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African Americans migrate to the North
From 1890 to 1920 an ample amount of African Americans migrated to the northern cities in hope of finding better opputunities and less discrimination. -
The NAACP is Founded
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is founded, and ensures the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of minority group citizens of United States and eliminate race prejudice. -
The UNIA organization is founded
Marcus Garvey arrives in Harlem from Jamaica and finds the Universal Negro Improvement Association that urges blacks to come together and form their own nation. -
The First Pan African Congress
The first Pan-African congress was organized by W.E.B. Du Bois in Paris. The purpose of the first Pan African congress was to deal with the issues facing Africa because of European colonization. -
Black Star Shipping Line
The black star shipping line was founded by Marcus Garvey and its purpose was to make transporting good and eventually African Americans easier throughout African global economy. The SS Yarmouth was one of the first boats purchased by the black star shipping line. -
James Weldon Johnson, first black officer (secretary) of NAACP appointed.
James Weldon Johnson was an important figure in the Harlem renissance especially when he became the first black officer of NAACP. He also edited many books like the Book of American Negro Poetry, The Book of American Negro Spirituals, and The Second Book of American Negro Spirituals, -
Benjamin Brawley publishes The Negro in Literature and Art in the United States.
Benjamin Brawley was an African American educator and author and published the revised edition of The Negro in Literature and Art in the United States. It was an attempt at describing the accomplishments of African Americans in the fields of literature and artistery. -
Marcus Garvey gets five years in prison
Marcus Garvey was a leading political figure and he was determined to bring African Americans together. But in June he was arresteed for mail fraud and sentenced five years in prison. He had blamed jews for his conviction. -
Civic Club Dinner
The Civic Club Dinner was sponsored by Opportunity, and brought white publishers and black writers together. This was a formal launching of the New Negro movement. The purpose of the dinner besides to acknowledge and celebrate the great quantity of black creative talent that had emerged was to draw attention to the young writers of the Harlem Renaissance. -
Locke publishes The New Negro sparking the Harlem Renaissance
The book is considered by literary scholars and critics to be the definitive text of the burgeoning New Negro Movement or Harlem Renaissance -
Langston Hughes published The Weary Blues
Langston Hughes gave a voice to African Americans by writing about the world around him. His poems were in the laguage of everyday people. During the Harlem Renaissance he rose as a great poet. -
The Globetrotters is established
The globe trotters were the first exhibition basketball team from Chicago. The team wasn’t competitive and combined athleticism, theatre, and comedy. They eventually became known more for entertainment than sports because of the comic routines in their act. -
Ethel Waters appears on Broadway
Ethel Waters was an African American famous for being a blues jazz and gospel vocalist and actress. She was the first to perform in an integrated cast on Broadway. She overcame a hard childhood and by age 17 she was already recording with people like Duke Ellington. -
Duke Ellington played at The Cotton Club
The genres of the music he played were the blues, orchestral jazz, swing, and big band music. He was a famous musician with his band and they played at many places.
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The National Negro Business League ceases
The National Negro Business League was founded in Boston Massachusetts by Booker T. Washington with the support of Andrew Carnegie. Its purpose was to promote the commercial and financial development of African Americans. -
W.E.B. Du Bois resigns from The Crisis and NAACP.
W.E.B. Du Bois was a founder of the NAACP and he was also the editor of their magazine the Crisis. He resigned from the NAACP because of his new advocacy of an African American nationalist strategy. -
The First Harlem Race Riot
During the race riot of 1935 three people died and hundreds were wounded and there were many damaged properties through out the district. The properties that were most damaged were African American homes and businesses. It is said that the race riot was started because of the beating of a teenage shoplifter. -
Mulatto by Langston Hughes
Mulatto was the first full-length play by a black writer that opened on broadway. Even though this was a play that would be performed by African American it had hurt Langston Hughes image. Martin Jones was the producer of the play and had dramatically changed the written play because he had added a rape scene and other sensational elements to make it sell better on broadway. The play ened up becoming so controversial that it was banned in Philadellphia. -
"God Bless the Child" becomes one of Billie Holiday's many success
Billie Hoilday was a jazz singer and one of the most famous songs was "God Bless the Child" that she wrote with Arthur Herzog, Jr. She sold over a million records and for the first time ever it ranked 3rd on the billborad charts. -
Harlem riot of 1964
A 15-year-old African American named James Powell was shot and killed by Lieutenant Thomas Gilligan in front of his friends. Others also died because they had witnessed what happened. When students were informed by the principal they started riots that affected New York City neighborhoods of Harlem and Bedford-Stuyvesant. When the riots ended it was reported that there was one dead, 118 injured, and 465 arrested.
