NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Black History

African American history is the history of an ethnic group in the The United States of America — also referred to as the United States, the U.S.A., the U.S., America¹, the States, or (archaically) Columbia — is a federal republic of 50 states located primarily in central North America (with the exception of two states: Alaska and Hawaii... United States also known as American blacks or black Americans, whose dominant ancestry is from Sub-Saharan Africa.

See the main article at African Americans, also known as Afro-Americans or black Americans, are an ethnic group in the United States of America whose ancestors, usually in predominant part, were indigenous to Sub-Saharan and West Africa. The majority of African Americans are of African, European and Native American ancestry. Terms for African... African American.

Early history

Example of slave treatment: Back deeply scarred from whipping

Like other blacks in the The Western Hemisphere contains The Americas and nearby islands. The terminology is meant to serve as an analogy with the natural geographic division of the world into a Northern and Southern Hemisphere. However, it is more a geopolitical rather than a geographical term, and refers mostly to the governments and... Western Hemisphere, the progenitors of the overwhelming majority of African Americans were brought to North America as African Slavery is any of a number of related conditions involving control of a person against his or her will, enforced by violence or other clear forms of coercion. It almost always occurs for the purpose of securing the labour of the person or people concerned. A specific form, chattel slavery... slaves between the Centuries: 16th century - 17th century - 18th century Decades: 1550s 1560s 1570s 1580s 1590s - 1600s - 1610s 1620s 1630s 1640s 1650s Years: 1600 1601 1602 1603 1604 1605 1606 1607 1608 1609 Events and Trends November 5, 1605 - The Gunpowder Plot to blow up the British Parliament. September 2, 1609 - Henry Hudson... 1600s and 1807 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). Events February - Napoleon attacks Russia February 6 - Naval Engagement February 8 - Battle of Eylau - Napoleon defeats Russians under General Benigssen February 19 - In Alabama, Former Vice President of the United States Aaron Burr is arrested for treason. March... 1807 (The importation of slaves into the U.S. was outlawed in 1807). In North America, African slaves could be found primarily in the southern half of the Betsy Ross purportedly sewed the first American flag with 13 stars and 13 stripes representing each of the 13 colonies. The Thirteen Colonies were 13 British colonies in North America, separately chartered and governed, that signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776 and formally broke with the Kingdom of Great... British colonies, although slaves were also owned in the This article needs cleanup. Please edit this article to conform to a higher standard of article quality. Habsburg Spain was the center of one of the first global empires. In the history of Spain, the 16th and early 17th centuries are sometimes called the Golden Age (Siglo de Oro). Spain... Spanish colony of State nickname: Everglade State, Sunshine State Other U.S. States Capital Tallahassee Largest city Jacksonville Governor Jeb Bush Official languages English Area 170,451 km² (22nd) - Land 137,374 km² - Water 30,486 km² (17.9%) Population (2000) - Population 15,982,378 (4th) - Density... Florida and the -1... French colony of Louisiana is a southern state of the United States of America. It uses the U.S. postal abbreviation LA. The state is bordered to the west by the state of Texas, to the north by Arkansas, to the east by the state of Mississippi, and to the south by the... Louisiana. As Slavery is any of a number of related conditions involving control of a person against his or her will, enforced by violence or other clear forms of coercion. It almost always occurs for the purpose of securing the labour of the person or people concerned. A specific form, chattel slavery... chattel slaves in perpetuity, African slaves and their progeny were considered the property of their owners and had no rights.

The Page I of the Constitution of the United States of America Page II of the United States Constitution Page III of the United States Constitution Page IV of the United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America and is... U.S. Constitution of 1787 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). Events In Britain, Thomas Clarkson and Granville Sharpthe Society for the Abolition of the Slave Trade with support from John Wesley, Josiah Wedgwood and others. January 11 - William Herschel discovers Titania and Oberon, two moons of Uranus. February... 1787 said that slaves, who at no time had the right to vote in any state, should count as part of the population at the ratio of three persons counted per five slaves. Many African-American spokespersons have translated this into a belief that slaves counted as 3/5 of a person, which is a rough approximation of the truth of their status. Students of the abolitionist movement, however, note that slaves would have been better off if they were not counted as people at all: the population counts added pro-slavery members of the House of Representatives and added electoral votes for pro-slavery Presidential nominees.

The twin doctrines of White supremacy is the variety of white nationalism that believes the white race should rule over other races. It can be distinguished from white separatism, which calls for the creation of culturally and geographically separate areas for different races. For example, the political system of the Antebellum U.S. South... white supremacy and its corollary, a belief in the inherent inferiority of The term Blacks is often used in the West to denote race for persons whose progenitors, usually in predominant part, were indigenous to West and sub-Saharan Africa. The term also can apply more broadly to persons whose ancestors formed early migratory waves of humanity from Africa in prehistoric times... blacks, combined with Capitalism has been defined in various ways (see definitions of capitalism). In common usage it refers to an economic system in which land and capital are privately owned and operated for profit and where investments, production, distribution, income, and prices are determined largely through the operation of a free market... capitalism to create a powerful rationale for slavery. Nationwide, de facto and de jure segregation and discrimination based on the notion of This article is about race as an intraspecies classification. For the many types of competitive sport, see Racing. For racing conditions associated with computer programming, see Race hazard. A race is a distinct population of humans distinguished in some way from other humans. The most widely observed races are those... race were accepted and effective tools to enforce and entrench a pervasive system of white power and privilege and black oppression and disadvantage.

After the Before the Revolution: The 13 colonies are in red, the pink area was claimed by Great Britain after the French and Indian War, and the orange region was claimed by Spain. The American Revolution refers to the series of events, ideas, and changes that resulted in the political separation of... American Revolution (1775-1783), changing economic conditions resulted in the decline and end of what limited slavery there was in the North. Conversely, the rapid spread of cotton cultivation in the South encouraged the growth of slavery there. By 1860, 3.8 million slaves accounted for one third of the total population of the southern states.

Contrary to popular belief, however, not all blacks in America were slaves. By the year 1860, well over 11% of the total black population in the U.S. was free. There were approximately 500,000 free blacks who lived throughout the United States, with slightly more than half residing in the South.

After having completed the labor required of them by their masters, some slaves were permitted to perform work for hire. In this way, over time some were able to purchase their freedom. Once free, many then continued to save their incomes in order to purchase their entire families' freedom. Others sometimes were manumitted, usually upon the death of their masters, and still others escaped to freedom. The This page is for the U.S. slave escape route. For railroads elsewhere built underground, see Metro and London Underground. The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes by which African slaves in the 19th century United States attempted to escape to free states, or as far north as... Underground Railroad was a series of well-traveled escape routes to the North along which people sympathetic to the anti-slavery cause provided refuge, food and directions to safeguard and speed fugitive slaves on their journey North.

In the North, many free blacks joined the This article is about the abolition of slavery. For a page on the general concept of abolition, see abolition. For information regarding the abolition of suffering, see abolitionist society. This poster depicting the horrific conditions on slave ships was influencial in mobilizing public opinion against slavery in Great Britain and... abolitionist cause, and tens of thousands of free black men and fugitive slaves enthustiastically joined the ranks of the The Union Army refers to the United States Army during the American Civil War. The Union Army is also known as the Northern Army, and the Federal Army. History of the Union Army Formation of the Union Army When the American Civil War began in April 1861, there were only... Union Army after the Civil War began.

The Civil War, Reconstruction and its aftermath

In 1863, during the The American Civil War was fought in the United States from 1861 until 1865 between the United States – forces coming mostly from the 23 northern states of the Union – and the newly-formed Confederate States of America, which consisted of 11 southern states that had declared their secession... American Civil War (1861-1865), U.S. president Abraham Lincoln ( February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865), sometimes called Abe Lincoln and nicknamed Honest Abe, the Rail Splitter, and the Great Emancipateer, was the 16th ( 1861– 1865) President of the United States, and the first president from the Republican Party. Lincoln staunchly opposed the expansion of slavery... Abraham Lincoln issued the First Reading of the Emancipation Proclamation - Lincoln meets with his Cabinet. The Emancipation Proclamation was issued in two parts, the first on 1862 September 22 was a preliminary announcement outlining the intent of the second part, which officially went into effect 1863 January 1, during the second year of the... Emancipation Proclamation, freeing slaves in the southern states at war with the North. The 13th Amendment to the Page I of the Constitution of the United States of America Page II of the United States Constitution Page III of the United States Constitution Page IV of the United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America and is... Constitution of the United States, ratified in 1865, outlawed slavery in the United States. In 1868, the 14th Amendment granted full U.S. citizenship to African-Americans. The 15th amendment, ratified in 1870, extended the right to vote to black males.

Download high resolution version (526x800, 133 KB)The Emancipation Proclamation. This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired in the United States and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years. [1] File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current...

The Emancipation Proclamation

Sign for "Colored waiting room", State nickname: Peach State / Empire State of the South Other U.S. States Capital Atlanta Largest city Atlanta Governor Sonny Perdue Official languages English Area 154,077 km² (24th) - Land 150,132 km² - Water 3,945 km² (2.6%) Population ( 2000) - Population... Georgia, 1943

After the Union victory over the Confederacy, a brief period of southern black progress, called Reconstruction, followed. From 1865 to 1877, under protection of Union troops, some strides were made toward equal rights for African-Americans. Southern blacks began to vote, were elected to the U.S. Congress, held local public office, established schools and built towns and businesses. However, in the face of mounting violence and intimidation directed at blacks as well as whites sympathetic to their cause, the U.S. government retreated from its pledge to guarantee constitutional protections to freedmen and women. When President Rutherford B. Hayes withdrew Union troops from the South in 1877, white southerners acted quickly to reverse the groundbreaking advances of Reconstruction, and white mob violence against African-Americans intensified. Seeking to return blacks to their subordinate status under slavery, white supremacists resurrected de facto barriers and enacted new laws to further marginalize blacks in southern society, limiting, among other things, black access to transportation, schools, restaurants and other public facilities. Although slavery had been abolished, most southern blacks for decades continued to struggle in grinding poverty as agricultural, domestic and menial laborers. Many were Sharecropping is a system of farming in which employee farmers work a parcel of land in return for a fraction of the parcels crops. The system came into use in the United States during the Reconstruction era (1865-) that followed the Civil War. It is used in many rural... sharecroppers, their economic status little changed by Emancipation.

After its founding in 1867, the Members of the second Ku Klux Klan at a rally during the 1920s. The Ku Klux Klan (KKK) was originally a Protestant white-supremacist fraternal organization founded by ex-servicemen of the Confederate Army in 1865, but it was disbanded by 1880. The original group opposed the reforms enforced on... Ku Klux Klan, a clandestine organization sworn to perpetuate white supremacy, became a power in the South and beyond, eventually establishing a northern headquarters in Greenfield, Indiana. The Klan employed Lynching is murder (mostly by hanging) conceived by its perpetrators as extra-legal execution. Victims of lynching have generally been members of groups marginalized by society. History of Lynching in the US Lynching may have been named for Colonel Charles Lynch who used the practice circa 1782 during the American... lynching, cross burnings and other forms of Terrorism refers to the use of violence for the purpose of achieving a political, religious, or ideological goal. The targets of terrorist acts can be government officials, military personnel, people serving the interests of governments, or civilians. Acts of terror against military targets tend to blend into a strategy of... terrorism, violence and intimidation. Lynchings escalated dramatically in a period that marked the bleakest era in U.S. black-white race relations. It was reported that nearly 3,100 black men and women were lynched from 1889 to 1930. Of the tens of thousands of lynchers and onlookers during this period, it is reported that less than 50 whites were ever indicted for their crimes, and only four sentenced.

The Great Migration and the Harlem Renaissance

In response to these and other setbacks, in the summer of 1905, William Edward Burghardt DuBois (February 23, 1868 - August 27, 1963) was an African-American civil rights leader and scholar. Early Life and Education DuBois was born in the village of Great Barrington, Massachusetts to Alfred and Mary DuBois. As a youth, his intellectual development was spurred through an interest in... W.E.B. DuBois and 28 other prominent, African-American men met secretly at Niagara Falls, Ontario (2001 population 78,815) is a city located on the Niagara River, across from Niagara Falls, New York. It was incorporated on June 12, 1903. The city is dominated by the Niagara Falls, which brings hundreds of thousands of tourists to the city along with other attractions... Niagara Falls, Ontario. There, they produced a manifesto calling for an end to racial discrimination, full civil liberties for African-Americans and recognition of human brotherhood. The organization they established came to be called the The Niagara Movement, was founded in 1905, by a group of African-Americans, led by W. E. B. Du Bois, John Hope, and William Monroe Trotter, who called for full civil liberties, an end to racial discrimination, and recognition of human brotherhood. Their first meeting took place at Niagara Falls... Niagara Movement. After the notorious Springfield, Illinois race riot of 1908, a group of concerned whites joined with the leadership of the Niagara Movement and formed the The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, or NAACP, is one of the oldest and most influential civil rights organizations in the United States. It was founded in 1909 to work on behalf of black people. Members of the NAACP have referred to it as The National Association... National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) a year later, in 1909. Under the leadership of DuBois, the NAACP mounted legal challenges to segregation and lobbied legislatures on behalf of black Americans. During this period, African Americans continued to create independent community and institutional lives for themselves. They established schools, This article is about the Christian buildings of worship. For other uses of the word, see Church (disambiguation). The Memorial Church at Stanford University. A church building is a building used in Christian worship. See also altar, altar rails, confessional, dome, nave, pew, pulpit, sanctuary, lych gate. Etymology The word... churches, social welfare institutions, For other uses, see Bank (disambiguation). The essential function of a bank is to provide services related to the storing of value and the extending of credit. The evolution of banking dates back to the earliest writing, and continues in the present where a bank is a financial institution that... banks, Reading the newspaper: Brookgreen Gardens in Pawleys Island, South Carolina. A newspaper is a lightweight and disposable publication (more specifically, a periodical), usually printed on low-cost paper called newsprint. It may be general or special-interest, and may be published daily, weekly, biweekly, monthly, bimonthly, or quarterly. General-interest... newspapers and small businesses to serve the needs of their communities.

During the first half of the 20th century, the largest internal population shift in U.S. history took place. During the Great Migration is a term often used to describe the early medieval migrations of peoples in Europe. The Great Migration may refer to the Winthrop Fleet of 1630; wherein seven hundred passengers migrated from England to Massachusetts Bay Colony in eleven ships. The Great Migration was an important 20th century... Great Migration, over 5 million African Americans moved from the South to northern cities, the West and Midwest in hopes of finding better jobs and greater equality. In the 1930's, the concentration of blacks in urban areas led to the cultural movement known as the The Harlem Renaissance was a flowering of African-American social thought and culture based in the African-American community forming in Harlem in New York City (USA). This period, extending from roughly 1920 to 1940, was expressed through every cultural medium—visual art, dance, music, theatre, literature, poetry, history... Harlem Renaissance. Black intellectual and cultural circles were influenced by thinkers such as Aim Fernand David C saire (born June 20, 1913 in Basse-Pointe, Martinique) is a French poet and politician. In 1945, he was elected legislative Assembly member from Martinique, as a member of the Communist party. Later that year he was elected mayor of Fort-de-France. Aim saire remains... Aime Cesaire and Léopold Sédar Senghor (October 9, 1906–December 20, 2001) was an African poet and political leader who served as the first president of Senegal (1960–1980). He also started his own party, called the Senegalese Democratic Bloc. His poetry was widely acclaimed, and he was the... Leopold Sedar Senghor, who celebrated blackness, or Négritude, a concept developed in the 1930s by a group that included future Senegalese President Léopold Sédar Senghor and Francophone poet Aimé Césaire, is the belief that one should identify ones blackness without reference to ones homeland, native language, religion or spatial/geographical location... negritude; and arts and letters flourished. Writers Zora Neale Hurston (January 7, 1891 - January 28, 1960) was an African-American folklorist and author. Her best-known work is most likely Their Eyes Were Watching God. Zora Neale Hurston Hurston was born in Notasulga, Alabama and grew up in Eatonville, Florida. She studied anthropology at Barnard College under... Zora Neale Hurston, Langston Hughes, photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1936 Langston Hughes (February 1, 1902 - May 22, 1967) was an African American poet, novelist, playwright, and newspaper columnist. He was born James Langston Hughes in Joplin, Missouri. He was raised by his grandmother, and when he was thirteen years old he began... Langston Hughes, Claude McKay. Claude McKay (September 15, 1889 - May 22, 1948) was a Jamaican writer, humanist and communist. He was part of the Harlem Renaissance. Born in Sunnyville, Clarendon, Jamaica, he was the youngest son in a large family. His father, Thomas McKay was a peasant, but had enough property to... Claude McKay and Richard Wright is the name of several people, including: Richard Wright, African-American author Richard B. Wright, Canadian author Richard Wright, keyboard player with Pink Floyd Richard Wright, England football goalkeeper Richard Wright, American politician This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might... Richard Wright; and artists Lois Mailou Jones, William H. Johnson, Romare Bearden was an African American artist. Born in Charlotte, North Carolina in 1914, his family soon moved to Harlem, an African-American neighborhood in New York City, where he founded the 306 Group, a club for Harlems artists. During the 1940s, his style combined African culture and... Romare Bearden, Jacob Lawrence (September 7, 1917–June 9, 2000) was an African American painter. Lawrence is probably among the most well known twentieth century African American painters, a distinction also shared by Romare Bearden. Lawrences Migration Series made him nationally famous when it was featured in a 1941 issue... Jacob Lawrence and Archibald Motley gained prominence. A new generation of powerful African American political leaders and organizations also came to the fore. Membership in the NAACP rapidly increased as it mounted an anti-lynching campaign in reaction to ongoing southern white violence against blacks. Marcus Garvey (far right) in parade Marcus Mosiah Garvey (August 17, 1887 - June 10, 1940) was a publisher, journalist, entrepreneur, crusader for black nationalism and founder of the UNIA-ACL. Garvey, is best remembered as a champion of the so-called back-to-Africa movement, which was interpreted as encouraging... Marcus Garvey's The Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA) is, according to its 1929 constitution, a social, friendly, humanitarian, charitable, educational, institutional, constructive and expansive society, and is founded by persons desiring to the utmost to work for the general uplift of the people of African ancestry of the... UNIA, the The Nation of Islam (NOI), also known as the Black Muslim Movement (although the term is discouraged by the NOI), is a spiritual and political black separatist movement founded in America in 1930 by Wallace Fard Muhammad (1877- ?). The Nation of Islam has a somewhat tenuous connection to mainstream... Nation of Islam and union organizer A. Philip Randolph's The Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters was a labor union in the United States organized from Pullman Porters. History The parking lot of the U.S. Post Office at 517 Wood Street, in Oakland, California, was the location of the headquarters of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. This was... Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters all were established during this period and found support among urban African Americans.

The The civil rights movement in the United States has been a long, primarily nonviolent struggle to bring full civil rights and equality under the law to all Americans. It has been made up of many movements, though it is often used to refer to the struggles between 1945 and 1970... Civil Rights Movement

Description: Demonstrator at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, August 28, 1963. Credit: National Archives and Records Administration. Source: http://teachpol.tcnj.edu/amer_pol_hist/thumbnail439.html File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. Click on...

Demonstrator at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom

In 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a landmark decision in the case of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka. This decision led to the dismantling of legal segregation in all areas of southern life, from schools to restaurants to public restrooms. The ruling also brought new momentum to the Civil Rights Movement. Boycotts against segregated public transportation systems sprang up in the South, the most notable of which was the The Montgomery Bus Boycott was a political protest campaign in 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama intended to oppose the citys policy of racial segregation on its public transit system. The ensuing struggle eventually led to a United States Supreme Court decision on November 13, 1956 that declared illegal the Alabama... Montgomery bus boycott. Civil rights groups organized other boycotts, voter registration campaigns, The Freedom Rides were a series of student political protests performed in 1961 as part of the US civil rights movement. Student volunteers, African-American and white, called Freedom Riders rode in interstate buses into the pro-segregationist U.S. South to test the 1960 United States Supreme Court decision... Freedom Rides and other nonviolent direct action, such as marches, pickets and sit-ins to mobilize around issues of equal access and voting rights.

Southern segregationists fought back with steadily escalating physical violence, bombings and intimidation; and southern law enforcement responded with batons, electric cattle prods, fire hoses, attack dogs and mass arrests.

Dr. Martin Luther King speaking at the Civil Rights March on Washington, D.C. Credit: National Archives and Records Administration Full size image File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. Click on date to download the file...

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., Ph.D. (January 15, 1929–April 4, 1968) was a Nobel Laureate, Baptist minister, and African American civil rights activist. He is one of the most significant leaders in U.S. history and in the modern history of nonviolence... Martin Luther King, Jr. delivers his famous " Martin Luther King, Jr. delivering his speech at the DC Civil Rights March. I Have a Dream is both the identifying phrase of and popular name for Martin Luther King, Jr.s most famous speech, an important part of the American Civil Rights Movement. The speech was delivered on the... I Have a Dream" speech during the March on Washington

Perhaps, the high point of the Civil Rights Movement was the 1963 "March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom," which brought more than 200,000 marchers to the grounds of the Lincoln Memorial and the National Mall in Washington, D.C., to speak out for an end to southern racial violence and police brutality, equal opportunity in employment, equal access in education and public accommodations. The organizers of the march were the "Big Six" of the Civil Rights Movement: labor organizer and initiator of the march, A. Phillip Randolph; Roy Wilkins stamp in the Black Heritage series release by the United States Postal Service Roy Wilkins (August 30, 1901 – September 8, 1981) was a prominent civil rights activist in the United States from the 1930s to the 1970s. Early career Wilkins was born August 30, 1901 in St... Roy Wilkins of the NAACP; Whitney M. Young Jr. (July 31, 1921 - March 11, 1971) was an educator and civil rights leader. He spent most of his career working to end employment discrimination in the South and turning the National Urban League from a relatively passive civil rights organization into one that aggressively fought for... Whitney Young, Jr., of the National Urban League Logo The National Urban League is a non-profit, nonpartisan, civil rights and community-based movement that advocates on behalf of Black Americans and against racial discrimination. It is the nation’s oldest and largest community-based movement empowering Black Americans to enter the economic and... National Urban League; Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., Ph.D. (January 15, 1929–April 4, 1968) was a Nobel Laureate, Baptist minister, and African American civil rights activist. He is one of the most significant leaders in U.S. history and in the modern history of nonviolence... Martin Luther King, Jr., of the The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) (first known as Southern Negro Leaders Conference on Transportation and Nonviolent Integration) is a civil rights organization founded in January 1957 by Martin Luther King Jr. The organization was focused on non-violent civil disobedience, and believed that it could use that to gain... Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC); James Leonard Farmer is the name of two prominient African-Americans. Both men were associated with Wiley College and Marshall, Texas; sometimes leading to confusion of which man is which. Usually the less prominient James L. Farmer, Sr is confused with his son James Farmer, Jr. James L. Farmer, Sr... James Farmer of the The Congress of Racial Equality or CORE is a civil rights organization that played a pivotal role in the U.S. Civil Rights Movement of the 20th century. CORE was founded by a group of college students led by James L. Farmer, Jr., Berniece Fisher and George Houser. Bayard Rustin... Congress on Racial Equality (CORE); and John Lewis is the name of: an American labor leader: see John L. Lewis a philosopher: see John Lewis (philosopher) a jazz pianist: see John Lewis (pianist) an American civil rights activist and member of the U.S. House of Representatives: see John Lewis (politician) a British Singer who released... John Lewis of the The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (or SNCC, pronounced snick) was one of the primary institutions of the American Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. It emerged in April of 1960 from student meetings led by Ella Baker held at Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina. SNCC began with an $800... Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). Also active behind the scenes and sharing the podium with Dr. King was Dorothy Height Dorothy Irene Height (born March 24, 1912 in Richmond, Virginia) is an African-American administrator, teacher, and social activist. At an early age, she moved with her family to Rankin, Pennsylvania. While in high school, Height was awarded a scholarship to New York University for her oratory skills... Dorothy Height, head of the The National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) was founded in 1935 by Mary McLeod Bethune, child of slave parents, distinguished educator and government consultant. Mary McLeod Bethune saw the need for harnessing the power and extending the leadership of African American women through a national organization. NCNW is a voluntary... National Council of Negro Women. It was at this event, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial that King delivered his historic " Martin Luther King, Jr. delivering his speech at the DC Civil Rights March. I Have a Dream is both the identifying phrase of and popular name for Martin Luther King, Jr.s most famous speech, an important part of the American Civil Rights Movement. The speech was delivered on the... I Have a Dream" speech. This march and the conditions which brought it into being are credited with putting pressure on President Order: 35th President Vice President: Lyndon B. Johnson Term of office: January 20, 1961 – November 22, 1963 Preceded by: Dwight D. Eisenhower Succeeded by: Lyndon B. Johnson Date of birth: May 29, 1917 Place of birth: Brookline, Massachusetts Date ... John F. Kennedy and then Lyndon Baines Johnson ( August 27, 1908 – January 22, 1973), often referred to as LBJ, was an American politician. After serving a long career in U.S. legislatures, Johnson became the Vice President under John F. Kennedy ( 1961– 1963) and later ascended to the 36th Presidency ( 1963– 1969... Lyndon B. Johnson that culminated in the passage the President Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 (CRA 64) in the United States was landmark legislation. The original purpose of the Bill was to protect black men from job (and other) discrimination, but at the last minute in an attempt to kill... Civil Rights Act of 1964 that banned discrimination in public accommodations, employment, and labor unions.

This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. This applies worldwide. Provided by the LBJ Library. File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old...

President Johnson signs the historic
President Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 (CRA 64) in the United States was landmark legislation. The original purpose of the Bill was to protect black men from job (and other) discrimination, but at the last minute in an attempt to kill... Civil Rights Act of 1964 bill.

The "Mississippi Freedom Summer" of 1964 brought thousands of idealistic youth, black and white, to the state to run "freedom schools," to teach basic literacy, history and civics. Other volunteers were involved in voter registration drives. The season was marked by harassment, intimidation and violence directed at Civil Rights workers and their host families. The disappearance of three youths, For the JFK assassination witness, see James M. Chaney. James Earl Chaney was a civil rights worker who was murdered (along with Michael Schwerner and Andrew Goodman) by members of the Ku Klux Klan on June 21, 1964. Chaneys murder occurred near the town of Philadelphia, Mississippi, where Chaney... James Chaney, Andrew Goodman (November 23, 1943 _ June 21, 1964) was an American civil rights activist who was killed in a lynching in 1964. He was born and raised in New York City, he enrolled at Queens College, New York City, around 1958 and was a classmate of Paul Simon. In... Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner (1939 - June 21, 1964), called Mickey by friends and colleagues, was a CORE field worker kidnapped and killed in Philadelphia, Mississippi, by the Ku Klux Klan in response to the civil-rights work he coordinated, which included promoting registration to vote among Mississippi African Americans. Two CORE volunteers... Michael Schwerner in Philadelphia, Mississippi, captured the attention of the nation. Six weeks later, searchers found the savagely beaten body of Chaney, a black man, in a muddy dam alongside the remains of his two white companions, who had been shot to death. Outrage at the escalating injustices of the "Mississippi Blood Summer," as it by then had come to be known, and at the brutality of the murders brought about the passage of the The United States Voting Rights Act of 1965 outlawed requiring would-be voters to take literacy tests and provided for federal registration of African American voters in areas that had less than 50% of eligible voters registered. It was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on August 6... Voting Rights Act of 1965. The Act struck down barriers to black enfranchisement and was the capstone to more than a decade of major civil rights legislation.

By this time, African Americans who questioned the effectiveness of nonviolent protest had gained a greater voice. More militant black leaders, such as Malcolm X (pronounced Malkolm Eks, May 19, 1925–February 21, 1965 – also: Malcolm Little, El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, and Omowale) was a spokesman for the Nation of Islam, and a founder of both the Muslim Mosque, Inc. and the Organization of Afro-American Unity. He was assassinated... Malcolm X of the Nation of Islam and Eldridge Cleaver (August 31, 1935 - May 1, 1998) was a prominent black leader and activist, beginning as a founding member of the Black Panther Party. Born in Wabbaseka, Arkansas, Cleavers family moved to Phoenix and then to Los Angeles. As a teenager he became involved in petty crime, and... Eldridge Cleaver of the The Black Panther Party (originally called the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense) was a revolutionary Black nationalist organization in the United States that formed in the late 1960s and grew to national prominence before falling apart due to factional rivalries stirred up by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It... Black Panther Party, called for blacks to defend themselves, using violence, if necessary. From the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s, the Black Power is a slogan which describes the aspiration of many Africans (whether they be in Africa or abroad) to national self-determination. The term describes positive common conciousness amongst all Black people. It calls for Black people to identify themselves as a group, to place emphasis on and pursue... Black Power movement urged African Americans to look to Africa for inspiration and emphasized black solidarity, rather than integration.

Political empowerment

Politically and economically, blacks have made substantial strides in the post-civil rights era. Civil rights leader Jesse Jackson The Reverend Jesse Louis Jackson Sr. (born October 8, 1941) is a civil rights and political activist in the United States. Early Life He was born as Jesse Louis Burns in a poor household in Greenville, South Carolina. He married Jacqueline Lavinia Brown on December 31, 1962. After... Jesse Jackson, who ran for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988, brought unprecedented support and leverage to blacks in politics. In 1989, Virginia became the first state in U.S. history to elect a black governor, Lawrence Douglas Wilder (born January 17, 1931) is an American politician. He is the first African American to have been elected governor of a U.S. state1, serving as Governor of Virginia from 1990 to 1994. He is currently Mayor of Richmond, Virginia. Wilder was born in Richmond, Virginia. The... Douglas Wilder. In 1992 Carol Moseley Braun (born August 16, American politician and lawyer, was the first (and to date only) black woman elected to the United States Senate (representing Illinois). She was also an unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic nomination in the 2004 U.S. presidential election. Moseley Braun was born in Chicago... Carol Moseley-Braun of Illinois became the first black woman elected to the U.S. Senate. There were 8,936 black officeholders in the United States in 2000, showing a net increase of 7,467 since 1970. In 2001 there were 484 mayors and 38 members of Congress. The The Congressional Black Caucus is an organization representing African American members of the Congress of the United States. Its chair in the 109th Congress is Representative Mel Watt of North Carolina. The Caucus was founded in January 1969, by a group of black members of the House of Representatives, including... Congressional Black Caucus serves as a political bloc in Congress for issues relating to African Americans. The appointment of blacks to high federal offices—including General Colin Luther Powell (pronounced Coe-lin, born April 5, 1937) was the 65th United States Secretary of State, serving from January 20, 2001 to January 26, 2005 under President George W. Bush. Nominated by Bush on December 16, 2000 and unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate, Powell became the... Colin Powell, Chairman of the U.S. Armed Forces Joint Chiefs of Staff, 1989-1993, The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Presidents Cabinet. History George Washington signed a congressional bill into law on July 27, 1789 (1 Stat. 28), creating an executive Department... United States Secretary of State, 2001 is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. By strict interpretation of the Gregorian Calendar, 2001 is also the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millenium. Popular culture, however, often views the year 2000 as holding this distinction. 2001 is also the year... 2001 - 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. Events January Iraqi police officers hold up their index fingers marked with purple indelible ink, a security measure to prevent double voting. Worldwide aid effort continues to develop in response to the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. January 3... 2005; Dr. Condoleezza Condi Rice (born November 14, 1954), is the second United States Secretary of State in the administration of President George W. Bush. She is the first African American woman, the second African American (after Colin Powell), and the second woman (after Madeleine Albright) to serve in that post. Rice... Condoleezza Rice, Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, 2001- 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. It was designated the: International Year of Rice (by the United Nations) International Year to Commemorate the Struggle against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO) Elections were held in 73 countries during 2004. See a list of elections... 2004, confirmed Secretary of State in January, 2005; Dr. Ron Brown, Secretary of Commerce, 1993 is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003) Events January January 1 - Czechoslovakia divides. Establishment of independent Slovakia and Czech Republic. January 3 - In Moscow, George H. W. Bush and... 1993- 1996 is a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. Events Environmental change The invasive species Asian long-horned beetle is found in New York January 7 - One of the worst blizzards in American history hits eastern... 1996; and Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas (born June 23, 1948) is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He is considered to be part of the conservative wing in the current court. He is the second African-American to serve on the nations highest court and as of 2005... Clarence Thomas—also demonstrates the increasing visibility of blacks in the political arena.

Early history GA_googleFillSlot("encyclopedia_square");

The Civil War, Reconstruction and its aftermath

The Great Migration and the Harlem Renaissance

Political empowerment

Early history