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1992: Dr. Mae Jemison
In 1992, Dr. Mae Jemison became the first Black woman to go into space. Prior to her career in space, she founded served as a doctor in the Peace Corps and after her time in space, she founded an organization
that provided space camps for students. She has been a trailblazer across the STEM world. -
1993: Jocelyn M. Elder
Jocelyn M. Elders was the first Black mayor of St. Louis, Freeman Robertson Bosley Jr., assumes office. Jocelyn M. Elders is the first woman and first Black person to be appointed as the U.S. Surgeon General. Elders, who serves from 1993 to 1994 during the administration of President Bill Clinton. -
1997: Harvey Johnson, Jr.
Harvey Johnson, Jr. is the first Black mayor of Jackson, Mississippi. Lee Patrick Brown is elected mayor of Houston the first Black person to hold such a position. He is reelected twice to serve three terms the maximum allowed from 1998 to 2004.Historian John Hope Franklin is appointed by President Clinton to head One America in the 21st Century: The President's Initiative on Race. -
1999:Serena Williams
Serena Williams wins the U.S. Open Women’s Singles Tennis Championship at the U.S. Open. Williams is the first Black woman to reach such an achievement since Althea Gibson won in 1958. -
2003:Grutter v Bollinger
In Grutter v Bollinger, the Supreme Court declares that while race can still play a factor in admission decisions at the University of Michigan to promote diversity, point systems for minority applicants are deemed unconstitutional. In the same year, Harvard University conducts a Civil Rights project that finds schools were more segregated in 2000 than in 1970 when legitimate desegregation efforts began. -
2012:#BlackLivesMatter
BlackLivesMatter is first used on social media after George Zimmerman is acquitted of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin’s murder. The movement grows across the country and around the world after 18-year-old Michael Brown is shot six times by a White police officer in 2014. -
2016: Fisher vs UT Austin
The Supreme Court upholds affirmative action at the University of Texas at Austin in Fisher vs UT Austin. The Supreme Court held that the lower courts did not conduct a sufficient strict scrutiny examination in this case. Justice Antonin Scalia wrote a concurring opinion in which he argued that the Constitution prohibits governmental discrimination on the basis of race. -
2020: Breonna Taylor & George Floyd
Following another high-profile case such as the March 13 murder of Breonna Taylor in her own home, the Black Lives Matter Movement explodes again when 48 year old George Floyd dies after being pinned to the ground by policeman Derek Chauvin. -
2020: Kamala Harris
Kamala Harris became the first women, and the first women of color, to serve as Vice President when Joe Biden is elected President. But her ascendance to the second-highest office in the land represented so much more. It held up a mirror to America, revealing how key demographic trends have reshaped the country. -
2021: Juneteenth
President Joe Biden signs a bill declaring Juneteenth as a federal holiday. Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, the date on which enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, finally received the news they were free. -
2022: Higher education and race conscious admission practices
The Supreme Court plans to revisit affirmative action in higher education and race conscious admission practices. The University of North Carolina and Harvard began admitting larger numbers of students, including students of color, in the 1960s and 70s. Harvard, UNC, and other universities have had the ability to consider a student’s race along with a wide range of other factors.But now, the Supreme Court could change all of this. -
2008:Barack Obama
Barack Obama is elected as the 44th president of the United States, becoming the first Black man to hold the office. Obama signed many landmark bills into law during his first two years in office. The main reforms include: the Affordable Care Act, sometimes referred to as "the ACA" or "Obamacare", the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, and the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010.