-
Hattie McDaniel becomes the first African-American to win an Academy Award (Gone with the Wind).
African American, Women's Rights -
Period: to
Civil Rights
-
The National Negro Opera Company is established in Pittsburgh by Mary Lucinda Dawson.
African American -
Margaret Walker publishes her book, For My People.
African American, Women's Rights -
Hugh Mulzac: first African-American captain in the U.S. Merchant Marines
African American -
First African-American cadets graduate from the Army Flight School at Tuskegee University
African American -
The U.S. Supreme Court declares white only political primaries unconstitutional in the Smith v. Allwright case
African American -
Frederick Douglass Patterson established the United Negro College Fund to provide support to black colleges, universities, and its students
African American -
Benjamin O. Davis Jr. named commander of the Goodman Field in Kentucky (first African-American to command a military base)
African American -
Ebony magazine is published
African American -
U.S. Supreme Court rules segregation on interstate bus travel unconstitutional (Morgan v. Virginia)
All Races -
Jackie Robinson becomes the first African-American to play in the major league baseball
African American -
NAACP issues an appeal to racism entitled An Appeal to the World; presented to UN
All Races -
Alice Coachman becomes the first African-American woman to win an Olympic Gold medal (High Jump)
African American, Women's Rights -
The law banning interracial marriages in California is banned
All Races -
William A. Hinton; first African-American professor at the Harvard University Medical School
African American -
Korean War begins and many American troops are sent to support the cause
Asian -
"Operation Wetback" from 1953 and 1958, the U.S. Immigration Service arrests and deports more than 3.8 million Latin Americans (many deported unfairly)
Hispanic -
The Highlander Folk School in Monteagle, Tenn. (runs workshops on organizing protests for individuals such as union organizers) issues invitations to civil rights workers
African American -
The Supreme Court decides Brown v. Board of Education on May 17, arguing that "separate but equal" schools are inherently unequal (decision prohibits school segregation)
African American -
Rosa Parks attends a workshop for civil rights organizers at the Highlander Folk School in July
African American -
Emmett Till, a 14-year-old African American boy from Chicago, is killed for allegedly whistling at a white woman
African American -
Federal Interstate Commerce Commission forbids segregation on interstate buses and trains
African American -
Rosa Parks refuses to give her seat to a white passenger on a bus in Montgomery, Ala., sparking the Montgomery Bus Boycott
African American -
Whites angry about the Montgomery Bus Boycott bomb four African American churches and the homes of civil rights leaders (King, Ralph Abernathy, E.D. Nixon)
African American -
On court order, the University of Alabama admits its first African American student, Autherine Lucy; finds "legal" ways to keep her from attending
African American, Women's Rights -
The Montgomery Bus Boycott ends; successfully integrated Montgomery's buses
African American -
King, along with Ralph Abernathy and other Baptist ministers found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) in January
African American -
Congress passes the Civil Rights Act of 1957, which creates the Civil Rights Commission and authorizes the Justice Department to investigate cases of African Americans being denied voting rights in the South.
African American -
The Supreme Court decision Cooper v. Aaron rules that a threat of mob violence is not reason enough to delay school desegregation.
Generic -
Martin Luther King and his wife, Coretta Scott King, visit India, the homeland of Mahatma Gandhi, who won independence for India through nonviolent tactics. King discusses the philosophy of nonviolence with Gandhi's followers
African American -
Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee holds its first meeting
African American -
Albany Movement
African American -
King comes to Albany and joins the protesters
African American -
Air flights between the U.S. and Cuba are suspended following the Cuban Missile Crisis
Hispanic -
Meredith becomes the first African American student at Ole Miss
African American -
King, SNCC and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) organize a series of 1963 civil rights demonstrations and protests to challenge segregation in Birmingham
African American -
Civil Rights Act of 1964: bans discrimination in employment and public places
African American -
Immigration and Nationality Act
Asian -
Malcolm X is assassinated in Harlem at the Audubon Ballroom
African American -
President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Voting Rights Act into law; banned discriminatory voting requirements, like requiring people to complete literacy tests before they registered to vote
Generic -
James Meredith embarks on a "March Against Fear" from Memphis, Tenn., to Jackson, Miss., to encourage black Mississippians to register to vote
African American -
Loving v. Virginia; laws against interracial marriage unconstitutional
Generic (Race) -
Civil Rights Act of 1968 (or the Fair Housing Act) into law, which prohibits discrimination by sellers or renters of property
Generic -
Martin Luther King, Jr. is assassinated
African American -
African American students hold protests at universities, including Cornell University and North Carolina A & T University in Greensboro, asking for changes such as a Black Studies program and the hiring of African American faculty
African American -
Dr. Clifton Wharton Jr. becomes the first African-American to head a predominately white university in the 20th Century
African American -
Playwright Charles Gordone wins the Pulitzer Prize in Drama for the play, “No Place to Be Somebody”
African American -
Johnson Products becomes the first African-American owned company to be listed on a major U.S. stock exchange
African American -
The first National Black Political Convention (Indiana)
African American -
Wilt Chamberlain becomes the first NBA player to score more than 30,000 points during his career
African American -
The National Black Feminist Organization (Eleanor Holmes Norton)
African American, Women's Rights -
Coleman Young becomes the first African-American mayor of Detroit
African American -
Congress passes the Equal Educational Opportunity Act of 1974; supported bilingual education
Generic (Racial) -
Arthur Ashe: the first African-American to win the British Men’s Singles at Wimbledon
African American -
Frank Robinson becomes the first African-American manager of a Major League Baseball team (Cleveland Indians)
African American -
Barbara Jordan (congresswoman representing Texas) is the first African-American woman to deliver the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention
African American, Women's Rights -
Patricia Roberts Harris is the first African-American woman to hold a cabinet position (Housing and Urban Development)
African American, Women's Rights -
Andrew Young: first African-American to become a U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations
African American -
Muhammad Ali is the first heavyweight champion to win the title three times
African American -
Faye Wattleton is the first African-American woman to preside over Planned Parenthood
African American, Women's Rights -
Toni Cade Bambara’s collection of short stories, The Salt Eaters wins the American Book Award
African American, Women's Rights -
A riot erupts in Liberty City, Fla.: police officers are acquitted in the murder of an African-American man who was unarmed. Lasting 24 hours, 15 people were killed (considered the wor)
African American -
Bryant Gumbel becomes the first African-American to be an anchor on a major network (The Today Show)
African American -
Michael Jackson releases Thriller. The album will ultimately be considered the bestselling album in music history when it sells 45 million copies worldwide
African American -
Vanessa Williams is the first African-American to be crowned Miss America
African American, Women's Rights -
W. Wilson Goode becomes the first African-American mayor of Philadelphia
African American -
The Cosby Show makes its debut on NBC: the most successful series featuring an African-American cast in television history
African American -
Philadelphia mayor W. Wilson Goode orders Philadelphia law enforcement agents to bomb the headquarters of MOVE
African American (negative) -
Martin Luther King, Jr.'s national holiday is celebrated across the United States
African American -
Immigration Reform and Control Act
Asian -
Dr. Benjamin Carson, a neurosurgeon leads a team of seventy surgeons at John Hopkins University Hospital in a 22-hour operation separating Siamese twins
African American -
The first Ph.D. in African-American Studies is offered by Temple University
African American -
Bill Cosby donates $20 million to Spelman College. Cosby’s gift is the largest ever made by an African-American to a college or university
African American -
Frederick Drew Gregory is the first African-American to command a space shuttle by leading the Discovery
African American -
Miami's Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a Cuban American, becomes the first Latino woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives
Hispanic, Women's Rights -
August Wilson wins a Pulitzer Prize for the play, The Piano Lesson
African American -
Immigration Act: nearly triples annual visa cap (700000)
Asian -
Rodney King is beaten by three officers (officers tried)
African American -
Walter E. Massey is the first African-American to lead the National Science Foundation
African American -
Mae Carol Jemison is the first African-American woman in space, travelling on the space shuttle Endeavor
African American, Women's Rights -
Toni Morrison wins the Nobel Peace Prize in Literature for her novel, Beloved (First African American)
African American, Women's Rights -
Dr. Helene Doris Gayle is appointed Direction of the National Center for HIV, STD and TB Prevention for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (First woman & African American)
African American, Women's Rights -
Tiger Woods: first African-American and youngest golfer to win the Masters Tournament
African American -
George Walker: First African-American to win a Pulitzer Price for Music( “Lilies for Soprano or Tenor and Orchestra”)
African American -
Wynton Marsalis’ jazz composition “Blood on the Fields” wins a Pulitzer Prize in Music
African American -
African-American men exploited through the Tuskegee Syphilis Study receive a formal apology by President Bill Clinton
African American -
The National League of Women Voters elects its first African-American president, Carolyn Jefferson-Jenkins
African American, Women's Rights -
Serena Williams wins the U.S. Open Women’s Singles Tennis Championship at the U.S. Open
African American, Women's Rights -
The Immigration Law Enforcement Monitoring Project coordinates nationwide activities on Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead. Public displays of crosses, representing those who died crossing the border, capture public and media attention
Hispanic -
The ringleader of the Mississippi civil rights murders , Edgar Ray Killen, is convicted of manslaughter
African American -
Rosa Parks dies at age 92
African American -
Emmett Till's 1955 murder case, reopened by the Department of Justice in 2004, is officially closed
African American -
James Bonard Fowler, a former state trooper, is indicted for the murder of Jimmie Lee Jackson 40 years after Jackson's death
African American -
Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) introduces the Civil Rights Act of 2008
Generic -
Asians surpass Hispanics as largest immigrant group
Asian, Hispanic -
In Shelby County v. Holder, the Supreme Court struck down Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act, which established a formula for Congress to use when determining if a state or voting jurisdiction requires prior approval before changing its voting laws
Generic -
A new museum, the National Center for Civil and Human Rights, opens in Atlanta
Generic -
The Justice Department opens a civil rights investigation into police practices in Ferguson, Mo., where a Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager, was shot and killed by a white police officer
African American -
After the release of a Justice Department report in March documenting civil rights violations by the Ferguson Police Department, Ferguson officials reach a deal with the Justice Department, avoiding a civil rights lawsuit
Generic
