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The first African slaves arrive in Virginia
Transported via the English ship the White Lion to Jamestown where they were sold. -
Stono Rebellion
Slave rebellion in the colony of South Carolina. Largest uprising in the British Mainland colonies. 25 colonists and 35-50 Africans were killed. -
Lucy Terry
The earliest known Black American white poet. Wrote about the last Native American attack on her village of Deerfield, Massachusetts. Her poem, Bar's Fight, was not published until 1855. -
Crispus Attucks Death
Regarded as the first person killed in the Boston Massacre, thus making him the first American Revolution casualty. -
Phillis Wheatley
Wrote a book titled "Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral" is published, making her the first published African American. -
Slave Revolt
Gabriel Prosser, an enslaved African-American blacksmith, organizes a slave revolt intending to march on Richmond, Virginia. The conspiracy is uncovered, and Prosser and a number of the rebels are hanged. Virginia's slave laws are consequently tightened. -
No more slaves from Africa
Congress bans the importation of slaves from Africa. -
Slavery made illegal
Slavery was made illegal in the Northwest territory. The U.S. constitution states that congress may not ban slave trade until 1808 -
Missouri Compromise
Bans slavery north of the southern boundary of Missouri. -
Denmark Vesey
An enslaved African-American carpenter who had purchased his freedom, plans a slave revolt with the intent to lay siege on Charleston, South Carolina. The plot is discovered, and Vesey and 34 co-conspirators are hanged. -
William Llyod Garrison publishes the Liberator
The first abolitionist newspaper was published. He becomes one of the most famous figures in the unit. -
Nat Turner's Rebellion
Most significant slave uprising in American history; Occurred in Southampton County, VA, and militia finally ended rebellion. -
Wilmot Provisio Introduced
Introduced by democratic representative David Wilmot of Pennsylvania in attempts to ban slavery in territory gained from the Mexican American Wars. -
Fredrick Douglas launches the North Star
Fredrick Douglas tags along in the publishing of the abolitionist newspapers going around the north -
Harriet Tubman Escapes Slavery
She becomes one of the most influential escape artistes and helps many slaves escape to freedom -
Fugitive Slave Laws
Provided for the return slaves who had escaped and crossed state lines. -
Compromise of 1850
California is admitted as a free state and other territories won in Mexican American war are decided by popular sovereignty. -
Harriet beecher Stowe publishes Uncle Tom's Cabin
Becomes one of the most influential works to stir anti-slavery movements. -
Kansas Nebraska Act
Established the territories of Kansas and Nebraska. Repeals the Missouri Compromise of 1820 and renews tensions between anti- and proslavery factions. -
Dred Scott case
Holds that congress does not have the right to ban slavery in states, and furthermore, that slaves are not citizens. -
John Brown
Him and 21 followers capture the federal arsenal at Harper's Ferry, Virginia (Now in West Virginia), in an attempt to launch a slave revolt. -
Emancipation Proclamation
President Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation, declaring "that all persons held as slaves" within the Confederate states "are, and henceforward shall be free." -
Start of the civil war
The confederacy is founded when the deep south secedes, starting the beginning of the civil war. -
Creation of the Freedmen's Bureau
Created to protect the rights of newly emancipated blacks. -
Black Codes
Black Codes are passed by Southern states, drastically restricting the rights of newly freed slaves. -
Reconstruction Acts
Passed, carving the former Confederacy into five military districts and guaranteeing the civil rights of freed slaves. -
13th Amendment
Constitution is ratified, prohibiting slavery. -
End of the Civil War
Ended at Appomattox courthouse when the confederacy surrendered. -
Lincoln's Assassinated
Lincoln was shot in the head by John W. Booth. -
End of slavery
Slavery in the U.S. is effectively ended when 250,000 slaves in Texas finally receive the news that the Civil War had ended two months earlier -
KKK Formed
The white knights of the Ku Klux Klan was formed as a white supremacy organization to fight against minority's rights. Formed by ex-confederates in Tennessee. -
14th Amendment
The fourteenth amendment to the constitution is ratified, defining citizenship. Individuals born or naturalized in the United States are American citizens, including those born as slaves. This nullifies the Dred Scott case (1857), which had ruled that blacks were not citizens. -
Fifteenth Ammendment
Allowed black the right to vote -
Hiram Revels Becomes first Black U.S. Senator
During reconstruction, sixteen blacks served in congress and 600 served in legislation. -
The compromise of 1877
Reconstruction ends in south; Troops are drawn back from south, and civil rights for African Americans rights quickly erode. -
Booker T. Washington founded Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute in Alabama
School becomes one of the leading schools of higher learning for African Americans. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
Landmark court case that shows racial segregation as constitutional if both conditions for each race are the same. -
NAACP Formed by W.E.B. Dubois
Served as the country's most influential African American civil rights activists. -
Harlem Renissance Flourishes Between 1920's and 1930's
This literary, artistic, and intellectual movement fosters a new black cultural identity. -
Jackie Robinson breaks Major League Baseball's color barrier when he signs with the brooklyn dodgers
First African American Baseball Payer in Major Leagues -
Truman´s executive order
Although African-Americans had participated in every major U.S. war, it was not until after World War II that President Harry S. Truman issues an executive order integrating the U.S. armed forces. -
Brown V. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas
Declares that racial segregation in schools is unconstitutional. -
Emmett Till
A young black boy, Emmett Till, is brutally murdered for allegedly whistling at a white woman in Mississippi. Two white men charged with the crime are acquitted by an all-white jury. They later boast about committing the murder. The public outrage generated by the case helps spur the civil rights movement. -
Rosa Parks
Refuses to give up her seat at the front of the ¨colored section¨ of a bus to a white passenger (December 1st). In response to her arrest Montgomery´s black community launched a successful year-long bus boycott. Montgomery´s buses are desegregated on December 21st, 1956. -
¨Little Rock Nine¨
Nine black students are blocked from entering the school on the orders of Governor Orval Faubus (September 24th). Federal troops and the National Guard are called to intervene on behalf of the students, who become known as the ¨Little Rock Nine.¨ Despite a year of violent threats, several of the ¨Little Rock Nine" manage to graduate from Central High. -
"Greensboro Four"
Four black students in Greensboro, North Carolina, begin a sit-in at a segregated Woolworth's lunch counter (February 1st). Six months later the "Greensboro Four" are served lunch at the same Woolworth's counter. The event triggers many similar nonviolent protests throughout the South. -
Birmingham church bombing
Act of white supremacist terrorism in Alabama. Killed 4 little girls. -
The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom is attended by about 250,000 people
This was the largest demonstration ever seen in the Capital. Martin Luther King Jr. Gave his famous 'I have A Dream" speech. -
President Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act
This was the most sweeping civil rights legislation since reconstruction. It prohibits discrimination of any kind. -
Martin Luther King Jr. Recieves Nobel Peace Prize
He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his nonviolent resistance to racial prejudice in America -
Black Panthers are founded by Hewey Newton and Bobby Seale
political party formed in order to protect black civilians from police brutality -
Thurgood Marshall appointed to Supreme Court
First Black supreme court justice -
Civil Rights Act of 1968
President Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1968, prohibiting discrimination in the sale, rental, and financial housing. -
Martin Luther Kinig Jr. Is Assassinated at Mephis, TN
The end of King's civil rights movement legacy -
Shirley Chisholm runs for president
New York representative and first black woman in Congress -
Bloody Sunday
Police Brutally Attacked a peaceful march and left many injured -
Cotton Gin
Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin, greatly increasing the demand for slave labor. -
Oprah Winfrey launches her show
The first black woman to have a daytime television show -
Frederick Drew Gregory
First black man to command a space shuttle -
Rodney King
King is beaten to near death by police after resisting arrest. -
First Race Riots
The first race riots in decades erupt in south-central Los Angeles after a jury acquits four white police officers for the videotaped beating of African American Rodney King. -
Barack Obama
Becomes the first African American to be elected president of the United States, defeating Republican candidate, Senator John McCain.
