woman lawyer in the United States and the first woman admitted to the bar in the District of Columbia. -
National League on Urban Conditions Among Negroes was formed
The National League on Urban Conditions Among Negroes was formed by merging Committee on Urban Conditions Among Negroes, Committee for the Improvement of Industrial Conditions Among Negroes in New York, and National League for the Protection of Colored Women. -
The First African American nurse enrolled with the American Red Cross
Frances Elliott Davis enrolled with the American Red Cross as the first African American nurse to do so -
Harlem Renaissance
The Harlem Renaissance was the cultural, social, and artistic explosion that took place in Harlem between the end of WWI and the 1930s. It focused on the pop culture created by African American community. -
First blues recored
Mamie Smith and Her Jazz Hounds recorded the first blues record that sold more than 75,000 copies in its first month. -
Woman Suffrage
The 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution grated American women the right to vote, including African-American women. -
First African American woman earning a pilot's license
Bessie Coleman became the first African American woman to earn a pilot's license. -
The first three African American women Ph.D.'s
Georgiana Simpson, University of Chicago
Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander, University of Pennsylvania
Eva Dykes, Radcliffe
Constance Baker Motley born (lawyer, activist) -
First African American woman elected to the Republican National Committee
Mary Montgomery Booze became the first African American woman elected to the Republican National Committee. The same year, Elizabeth Ross Hayes was the first African American woman board member of the YWCA. -
First African American woman attorney before the Supreme Court.
Violette N. Anderson was the first African American woman attorney to present a case before the U.S. Supreme Court in 1926. -
Stock Market Crash
As the stock market crashed, which led to theGreat Depression, making African Americans, including women, "last hired, first fired" -
The frist African American woman star in TV series
Diahann Carroll was born on July 17, 1935 as the first African American woman to star in a television series. -
National Council of Negro Women was founded
National Council of Negro Women was founded by educator and political leader Mary McLeod Bethune as an "organization of organizations" to represent national and international concerns of Black women. -
Barbara Jordan was born
She was a politician, the first African American woman from the South been elected to Congress. -
First African American woman state legislator
Crystal Bird Fauset was elected to the Pennsylvania House as the first African American woman state legislator. -
first African American woman judge
Jane Matilda Bolin was appointed justice of the Domestic Relations Court of New York as the first African American woman judge. -
First African American Oscar winner
Hattie McDaniel won an Academy Award as best supporting actress in Gone With the Wind, making her the first African American to win an Oscar. -
Alice Walker was born
She is the author of The Color Purple, and a Pulitzer Prize winner. -
First African American woman gold medal winner at the Olympics.
Alice Coachman won an Olympic gold in the high jump for women, as the first African American woman to win a gold medal at the Olympics. -
First African Amerian woman nominatee for a Best Actress Oscar
Dorothy Dandridge played the lead role in Carmen Jones, so she was nominated for a Best Actress Oscar Award as the first African American woman who earned the nomination. -
First African American woman ambassador
Patricia Harris was the first African American woman ambassador. -
First African American woman elected to the US House of Representatives
Shirley Chisholm became the first African American woman elected to the US House of Representatives. -
First African American woman featured by a fashion magazine
Beverly Johnson was on the cover of Glamour as the first African American woman to be featured that way by a major fashion magazine. -
first African American woman candidate for President
Shirley Chisholm was the first African American woman candidate for President. She was elected to the U.S. Congress in 1968. -
First African American woman elected to Congress
Shirley Chisholm was the first African American woman elected to Congress in 1974 -
First African American woman admitted to the Naval Academy.
Janie L. Mines graduated from the United States Naval Academy, Annapolis as the first African American woman admitted to the Naval Academy. -
The Color Purple won the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize
The Color Purple won the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize in 1983, making Alice Walker the first African American woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. -
First African American woman to host a nationally-syndicated talk show
Oprah Winfrey was the first African American woman to host a nationally-syndicated talk show, and she founded Harpo Productions to produce television shows and movies.She was also the first African American woman to become a billionaire -
First African American mayor of a major American city
Sharon Pratt Kelly was an elected mayor of Washington, DC as the first African American mayor of a major American city. -
First African American winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature
She was a writer and educator. She was the first African American woman to win the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1993. -
First African American poet laureate
Rita Dove became the first African American poet laureate in 1993. She also has won a 1987 Pulitzer Prize for the book of poetry Thomas and Beulah. -
First African American woman named as the next Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice was named as the next Secretary of State, and she was the first African American woman to hold that position. -
First African American president of an Ivy League university
Ruth Simmons became the first African American president of an Ivy League university in Brown University. -
First African American winner of the Best Actress Oscar
Halle Berry was the first African American to win the Best Actress Oscar. -
First black female U.S. Secretary of State.
Condoleezza Rice became the first black female U.S. Secretary of State.
