Black History
The 1800s
1808- United States outlaws American participation in the African Slave Trade. January 1st becomes an instant black American holiday, commemorated with sermons and celebrations. These sermons are the first distinctive and sizable genre of black writing in America.
1820- Missouri Compromise allows Missouri to become a slave state, establishes Maine as a free state, and bans slavery in the territory west of Missouri.
1849- Harriet Tubman escapes from slavery. She becomes a major conductor on the Underground Railroad, as well as an advocate for Women's Rights.
1856 - Wilberforce University was established. The African Methodist Episcopal Church founded the first black school of higher learning.
Source: Wilberforce University
1863 - January 1st, Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation declaring… “That all persons held as slaves are, and henceforward shall be, free.”
Source: National Archives and Records Administration
1865 - Documented Abolition of Slavery, Amendment XIII to the U.S. Constitution.
Source: The Library of Congress
1868- Fourteenth Amendment is ratified making blacks citizens.
1870 – The first African American senator, Hiram Revels takes oath of office.
The 15th Amendment is passed permitting black men the right to vote.
Source: National Archives and Records Administration
1876- Rise of Jim Crow
1808- United States outlaws American participation in the African Slave Trade. January 1st becomes an instant black American holiday, commemorated with sermons and celebrations. These sermons are the first distinctive and sizable genre of black writing in America.
1820- Missouri Compromise allows Missouri to become a slave state, establishes Maine as a free state, and bans slavery in the territory west of Missouri.
1849- Harriet Tubman escapes from slavery. She becomes a major conductor on the Underground Railroad, as well as an advocate for Women's Rights.
1856 - Wilberforce University was established. The African Methodist Episcopal Church founded the first black school of higher learning.
Source: Wilberforce University
1863 - January 1st, Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation declaring… “That all persons held as slaves are, and henceforward shall be, free.”
Source: National Archives and Records Administration
1865 - Documented Abolition of Slavery, Amendment XIII to the U.S. Constitution.
Source: The Library of Congress
1868- Fourteenth Amendment is ratified making blacks citizens.
1870 – The first African American senator, Hiram Revels takes oath of office.
The 15th Amendment is passed permitting black men the right to vote.
Source: National Archives and Records Administration
1876- Rise of Jim Crow
1900 - 1949
1915 - Dr. Carter Godwin Woodson establishes the Association for the Study of Afro-American Life & History.
Source: The Association for the Study of African American Life And History
1926 - “Negro History Week” declared by Dr. Carter Godwin Woodson at the Wabash Street YMCA.
Source: U.S. Department of State
1944 - Frederick Douglass Patterson established the United Negro College Fund.
Source: The United Negro College Fund, Inc.
1950 - 1969
1954 - Brown versus the Board of Education in Topeka, Kansas. Supreme Court rules unanimously that segregation in public schools is unconstitutional.
Source: National Archives and Records Administration
1955 - December 1st, Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat in the front of the bus to a white passenger.
Source: Time Magazine - Time 100
1957 – January/February, Martin Luther King, Jr., Charles K. Steele, and Fred L. Shuttlesworth established the SCLC-Southern Christian Leadership Conference, a major force in organizing the Civil Rights Movement.
Source: SCLC Magazine
1963 - August 28th, about 250,000 people listen as Reverend King delivered his famous, “I Have a Dream” speech.
Read his "I Have A Dream Speech."
Source: The History Channel – Great Speeches
1964 - July 2nd, President Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964, making segregation in public facilities and discrimination in employment illegal.
Source: The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
1965 - August 10th, Congress passes the Voting Rights Act making it easier for southern blacks to register to vote. Malcolm X is assassinated by members of the Nation of Islam (Black Muslims) in New York City.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice
1968 - April 4th, Reverend King is shot and killed. April 11th, President Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1968 prohibiting discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of housing.
Source: EPA - Office of Civil Rights
1954 - Brown versus the Board of Education in Topeka, Kansas. Supreme Court rules unanimously that segregation in public schools is unconstitutional.
Source: National Archives and Records Administration
1955 - December 1st, Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat in the front of the bus to a white passenger.
Source: Time Magazine - Time 100
1957 – January/February, Martin Luther King, Jr., Charles K. Steele, and Fred L. Shuttlesworth established the SCLC-Southern Christian Leadership Conference, a major force in organizing the Civil Rights Movement.
Source: SCLC Magazine
1963 - August 28th, about 250,000 people listen as Reverend King delivered his famous, “I Have a Dream” speech.
Read his "I Have A Dream Speech."
Source: The History Channel – Great Speeches
1964 - July 2nd, President Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964, making segregation in public facilities and discrimination in employment illegal.
Source: The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
1965 - August 10th, Congress passes the Voting Rights Act making it easier for southern blacks to register to vote. Malcolm X is assassinated by members of the Nation of Islam (Black Muslims) in New York City.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice
1968 - April 4th, Reverend King is shot and killed. April 11th, President Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1968 prohibiting discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of housing.
Source: EPA - Office of Civil Rights
1970 - 2008
1970 - The entire month of February is declared “Black History Month.”
Source: The Gale Group
1988 - March 22nd, Congress passes the Civil Rights Restoration Act expanding the reach of non-discrimination laws within private institutions receiving federal funds.
Source: Department of Justice – Civil Rights Division
1991 - President Bush signs the Civil Rights Act of 1991 strengthening existing civil rights laws and providing for damages in cases of intentional employment discrimination.
Source: National Archives and Records Administration
2008- On November 4, 2008, Barack Obama is elected President of the United States of America.
1970 - The entire month of February is declared “Black History Month.”
Source: The Gale Group
1988 - March 22nd, Congress passes the Civil Rights Restoration Act expanding the reach of non-discrimination laws within private institutions receiving federal funds.
Source: Department of Justice – Civil Rights Division
1991 - President Bush signs the Civil Rights Act of 1991 strengthening existing civil rights laws and providing for damages in cases of intentional employment discrimination.
Source: National Archives and Records Administration
2008- On November 4, 2008, Barack Obama is elected President of the United States of America.
Updated and modified from
http://www.classbrain.com/artholiday/publish/black_history_timeline.shtml
http://www.ushistory.org/more/timeline.htm
http://www.classbrain.com/artholiday/publish/black_history_timeline.shtml
http://www.ushistory.org/more/timeline.htm