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First slaves
The first African slaves come to Virginia -
Stono Rebellion
Largest slave uprising in the British mainland colonies -
Lucy Terry
The earliest known black poet -
Crispus Attucks
First man killed in the Boston Massacre -
Phillis Wheatly
Poems on Various Subjects, Religions, and Moral is the first book published by an African American woman -
Slavery becomes illegal in Northwest Territory
US Constitution states that Congress may not ban the slave trade until 1808 -
Cotton gin
Eli Whitney invents the cotton gin -
Fugitive slave law
Slaves who escaped by crossing state lines can be legally enslaved again -
Prosser's march
Gabriel Prosser attempts to lead a slave revolt -
Slave Act of 1807
Congress bans the importation of African slaves -
Missouri Compromise
Slavery north of the southern boundary of Missouri is banned. -
Vesey revolt fails
Denmark Vesey's planned revolt is discovered. He and 34 others are hanged. -
Turner's rebellion
Nat Turner leads the most significant slave uprising in history. Stricter slave laws are put in place as consequence. -
The Liberator begins publishing
William Lloyd Garrison creates a weekly abolitionist newspaper. -
Wilmot Proviso
Attempted to ban slavery in territory gained in the Mexican war. -
The North Star begins publishing
Frederick Douglass launches his abolitionist newspaper. -
Harriet Tubman escapes
Becomes one of the most effective leaders of the Underground Railroad -
Compromise of 1850
California is admitted as a free state-- Utah and New Mexico have popular sovereignty, -
Uncle Tom's Cabin is published
Harriet Beecher Stowe stirs anti-slavery movements with her novel. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
The Missouri Compromise is repealed and new tensions arise. -
Dred Scott case
Congress holds that slaves are not citizens. -
John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry
The federal arsenal is captured by John Brown and 21 followers in an attempt to launch a slave revolt. -
The Confederacy is founded
South Carolina is the first to secede and the Civil War begins. -
Emancipation Proclamation is issued
Lincoln announces that all slaves in rebelling states are freed -
The KKK is formed
Ex-confederates form the hate group in Tennessee. -
Black Codes are passed
Southern states begin to restrict newly granted African American freedoms. -
The Freedmen's Bureau is established
Congress begins to protect the rights of the newly emancipated slaves -
13th Amendment
All slaves are freed and slavery is illegal in the United States. -
The Civil War ends
Reconstruction begins. -
Lincoln is assasinated
John Wilkes Booth murders President Lincoln. -
Reconstruction acts are passed
The Confederacy is divided into 5 military districts. -
14th Amendment
Equal civil rights are given to former slaves (excluding voting) -
15th Amendment
Gave African Americans the right to vote -
Hiram Revels is elected senator and 600 blacks served as state legislatures
Hiram Revel of Mississippi is elected the country's first African-American Senator. During reconstruction, 16 blacks served in Congress and about 600 served in states legislatures -
Reconstruction ends in the South
Federal attempts to provide some basic civil rights for African Americans quickly erode. -
Booker T. Washington founds the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute in Alabama
Leading school of higher learning for African Americans, and stressed the practical application of knowledge. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
Separate but equal -
Louis Armstrong
A iconic trumpeter who created 'La vie en rose' and 'What a Wonderful World' -
NAACP is founded
Created by WEB Du bois. Most influential African-American civil rights organization -
Period: to
Harlem Renissance
Literary, artistic, intellectual movement fosters new black culture identity -
Hattie McDaniel wins an Oscar
Hattie McDaniel is the first African American to win an Oscar -
Emmitt Till brutally murdered
Emmitt Till is murdered by white men for allegedly whistling at a white woman. Public outrage after white men's case is acquitted causes civil rights movement -
Guion Stewart Bluford Jr. first African American Astronaut
First African American to go into space -
Jackie Robinson Breaks signs on Brooklyn Dodgers
Robinson breaks Major League Baseball's color barrier when he is signed on to Brooklyn Dodgers by Branch Rickey -
Integration of U.S. forces
Harry Truman integrated U.S. forces after WWII even though African-Americans participated in the wars before -
Brown v Board of Education
In Topeka, Kansas, racial segregation in school is unconstitutional -
Rosa Parks: Arrested
Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat at the front of the "colored section" of a bus to a white passenger. Montgomery's black community riots bus. Montgomery's buses are desegregated -
Little Rock Nine
9 black students blocked from entering school on the orders of Governor Orval Faubus. Federal gov. intervenes on side of the students . And they graduate despite the constant violent threats -
Greensboro Four
4 black students in Greensboro, NC, begin a sit-in at a segregated Woolworth's lunch counter. 4 months later the lunch counter is desegregated. Triggers similar nonviolent protests -
Freedom Riders
student volunteers who toured the south to test out laws that prohibit segregation in interstate travel facilities. They were attacked by angry mobs. Sponsored by CORE and SNCC -
March for Jobs and Freedom
250,000 in attendance. Largest demonstration in Nation's capital. MLK's "I Have A Dream" -
MlK receives Nobel Peace Prize
MLK Jr receives Nobel Peace Prize -
President Johnson signs Civil Rights Act
prohibits discrimination of all kinds based on race, color, religion, or national origin -
Bloody Sunday
State troopers violently attack peaceful demonstrators led by MLK Jr. as they try to cross Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala. Police use tear gas, whips, and clubs. Pushed for voting rights act 5 months later -
Black Panthers are Founded
Black Panthers are founded by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale -
Kwanzaa is created
Kwanzaa was created by Dr. Maulana Karenga to celebrate african history -
President Johnson appoints Thurgood Marshall
Thurgood Marshall becomes first black Supreme Court Justice -
President Johnson signs Civil Rights Act of 1968
prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of houses -
MLK Assassination
MLK Jr. is assassinated in Memphis Tenn -
Janelle Commissiong wins Miss Universe
Janelle Commissiong is the first African American woman to win Miss Universe -
First Race Riots
south-central LA after jury acquits 4 white police officers for videotaped beating of Rodney King -
Barack Obama elected President
1st african american president elected president of US.
