On this day in 1961, James B. Parsons made history as the first African American appointed to a lifetime position on the federal bench in the United... Continue →
On this date in 1970, Dr. Benjamin E. Mays, a prominent educator, minister, and civil rights leader, was named president of the Atlanta Board of... Continue →
On this date in 1965, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) launched a voter registration drive in... Continue →
On this date in 1898, Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander was born on, in Philadelphia, PA, and she made history as a trailblazing African American woman... Continue →
On this day, free Black residents of Philadelphia, led by Reverend Absalom Jones and joined by 70 other free Black men, submitted a historic petition... Continue →
On this date in 1984, Rev. Jesse Jackson successfully negotiated the release of U.S. Navy Lt. Robert Goodman, a pilot who had been shot down over... Continue →
On this date in 1966, Floyd B. McKissick, a civil rights attorney from North Carolina, was named the national director of the Congress of Racial... Continue →
On this date in 1966, Sammy Younge Jr. was a 21-year-old civil rights activist and a student at Tuskegee Institute who was tragically shot and killed... Continue →
On this date in 1961, Adam Clayton Powell Jr. was elected Chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, making him one of the most powerful... Continue →
On this date in 1947, the **NAACP's 1947 report** highlighted the extreme racial violence that African Americans, particularly returning Black... Continue →
On this date in 1947, Congressman William L. Dawson of Illinois made history as the first African American to chair a standing committee of the U.S.... Continue →
On this date in 1947, the total population of the United States was approximately 150,697,361. The Black population was about 15,042,286, making up... Continue →
On this day in 1967, U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a Virginia law banning inter-racial marriage was unconstitutional.
On this date in 1889, it was reported that 94 Black individuals had been lynched in the United States during that year. This was part of the broader... Continue →
On this date in 1991, Clarence Thomas was nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court by President George H.W. Bush to replace retiring Justice Thurgood... Continue →
On this date in 1868, the North Carolina legislature convened with a historic composition: 21 Black legislators and 149 white legislators. This was a... Continue →
On this date, Thurgood Marshall was born, in Baltimore, Maryland. He made history as the first African American Supreme Court Justice, serving from... Continue →
On this date, Vermont made history on July 2, 1777, by becoming the first American colony to abolish slavery in its state constitution. This was a... Continue →
On this date, a Black enslaved woman was acquitted of sorcery during the infamous Salem Witch Trials in colonial Massachusetts. While many were... Continue →
On this date in 1966, race riots broke out in Omaha, Nebraska, amid growing racial tensions in the city. The unrest was part of a broader wave of... Continue →
On this date in 1861, Thaddeus Stevens, a prominent American politician and leader of the Radical Republicans during the Civil War, delivered a... Continue →
On this date in 1981, the Atlanta child murders case took a significant turn when Wayne Williams was indicted for the murders of two adult men,... Continue →
On this date in 1939, Jane M. Bolin was appointed as the first African American female judge in the United States on July 22, 1939. She was appointed... Continue →
On July 21, 1950, during the Korean War, the U.S. 24th Infantry Regiment, composed primarily of African American soldiers, successfully recaptured... Continue →
On July 22, 1939, Jane Matilda Bolin made history by becoming the first African American woman to be appointed as a judge in the United States. She... Continue →
The Detroit riot of 1967 was a major event in U.S. history, marking a pivotal moment in the Civil Rights Movement. It started with a police raid at... Continue →
On July 23, 1868, the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified, which granted citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the... Continue →
The Moore's Ford Lynching occurred on July 25, 1946, in Walton County, Georgia. It was a horrific and racially charged event in which two African... Continue →
On July 26, 1926, the National Bar Association (NBA) was incorporated. It is the largest and oldest network of predominantly African American... Continue →
On July 27, 1962, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was jailed in Albany, Georgia, during the Albany Movement, a civil rights campaign aimed at... Continue →
The Amistad mutiny is a famous and significant event in American history. On July 30, 1839, a group of enslaved Africans aboard the Spanish slave... Continue →
On July 31, 1981, Arnette R. Hubbard made history by becoming the first woman president of the National Bar Association (NBA). This was a significant... Continue →
On August 1, 1925, the National Bar Association (NBA) was incorporated in Des Moines, Iowa. It was founded by a group of African American lawyers and... Continue →
The courthouse shootout on August 7, 1970, was a significant and tragic event in U.S. history. It occurred at the Marin County Courthouse in San... Continue →
On August 11, 1965, the U.S. Senate confirmed Thurgood Marshall's nomination as the U.S. Solicitor General. Marshall became the first African... Continue →
On August 15, 1975, Joanne Little was acquitted of murder charges after being accused of killing a North Carolina jailer. Little, a 20-year-old... Continue →
On August 16, 1970, Angela Davis, the political activist and scholar, was named in a federal arrest warrant in connection with her involvement in a... Continue →
On August 28, 1966, the National Guard was mobilized in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to protect civil rights marchers protesting against racial segregation.... Continue →
On August 30, 1966, Constance Baker Motley was confirmed as a U.S. district judge, making her the first Black woman to serve on the federal bench.... Continue →
On September 2, 1945, during World War II, the United States had a significant number of African Americans who served in the armed forces. A total of... Continue →
ON this date in 1970, Angela Davis arrested in New York City and charged with unlawful flight to avoid persecution for her alleged role in California... Continue →
On this date in 1999, the governor of Pennsylvania, Thomas Ride, signs the death warrant for Mumia Abu-Jamal. Mumia is charged with the early... Continue →
On this date in 1958, the District of Columbia Bar Association votes to accept African Americans as members.
ON this date in 1949, William Hastie nominated for the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. He was the first Black to sit on the court.
ON this date in 1883, U.S. Supreme Court declared Civil Rights Act of 1875 unconstitutional.
On this date in 1859, John Brown whom was an abolitionist took direct action to free slaves by force. He led a raid on Harpers Ferry, in mid-October... Continue →
On this date in 1871, President Grant suspended the writ of habeas corpus and declared martial law in nine South Carolina counties affected by Klan... Continue →
On this date in 1787, Prince Hall submitted, to the State Legislature of Boston, Massachusetts, a petition asking for equal educational rights. His... Continue →
Born October 20, 1904 in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania, Enolia Pettigen McMillan became the first female president of the National Association for the... Continue →
On this date in 1911, Three organizations the Committee for Improving the Industrial Conditions of Negroes in New York, the Committee on Urban... Continue →
On this date in 1988, two units of the Ku Klux Klan and eleven individuals are ordered to pay $ 1 million to African Americans who were attacked... Continue →
On this date in 1976, Gov. George Wallace granted a full pardon to Clarence ("Willie") Norris, the last known survivor of the nine Scottsboro Boys... Continue →
On this date in 1915, Attorney James L. Curtis named minister of Liberia.
ON this date in 1934, at a New York City conference, representatives of the NAACP and the American Fund for Public Service planned a coordinated... Continue →
On this date in 1960, Martin Luther King Jr. released on bond from the Georgia State Prison in Reidsville. Political observers said the Kennedy call... Continue →
On this date in 1969, U.S. Supreme Court said school systems must end segregation "at once" and "operate now and hereafter only unitary schools." In... Continue →
On this date in 1947, President's Committee on Civil Rights condemned racial injustices in America when ity published the formal report, "To Secure... Continue →
On this date in 1966, Huey Newton and Bobby Seale students at a California college create the Black Panther Party for Self Defense.
On this date in 1831, Nat Turner is captured after his role in the Slave Revolt that took place in Southampton county, Virginia on August 21, 1831.
On this date in 1989, Renowned attorney Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander dies in Philadelphia.
ON this date in 1945, Irving C. Mollison, a Chicago Republican, sworn in as U.S. Customs Court judge in New York City.
On this date in 1883, A political coup and a race riot occurred. White conservatives in Danville, Virginia, seized control of the local government,... Continue →
On this date in 1974, Spingarn Medal awarded Damon J. Keith "in tribute to his steadfast defense of constitutional principles as revealed in a series... Continue →
On this date in 1935, Maryland Court of Appeals ordered the University of Maryland to admit Donald Murray.
ON this date in 1917, U.S. Supreme Court decision (Buchanan v. Warley) struck down Louisville, Ky., ordinance which required Blacks and whites to... Continue →
On this date in 1862, Frazier A Boutelle is commissioned as second lieutenant in the Fifth New York Calvary.
On this date in 1928, Spingarn Medal presented to Charles W. Chestnutt, the first Black to receive widespread critical recognition as a novelist. He... Continue →
ON this date in 1920, James Weldon Johnson became the first Black executive secretary of the NAACP.
On this date in 1906, President Roosevelt ordered discharge of three companies of Twenty-fifth Regiment for alleged involvement in the Brownsville... Continue →
ON this date in 1746, Absalom Jones rose from slavery in Sussex, Delaware to become the first black Episcopal priest and principal founder of St.... Continue →
Supreme Court in Baltimore case banned segregation in public recreational facilities. The Interstate Commerce Commission banned segregation on... Continue →
The U.S. Supreme Court upheld a lower court’s decision declaring segregation on Montgomery, Alabama city buses unconstitutional. This landmark... Continue →
In a pivotal civil rights decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Hansberry v. Lee, a case involving racially restrictive housing covenants in... Continue →
Ralph J. Bunche, diplomat and scholar, received the Spingarn Medal from the NAACP for his distinguished service as a United Nations mediator in the... Continue →
On this day, the St. Louis chapter of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) initiated a sit-in campaign to challenge and end racial segregation in... Continue →
On this day, the South Carolina General Assembly convened in Columbia and marked a major milestone during the Reconstruction era: Stephen A.... Continue →
On this day, Macon B. Allen was elected judge of the Inferior Court of Charleston, becoming the first African American to hold a major judicial... Continue →
Dorothy Height was elected as the fourth national president of the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) in November 1957. She served in this role... Continue →
After a landmark legal battle in the United States, the formerly enslaved Africans who had taken control of the Spanish schooner La Amistad set sail... Continue →
The Ku Klux Klan trials began in the Federal District Court in Columbia, South Carolina, marking one of the earliest large-scale federal attempts to... Continue →
James Robinson, an enslaved African American who became a decorated soldier in the Revolutionary War, was born on this day in 1753. He fought... Continue →
During a wave of civil rights activism across the South, Freedom Riders were violently attacked by a white mob at the bus station in McComb,... Continue →
Jonathan Jasper Wright, the first African American to serve on a state supreme court in the United States, resigned from the South Carolina Supreme... Continue →
Mifflin Wistar Gibbs, an accomplished lawyer, publisher, and civil rights advocate, was elected city judge in Little Rock, Arkansas, becoming the... Continue →
On this date, the First Continental Congress enacted the Continental Association, a trade boycott against Great Britain in response to the Coercive... Continue →
On this day, Massachusetts became the first English colony in North America to give statutory recognition to slavery with the passage of the Body of... Continue →
On this date, reports confirmed that 113 African Americans had been lynched in the United States during the year 1891 alone. This horrifying figure... Continue →
Radical white abolitionist John Brown was executed by hanging after his failed raid on the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry in October 1859. His goal... Continue →
On this day, President Harry S. Truman established a presidential committee to monitor and enforce compliance with anti-discrimination provisions in... Continue →
The 48th U.S. Congress (1883–1885) convened with two Black representatives: James E. O’Hara of North Carolina Robert Smalls... Continue →
On this day, John S. Rock—a lawyer, physician, and abolitionist—passed away. In 1865, he made history as the first African American admitted to... Continue →
On this date in 1865, Selection of the first Inter-racial jury is formed.
On this day, the modern Ku Klux Klan was officially chartered by the Fulton County Superior Court in Georgia. This marked the formal rebirth of the... Continue →
On this day, the South Carolina Constitutional Convention adopted a new state constitution designed to systematically suppress Black voting rights.... Continue →
The American Anti-Slavery Society (AASS) was officially organized in Philadelphia by prominent abolitionists including William Lloyd Garrison, Arthur... Continue →
On this day, New York City became the first city in the United States to enact legislation prohibiting racial and religious discrimination in private... Continue →
In response to Rosa Parks’ arrest for refusing to give up her seat to a white passenger, the Montgomery Bus Boycott was launched on this day. That... Continue →
President Harry S. Truman issued Executive Order 9808, establishing the President’s Committee on Civil Rights. This was the first national... Continue →
On this date in 1946, Spingarn Medal presented to Thurgood Marshall, director of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, "for his distinguished... Continue →
In response to post–World War II racial violence, including lynchings and mob attacks on Black veterans and civilians, President Harry S. Truman... Continue →
On this day, educator and civil rights leader Mary McLeod Bethune founded the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) in New York City. The... Continue →
On this day, Lewis Franklin Powell Jr. was confirmed as an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. His nomination faced opposition from civil... Continue →
The year 1885 was marked by the lynching of 74 Black individuals in the United States. However, there is no specific record of 74 Black individuals... Continue →
In Vicksburg, Mississippi, white Democrats orchestrated a violent coup against the legally elected Reconstruction government. Tensions had been... Continue →
On this day, the NAACP filed its first lawsuit in a landmark campaign to equalize the salaries of Black and white teachers in the segregated South.... Continue →
President Abraham Lincoln issued his Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction, offering a full pardon and restoration of property (except for... Continue →
On this day, William H. Rehnquist was confirmed as an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. His confirmation faced strong opposition from... Continue →
On December 12, 1938, the U.S. Supreme Court delivered a pivotal decision in Missouri ex rel. Gaines v. Canada, marking a significant step toward... Continue →
On this day, George H. Williams was appointed as the U.S. Attorney General by President Ulysses S. Grant. While Williams himself was not Black, his... Continue →
John Mercer Langston, a pioneering lawyer, educator, and politician, was born on this day in Louisa County, Virginia. Born free in a slaveholding... Continue →
On December 15, 1943, the Spingarn Medal was presented to William H. Hastie in recognition of his distinguished career as a jurist and his unwavering... Continue →
On December 16, 1875, William J. Whipper, a prominent African American lawyer and legislator, was elected as a circuit court judge in South Carolina... Continue →
On December 15, 1875, South Carolina Governor Daniel H. Chamberlain took a significant stand against corruption within the state's judiciary. The... Continue →
John Anthony Copeland Jr. and Shields Green, two Black men who joined abolitionist John Brown in his raid on the federal armory at Harpers Ferry,... Continue →
The U.S. Supreme Court, in a 6-3 decision, upheld the constitutionality of Executive Order 9066, which led to the internment of over 120,000 Japanese... Continue →
On this day, approximately five thousand African Americans departed Edgefield County, South Carolina, in what became known as the “Edgefield... Continue →
Tennessee initiated the modern Jim Crow era by enacting a law mandating segregated railroad cars, becoming the first state to formalize such racial... Continue →
The United Order of True Reformers, an African American fraternal organization, was officially established in Richmond, Virginia. Founded by William... Continue →
Following the success of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, African Americans in Birmingham, Alabama, launched a campaign of mass resistance against... Continue →
By the end of 1908, records from anti-lynching activists and institutions like the Tuskegee Institute documented that 89 Black individuals were... Continue →
William and Ellen Craft escaped from slavery in Georgia in a daring journey. Ellen, who was light-skinned, disguised herself as a white male... Continue →
In a decisive ruling, Judge Devane declared that “every segregation act of every state or city is as dead as a doornail,” reinforcing the legal... Continue →
The date December 28, 1918, is tied to a tragic and telling report in U.S. history. On that day, The Chicago Whip, a Black newspaper, reported that... Continue →
Elizabeth Freeman, known as "Mumbet," dies. Born into slavery, she escaped after mistreatment and successfully sued for her freedom in Massachusetts.... Continue →
Two U.S. courts issued temporary injunctions to stop the eviction of approximately 700 Black sharecroppers in Haywood and Fayette counties,... Continue →
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