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Africans in Virginia
Africans were kidnapped from their homelands and brought to Fort Comfort in Hampton Virginia. This disembarkation established the British trans-Atlantic slave trade and eventually, slavery in the United States. -
Vermont Officially Abolished Slavery
Vermont was the first colony to abolish slavery when it ratified its constitution. However, there were some caveats to this. The abolition of slavery was applied to men over the age of 21 and women over 18. Even after slavery was officially outlawed, the economies of the North were intertwined with it. -
New England Anti-Slavery Society Founded
William Lloyd Garrison met with fellow abolitionists to found the the New England Anti-Slavery Society in Boston, Massachusetts. This society was created at the African Meeting House. Garrison was also the co-founder and editor of The Liberator, an anti-slavery newspaper that was created in 1831. -
Emancipation Proclamation
This executive order was signed by President Abraham Lincoln during the American Civil War. It changed the legal status of more than 3.5 million enslaved Africans. It also played a large role in ending slavery in the United States. -
Ratification of 13th Amendment
The 13th Amendment abolished slavery, "except as punishment for a crime". Laws known as "Black Codes" were passed to criminalize Black people. Some of these Black Codes only allowed Black people to work as farmers or servants. The effects of these codes still linger today, such as with prison labor and the school to prison pipeline. -
Plessy v. Ferguson Ruling
This U.S. Supreme Court decision upheld racial segregation under the doctrine "separate, but equal". This further supported the Jim Crow laws that were established in the South and legitimized racial laws in the North. The ruling basically left issues of race up to the states. -
Chicago Defender Founded
The Chicago Defender was founded by Robert Sengstacke Abbott. In five years, it attracted a national audience and had major influence on the struggle for civil and human rights. It gave a voice to the experiences of Black Americans at a time when most news outlets were White-owned and biased. -
The Sedition Act of 1918 Enacted
This act was an extension of the Espionage Act of 1917. It covered a broader range of offenses, including speech and opinions that cast a negative light on the government or the war effort. The intention was to suppress any opposition to the World War I. -
Norwegian Teachers Resist Nazi Curriculum
Over 1,300 Norwegian teachers were arrested by the German Nazi-installed government. Nationwide, 12,000 of the 14,000 teachers refused to join the new Nazi-oriented teachers’ association and resisted Nazification of the curriculum. Half of the teachers were held in a concentration camp and the other half were shipped to the Artic for forced labor. -
Brown v. Board Ruling
This Supreme Court cased ruled that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. This was a decades long battle that started in 1848. The court came to a unanimous decision and this paved the way for integration and the end of segregation. -
Children of Birmingham Fill the Jails
In groups of 50, students "ditched" class to march for justice. When each group was arrested, another took its place. Almost 1,000 students were arrested that day and another 1,000 were arrested when the protest continued the next day. These brave children continued protesting, despite being faced with fire hoses, bill clubs, and biting dogs from the police. -
Disability Rights Activists’ “Capitol Crawl” for the ADA
This protest occurred in response to the government's efforts to stall and stop the "Americans with Disabilities Act". Participants at the Capitol abandoned their mobility aids and began to climb, crawl, and edge up the steps. These actions could not be ignored and it forced Congress to see the struggles disabled people faced. The bill passed through the House and Senate and was signed into law on July 26, 1990. -
"Black Lives Matter" Created
This political movement was created when three Black women, Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Ayọ Tometi originated the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter. This was in response to the acquittal of George Zimmerman for the murder of Trayvon Martin. Black Lives Matter promotes anti-racism and its primary concerns are police brutality and racially motivated violence.