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Policy of apartheid adopted by the National Party (NP)
Policy of apartheid adopted by the National Party (NP) -
Publication of Cry, the Beloved Country
Cry, the Beloved Country, novel by South African author Alan Paton. It was first published in New York City in 1948 by Charles Scribner's Sons. -
Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act No 55 of 1949
Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act No 55 of 1949 -
Separate Representation of Voters Act No 46 of 1951
Separate Representation of Voters Act No 46 of 1951 -
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kans
Linda Brown, an 8-year-old girl in Topeka, Kansas, lives within walking distance of a whites-only elementary school. Because of segregation, she has to travel by bus to a more distant school for African-American children. Her father sues the school board of Topeka, and the U.S. Supreme Court agrees to hear the case. -
Forced removal of Blacks from Sophiatown
Forced removal of Blacks from Sophiatown -
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Montgomery Bus Boycott
In January and February, whites angry about the Montgomery Bus Boycott bomb four African-American churches and the homes of civil rights leaders Martin Luther King and E.D. Nixon.
On Nov. 13, the Supreme Court upholds an Alabama district court ruling in favor of the Montgomery bus boycotters.
The Montgomery Bus Boycott ends in December, having succe -
Foundation of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference
Martin Luther King helps found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) in January. The organization's purpose is to fight for civil rights, and King is elected its first president. -
Civil Rights Act of 1957
Congress passes the Civil Rights Act of 1957, which creates the Civil Rights Commission and authorizes the Justice Department to investigate cases of African Americans being denied voting rights in the South. -
Pan African Congress (PAC) formed
Pan African Congress (PAC) formed -
Greensboro sit-ins
Four young African-American men go to a Woolworth in Greensboro, North Carolina, and sit down at a whites-only lunch counter ordering coffee. Despite being denied service, they sit silently and politely at the lunch counter until closing time. Their action marks the start of the Greensboro sit-ins, which sparks similar protests all over the South. On July 25, the downtown Greensboro Woolworth desegregates its lunch counter after six months of sit-ins. -
Sharpeville Massacre
South African police opened fire on a crowd of 300 demonstrators protesting against the pass laws. 180 black Africans were injured, 69 died. It was supposed to be a five day nonviolent protest. -
Challenge segregation in Birmingham, Alabama
King, SNCC and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) organize a series of demonstrations and protests to challenge segregation in Birmingham, Alabama. -
J.F. Kennedy: Speech on civil rights
On June 11, President Kennedy delivers a speech on civil rights from the Oval Office, specifically explaining why he sent the National Guard to allow the admittance of two African-American students to the University of Alabama. -
Lyndon B. Johnson pushes civil rights through
On November 22, Kennedy is assassinated, but his successor, Lyndon B. Johnson, uses the nation's anger to push through civil rights legislation in Kennedy's memory. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
On July 2, Congress passes the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which bans discrimination in employment and in public place -
Black Labour Act No 67 of 1965
Consolidated the laws regulating the recruiting, employment, accommodation, feeding and health conditions of Black labourers. -
Police stop the marchers at the Edmund Pettus Bridge
On March 7, six hundred civil rights activists traveling eastward on Route 80 toward Montgomery. They are marching in protest of the killing of Jimmy Lee Jackson, an unarmed protester who was killed during a march the prior month by an Alabama state trooper. State troopers and local police stop the marchers at the Edmund Pettus Bridge, beating them with clubs as well as spraying them with water hoses and tear gas. -
"March against fear"
On June 26, the marchers reach Jackson, Mississippi. During the last days of the march, Stokely Carmichael and other SNCC members clash with King after they encourage the frustrated marchers to embrace the slogan of "black power." -
Martin Luther King, Jr. assassinated
On April 4, Martin Luther King, Jr., is assassinated as he stands on the balcony outside his motel room at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. -
Civil Rights Act of 1968
On April 11, President Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1968 (or the Fair Housing Act) into law, which prohibits discrimination by sellers or renters of property. -
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Civil unrest
Civil unrest, sanctions imposed on South Africa, forced resettlement process and Township revolts -
First black to win a major men's singles championship.
Lee Elder is the first black to play in the Masters Tournament at Augusta, Ga. Tennis player Arthur Ashe wins the singles title at Wimbledon, becoming the first black to win a major men's singles championship. -
Labour Relations Act of 1977
Transkei’s equivalent of the Labour Relations Act [SA] -
Births and Deaths Registration Act No 20 of 1979
Specified persons who could be registered as Transkeian citizens by birth. -
Police Act No 16 of 1979
Granted the police further powers with regard to search and seizure. -
African American in space/ as Miss America.
Guion Steward Bluford Jr. is the first African American in space and Vanessa Williams, Miss New York, is crowned Miss America. -
Desmond Tutu Wins the Noble Peace Prize
General Secretary of South African council of churches. He helped solve the aprtheid problem in south africa, condoning world peace. His objective was to have a democratic and just society without racial divisions. He fought for equal rights, the abolition of passport laws, common system of education, and forced deportation from South Africa to so called homelands or bantusans. -
First black officer; first African-American to own her own television
President George Bush nominates Colin Powell as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, making him the first black officer to hold the highest military post in the United States. Oprah Winfrey becomes the first African-American to own her own television and film production company, Harpo Studios, Inc. -
Nelson Mandela at last released from prison
Nelson Mandela at last released from prison -
Nelson Mandela becomes President of South Africa10 May 1994
Free presidential elsection, he becomes president for ending apartheid and tireless activism. -
First African-American woman to be awarded an Oscar
Halle Berry becomes the first African-American woman to be awarded an Oscar for best actress in a leading role. She wins for her role in Monster's Ball. -
First African-American woman elected to the U.S. Senate
Carol Moseley-Braun becomes the first African-American woman elected to the U.S. Senate, representing the state of Illinois.
