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Declaration of Independence
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Maria W. Stewart - "Why Sit Here and Die"
Stewart’s speech calls for the equal treatment of African-American women whilst also condemning the slavery of the South and unequal opportunity in the North. Her speech detailed the experience of slavery and oppression from the perspective of a Black woman, who faced unique challenges in society. Stewart's speech highlighted the mistreatment of Black women and encouraged their education, a stance that was not commonly seen in other early Civil Rights speeches/documents. -
Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass was an American abolitionist, writer, and orator. In 1845 he wrote his autobiography "The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave" that described his experience in slavery. This book would bring Douglass to fame as well as stimulate the abolitionist movement. Douglass would go on to produce more writings and give speeches that would serve the movement. -
Fredrick Douglass - "What to the Slave, is the 4th of July"
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Harriet Tubman
Harriet Tubman was born into slavery and escaped, later becoming a conductor on the Underground Railroad and serving in the Civil War. During the Civil War, Tubman served as a nurse and cook, helped gather information beyond Confederate lines, and helped slaves escape North. Most notably, she led the Combahee Ferry Raid, rescuing over 700 slaves. -
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the sixteenth president of the United States of America. In 1863, two years after the start of the Civil War, Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, which declared all slaves in the rebellious states free. The proclamation was meant to weaken the Confederacy and strengthen the Union. The Emancipation made the abolition of slavery a main Union goal and gave slaves the opportunity of freedom in the nation. -
Abraham Lincoln - "Lincoln's Second Inagural Address"
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The Reconstruction Era
The Reconstruction era occurred after the Civil war and lasted from 1865 to 1877. It was a time when the country attempted to make amends so that Black people would have civil rights. However, for the majority of Black Americans, they were still unequal on many grounds, especially economically. -
New Deal Housing Segregation
During the Great Depression, President Roosevelt enacted the New Deal Housing Act to help stimulate the economy. However, the policies of the act focused on White buyers and actively worked against African Americans. The Federal Housing Administration advised mortgage loaners against financing predominately Black areas and reinforced housing segregation. This has led to economic inequality and persisting demographic patterns in neighborhoods today. -
James Baldwin - "Letter to my Newphew"
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Martin Luther King Jr.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was an American minister and activist and one of the most prominent leaders in the Civil Rights Movement. King helped organize one of the largest demonstrations for the Civil Rights Movement, the 1963 March on Washington. There, he gave his famous "I Have a Dream" speech that inspired citizens to take action to make racial equality fully realized. -
1963 March on Washington
On August 28th, 1963, over a quarter of a million people gathered to march on Washington to protest racial discrimination in the nation. During this march, Martin Luther King Jr. performed his “I Have a Dream” speech. This demonstration, coupled with continued peaceful protests and lobbying by the NAACP, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was signed by President Lyndon Johnson. One year later, he signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson. It eliminated segregation and banned discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. This amendment would pave the way for the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Fair Housing Act of 1968. -
Rainbow Coalition
The Rainbow Coalition was a racially diverse movement in 1960/70s Chicago. They achieved great changes in the everyday lives of Black, Puerto Rican, and poor White people, and changed the politics of Chicago. The Rainbow Coalition encouraged minorities to vote, influenced later political leaders (such as Jesse Jackson, Harold Washington, and Barack Obama), and, demonstrated that big changes can be made when people put aside their differences and work together on a common goal. -
Josė "cha cha" Jimėnez
Josė Jimėnez is a political activist and the founder of the Young Lords Organization. Originally starting as a Chicago street gang, Jimėnez transformed it into a civil and human rights organization. The group was the most active in the late 1960s and 1970s when they were a part of the Rainbow Coalition. During this time they advocated against police brutality and helped provide housing and health care to underprivileged demographics. -
Ta-Nehisi Coates - "Between the World and Me"
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Terry Gross - "A ‘Forgotten History’ Of How the U.S Government Segregated America"
The housing shortage of 1933 influenced the American Government to enact the New Deal, which would purposely segregate the nation's neighborhoods. Redlining became common practice, which was the act of the Federal Housing Administration refusing to insure mortgages in and near African American neighborhoods. The segregation of neighborhoods has led to economic inequality and limited social mobility for African Americans today.