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Period: May 3, 1500 to
Atlantic Slave Trade
During the Atlantic Slave Trade, nearly 10 million people were kidnapped from Africa; all but 350,000 were for sale in the America. (Daniels, Roger. "Coming to America: A History of Immigration and Ethnicity in American Life." New York: Harper Perennial, 2002,) 61. -
18th Century Atlantic Slave Trade
Capture & EnslavementIn the 18th Century, the majority of Africans sold into slavery in the Atlantic Slave Trade. Kidnapping, I would argue, constitutes the first wave of violence against Africans, soon to be African Americans. -
Period: to
American Civil War
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Abraham Lincoln Issues the Emancipation Proclamation
The most far-reaching act of any American president, the Emancipation Proclamation declared that over three million African American slaves would be free, and also free to join the military. (Guelzo, Allen C. "The Great Event of the Nineteenth Century: Lincoln Isusues the Emancipation Proclamation." Pennsylvania Legacies, Vol. 4, no. 2 (2004): 20-23.)
Image: Getty Images -
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Period: to
104 African Americans are Lynched per Year in the South
Levine, Michael L. "African Americans and Civil Rights: From 1619 to the Present." Phoenix, AZ: Oryx Press, 1996: 117. -
New Orleans Race Riot
Over a three day period, white mobs terrorized the African Americans of New Orleans. Atlanta's press called for lynchings and the reestablishment of the Ku Klux Klan. (Levine, Michael L.African Americans and Civil Rights: From 1619 to the Present. Phoenix, AZ: Oryx Press, 116-117). (Image Credit: http://photos.nola.com/tpphotos/2011/09/175charles_3.html) -
The Lynching of Jesse Washington
1916: Jesse Washington Lynched after ConvictionIn May 1916, a mob dragged Jesse Washington, an African American convicted of sexually assaulting and murdering a white woman, from a Waco, Texas courtrom. In front of 10,000 people, watching and cheering, they hanged him from a tree and lowered him several times into a raging fire. -
Murder of EmmettTill
The abduction and brutal murder of 14-year-old Emmett Till on August 20, 1955 in Mississippi became one of the key events which caused the explosion that year of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. His killers, all white, were subsequently acquitted by an all-white jury (http://www.jimcrowhistory.org/resources/lessonplans/hs_es_emmett_till.htm). (Image credit: emmetttillmurder.com) -
The Murder of James Byrd, Jr.
Troy Davis And Lawrence Brewer, A Tale Of Two Executions On June 7, 1998, James Byrd, Jr. accepted a ride from Shawn Berry, Lawrence Brewer, and John King.Instead of taking him home, they drove him to a remote country road, beat him severely, and dragged him behind a pick-up truck along an asphalt road. Autopsy reports indicate he was conscious the entire painful ride, until his body hit a culvert. Lawrence Brewer was executed in September 21, 2011. -
Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act
DIVISION E — MATTHEW SHEPARD AND JAMES BYRD, JR. HATE CRIMES PREVENTION ACTThe Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act was passed by Congress on October 22, 2009, and signed by President Barack Obama on October 28, 2009. Inspired by the murders of Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr., the measure expands the 1969 United States federal hate-crime law to include crimes motivated by a victim's actual or perceived gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability. -
The Death of Trayvon Martin
The shooting death of unarmed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Fl. has sparked national outrage, including comments from President Barack Obama. The shooter, 28-year-old George Zimmerman, neighborhood watch captain, has not been charged in the shooting. People around the country claim race as a motivator, and call for Zimmerman's arrest. The case is ongoing. (Image Credit: ABC News; Orange County Jail)
