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Origin of the Myth of the Flying Africans
Myth of Flying Africans
Historical roots of the flying Africans legend can be traced back to the spring of 1803 in Savannah when slaves were said to have "flown away" from their oppressors. -
Great Migration
African American familes, like the Deads, migrated to escape racism and find opportunities in the North. -
Winnie Ruth Judd Sentenced to Death
In Song of Solomon, Winnie Ruth Judd was discussed as a "lunatic" part of the "white madness" (Morrison 100). -
Toni Morrison is Born
Chloe Ardelia Wofford is born in Lorain, Ohio. (Toni Morrison is a mixture of a college nickname and her married name.) Her birthday is the same as the date Robert Smith gave in his suicide note (Morrison 3). -
Macon (Milkman) Dead III Born
Milkman is "...a colored baby born inside Mercy for the first time" (Morrison 9). -
Malcolm Little Changes Name to Malcolm X
This event is referenced in Song of Solomon when Milkman asks Guitar why he doesn't change his slave name, "Baines," like Malcolm X did. -
Morrison Graduates From Howard University
Chloe Wofford majored in English with a minor in classics. She changed her name to Toni, a shortened version of her middle name, during college. -
Morrison Earns Master's Degree
Morrison graduated from Cornell University in New York. -
Emmett Till Killed in Mississippi
Till was brutally murdered by white men for flirting with a white woman. -
Last Packard Automobile Produced
Packard was an American luxury automobile built by Packard Motor Company in Dettroit. Production began in 1899 and ended in 1958. Milkman recalls Sunday drives in the family's pristine Packard. -
Martin Luther King Arrested and Jailed
While in jail on April 16, MLK writes "Letter From Birmingham Jail," advocating civil disobedience. -
March on Washington
MLK leads The March on Washington For Jobs and Freedom, attended by 250,000 people. It was one of the first demonstrations to have extensive television coverage. -
Bomb Explodes at the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church
MLK's Eulogy The bomb kills four young black girls, ages 11-14, who were attending Sunday School. This is referenced in chapter 8 when Guitar ponders bombing a white church to avenge the Birmingham church bombing. -
First Black Student at University of Mississippi
James Meridith becomes the first black student to enroll for class at the University of Mississippi. After rioting breaks out, President Kennedy sends 5,000 troops. -
President Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act
The Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion or national origin. -
Malcolm X Assassinated
Black nationalist and founder of the Organization of Afro-American Unity, Malcolm X was shot and killed in a public auditoriam in NYC. -
Congress Passes Voting Rights Act of 1965
This Act made it easier for Southern black to register to vote by illegalizing literacy tests, poll taces and other requirements that restricted black voting. -
Watts Riots
Six days of rioting in Watts, an African American section of Los Angeles, kills 35 people and injures 883. (August 11-16). -
Song of Solomon is Published
Morrison won the National Book Critic's Award and the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters Award for Song of Solomon. -
Toni Morrison receives the Nobel Prize in Literature
Morrison is the eighth woman and the first black woman to receive this honor.
