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No Gatherings of Enslaved Africans
New York passed a law that prohibited public gatherings of three or more enslaved Africans. It also prohibits trade among enslaved Africans. -
New Punishment Laws
New York passes legislation, targeting black and Native Americans. The legislation allowed punishment by slave owners. The death penalty is now used as punishment for enslaved Africans convicted of murder, rape, or assault. -
No Rebellious Slaves
South Carolina passed more slave laws which permitted owners to kill rebellious slaves. Furthermore, slaves are banned from the reading and writing or earning money -
Lucy Terry
Lucy Terry wrote "Bar's Fight." It is the first known poem by an African American. The poem was about a raid on her town. -
First Published African American Writer
Phillis Wheatley's book of poems was published, making her the first published African American writer. Not only that, but it is the second book by a woman to be published in what became the United States. -
No Voting Rights For Women
In Massachusetts, African American men (but not women) had the right to vote. -
More Rights and the African Female Benevolent Society of Newport
1809
New York began acknowledge marriages of African Americans.
African Female Benevolent Society of Newport was founded. The group focused on helping the black Newport community, through clothing and education. -
Nashoba Plantation
Frances Wright owned land near Memphis. She founded the Nashoba plantation, which bought slaves that would work to buy their freedom. These slaves can later move on to become educated, and move freely outside the United States. -
Hard Times Ahead
Frances Wright's Nashoba plantation unfortunately failed, so Wright brought the remaining slaves to freedom in Haiti. Extreme discrimination and race riots in Cincinnati resulted in more than 50% of African Americans being forced out of town. -
Advocation and Progress
Maria W. Stewart begins to advocate for racial equality and for the rights among African Americans. Female Anti-Slavery Society was founded in Massachusetts. Oberlin College became the first to admit women and African Americans. By 1860, Oberlin College had a student population that was 1/3 African American. -
Prudence Crandall
Connecticut passed a law which forbade the enrollment of black students from outside the state. These students needed permission of the local legislature. As a result of this, a teacher named Prudence Crandall was jailed for one night because she enrolled African Americans. She had a trial in court. The defense argued that free African Americans had rights in all states. Sadly, the judgment went against Crandall. -
Women's Suffrage
Women were permitted to vote for the first time at the convention of the American Anti-Slavery Society. -
The Underground Railroad
Harriet Tubman escaped from slavery. She returned in the future, and helped free more than three hundred slaves in the Underground Railroad. -
Fugitive Slave Law
Southern politicians pressured congress into passing the Fugitive Slave Act. It made citizens assist in capturing runaway slaves. -
Sojourner Truth
Sojourner Truth gave her "Ain't I A Woman" speech in a women's rights convention in Ohio. It was in some newspapers, and received wider approval during the Civil War. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe sold more than 300,000 copies the first year. The book highlighted the wrongs of slavery and Abraham Lincoln commended Stowe by saying, "So this is the little lady who made this great war." -
Emancipation Proclamation
Emancipation Proclamation was issued by Abraham Lincoln. It freed slaves within territory controlled by the Union. -
End of the Civil War
After the Civil War came to an end, slavery ended with it. The 13th Amendment was added to the Constitution, ending slavery. -
15th Amendment
15th Amendment was added to the US Constitution. It gave the right to vote without discrimination to "race, color, or previous condition of servitude." However, the Amendment did not apply to African American women (or any other women). -
Jim Crow Laws
Tennessee passed the first Jim Crow laws. They were state and local laws that promoted racial discrimination. -
More Jim Crow Laws and National Association of Colored Women
The Plessy v. Ferguson case invalidated the Civil Rights Act of 1875. It led to many more Jim Crow laws. National Association of Colored Women formed to promote inter-racial understanding. -
National League for the Protection of Colored Women
National League for the Protection of Colored Women founded in New York. -
Bessie Smith
Bessie Smith became a well known blues singer. -
Segregation
The federal government officially separates by race all federal workplaces. This includes rest rooms and eating places. -
NAACP
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People was formed to promote civil rights for colored people. -
19th Amendment
19th Amendment gave more voting rights to women. It became law, but it practically did not give the vote to Southern African American women. -
Fight for African Women's Suffrage
African American women were beaten in Birmingham, Alabama. They were attacked for trying to register to vote. -
Mary McLeod Bethune
Mary McLeod Bethune was appointed Director of Negro Affairs by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to the National Youth Administration. It was the 1st major appointment of an African American woman to a federal position -
Alice Coachman
Alice Coachman wins an Olympic gold in the high jump for women. She became the first African American woman to win a gold medal at the Olympics. -
Rosa Parks
Rosa Parks was arrested when she refused to give up her seat and move to the back of the bus. It led to the Montgomery bus boycott. -
Constance Baker Motley
Constance Baker Motley was appointed as a federal judge. She was the first African American woman to hold that office. -
Executive Order 11246
Executive Order 11246 required affirmative action to eliminate racial bias in hiring workers for federally-funded projects. It was amended to include gender-based discrimination. -
Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, leaving behind his legacy. -
Shirley Chisholm
Shirley Chisholm became the first African American woman to be elected to Congress. -
Dreamgirls
The musical Dreamgirls opened on Broadway at the Imperial Theater. It was later nominated for Tony Awards, including Best Musical. The story follows a trio of African women singers in their descent to success and life as celebrities. -
The Color Purple
The Color Purple won the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize. Alice Walker became the first African American woman to win the Pulitzer Prize. The book addressed numerous issues in American culture. -
The Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey’s The Oprah Winfrey Show went into national syndication. This means that it broadcasts on multiple networks. -
Mae Jemison
Mae Jemison was an astronaut who became the first African American woman in space. -
Daisy Bates
Arkansas named a state holiday for Daisy Batesm, a civil rights activists. It was the first state to name a holiday for an African American woman. -
Halle Berry
Halle Berry was the first African American to win the Best Actress Oscar.
