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Crispus Attucks dies in Boston Massacre
Crispus Attucks, one of the first men to die for American Revolution, was a fugitive slave who had escaped from his master and had worked for twenty years as a merchant seaman. Crispus Attucks was the first to fall in the celebrated Boston Massacre. -
Nat Turners Rebellion
A slave rebellion that took place in Southampton County, Virginia. Led by Nat Turner, rebel slaves killed anywhere from 55 to 65 people, the highest number of fatalities caused by any slave uprising in the American South. -
Amistad Revolt
Slaves aboard this ship and revolted to secure their freedom while being transported from one Cuban port to another. -
Fugitive Slave Act
Law allowed slave-hunters to seize alleged fugitive slaves without due process of law and prohibited anyone from aiding escaped fugitives or obstructing their recovery. -
Fugitive Slave Law
Passed by the United States Congress as part of the Compromise of 1850 between Southern slave-holding interests and Northern Free-Soilers.l -
Scott vs. Sanford
This opinion declared that slaves were not citizens of the United States and could not sue in Federal courts. -
John Brown's Raid
Lead a small group on a raid against a federal armory in Harpers Ferry, Virginia, in an attempt to start an armed slave revolt and destroy the institution of slavery. -
SC Secedes from the Union
South Carolina became the first Southern state to declare its secession and later formed the Confederacy. -
Emancipation Proclamation
Declared that all slaves are free in the rebellious states. -
Assasination of Lincoln
John Wilkes Booth, fatally shot President Abraham Lincoln at a play at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C. The attack came only five days after Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered his massive army ending the American Civil War. -
End of Civil War
Robert E. Lee surrendered the last major Confederate army to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse. The last battle was fought at Palmito Ranch, Texas. -
13th Amendment
Abolished slavery in the United States. -
14th Amendment
All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. -
15th Amendment
Granted African American men the right to vote. -
Plessy vs Ferguson
A 7 to 1 decision the "separate but equal" provision of public accommodations by state governments was found to be constitutional under the Equal Protection Clause. -
Phoenix, Az Riot
The Phoenix Election Riot in 1898 was a riot by white South Carolinians in the name of Redemption in Greenwood, South Carolina. Over a dozen prominent black leaders were murdered and hundreds were injured by the white mob. -
Wilmington NC, Riot
Occurred in Wilmington. It is considered a turning point in North Carolina politics following Reconstruction. -
Rosewood Massacre
Racially-motivated mob atrocity in Florida. In the violence at least six blacks and two whites were killed, and the town of Rosewood was abandoned and destroyed in what was characterized as a race riot. -
Scottsboro Boys
Nine black teenagers accused of rape in Alabama. The landmark set of legal cases from this incident dealt with racism and the right to a fair trial. -
Congressional Hearings end for Tuskegee Study
The Public Health Service, working with the Tuskegee Institute, began a study to record the natural history of syphilis in hopes of justifying treatment programs for blacks. -
Sweatt vs Painter
A U.S. Supreme Court case that successfully challenged the "separate but equal" doctrine. Case involved a black man, who was refused admission to the School of Law of the University of Texas, whose president prohibited integrated education. -
Brown vs Board
A landmark United States Supreme Court case in which the Court declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students unconstitutional. The decision overturned the Plessy v. Ferguson decision. -
McLaurin vs Oklahoma
United States Supreme Court case that reversed the state law requiring African-Americans to be provided graduate or professional education on a segregated basis. -
Death of Emmett Till
An African-American boy who was murdered in Mississippi at the age of 14 after reportedly flirting with a white woman. -
Little Rock 9
Nine courageous black students dared to challenge racial segregation in public schools by enrolling at the all-white Central High School, They became an integral part of the fight for equal opportunity in America. -
Ruby Bridges
An American activist known for being the first black child to attend an all-white elementary school in the South. -
James Meredith
American civil rights movement figure, Was the first African-American student admitted to the segregated University of Mississippi, Meredith decided to exercise his constitutional rights and apply to the University of Mississippi. -
March on Washington
One of the largest political rallies in United States history and called for civil and economic rights for African Americans. Martin Luther King, Jr.,delivered his historic "I Have a Dream" speech in which he called for an end to racism. -
16th St. Church Bombing
This was bombed as an act of white supremacist terrorism. The explosion at the African-American church, which killed four girls, marked a turning point in the United States 1960s Civil Rights Movement and contributed to support for passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. -
Assasination of Malcom X
Malcolm X was an African-American Muslim minister and a human rights activist. Shortly after repudiating the Nation of Islam, he was assassinated by three of its members -
Match on Selma
Marked the political peak of the American civil rights movement. All were attempts to march from Selma to Montgomery. The marches grew out of the voting rights movement in Selma, launched by local African-Americans who formed the Dallas County Voters League. -
Voting Rights Act
It outlawed the discriminatory voting practices adopted in many southern states after the Civil War, including literacy tests as a prerequisite to voting. -
Watts Riot
Marquette Frye, a 21-year-old black man, was arrested for drunk driving on the edge of Los Angeles' Watts neighborhood. -
Orangeburg Massacre
The Orangeburg Massacre refers to the shooting of protestors by South Carolina Highway Patrol Officers that were demonstrating against racial segregation at a local bowling alley in Orangeburg, South Carolina near South Carolina State University -
Assasination of MLK, Jr
Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American activist, and leader of the African-American civil rights movement and Nobel Peace Prize laureate who became known for his advancement of civil rights by using civil disobedience. He was assassinated at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. -
Arrest of Angela Davis
Angela Davis appeared on the FBI's Most Wanted List. She was able to evade the police for 2 months before being arrested. She spent 18 months in the Women's Detention Center in New York awaiting the trial. -
LUCY is Discovered
Lucy was the first Australopithecus afarensis skeleton ever found, though her remains are only about 40 percent complete. With a mixture of ape and human features slender Lucy stood three and a half feet. -
Roots was Published
Roots is a novel written by Alex Haley. It tells the story of Kunta Kinte, an 18th-century African, captured as an adolescent and sold into slavery in the United States, and follows his life and the lives of his alleged descendants in the U.S. down to Haley. -
Beating of Rodney King
Rodney Glen King was an African-American construction worker who became nationally known after being beaten by Los Angeles police officers, following a high-speed car chase. -
Barack Obama becomes the first black President
Became the 44th and current President of the United States, and the first African American to hold the office.
