African American Archives

Nov. 7, 1985: Court Ruling in Wrongful Case Against Rubin “Hurricane” Carter

U.S. District Court Judge handed down his decision to free Rubin “Hurricane” Carter who had been wrongfully accused of murder.

The 1850 Fugitive Slave Law Convention, Cazenovia, New York. The Edmonson sisters are standing wearing bonnets and shawls in the row behind the seated speakers. Frederick Douglass is seated, with Gerritt Smith standing behind him, and with Abby Kelley Foster the likely person seated on Douglass's left.

April 15, 1848: The Escape on the Pearl Schooner

Seventy-seven enslaved people attempted to flee Washington, D.C. by sailing away on a schooner called The Pearl.

April 4, 1967: Martin Luther King Jr. Delivers “Beyond Vietnam” Speech

Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his speech in opposition to the Vietnam War, calling for a “revolution of values.”

Charles Spurgeon Rucks | Zinn Education Project

Dec. 29, 1923: Terror Attack on African Americans in Catcher, Arkansas

The Catcher “Race Riot” began in Arkansas, leading to the creation of another sundown town.

Dec. 27, 1937: Harriet Elizabeth Brown Case Settled

Harriet Elizabeth Brown, a teacher from Maryland, sued for equal pay for Black teachers and won the case.

Feb. 21, 1965: Malcolm X Assassinated

El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz (Malcolm X) was assassinated, just weeks after speaking in Selma.

Feb. 26, 1965: Jimmie Lee Jackson Murdered

Jimmie Lee Jackson was beaten and shot by an Alabama state trooper during a peaceful voting rights march on Feb. 18. He died eight days later.

Feb. 26, 2012: Trayvon Martin Murdered

Trayvon Martin, a Black teenager, was murdered. The death of Martin and acquittal of the man who shot him sparked the national and global Movement for Black Lives.

Feb. 13, 1937: Founding of Southern Negro Youth Congress

The first Southern Negro Youth Conference (SNYC) conference was held in Richmond, Virginia.

Feb. 12, 1968: Sanitation Workers Strike in Memphis

Over 1,100 sanitation workers strike and march for better wages, conditions, and safety with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Memphis, Tennessee.

Crosswhite (photo) | Zinn Education Project

Jan. 27, 1847: Crosswhites Escaped to Canada

Several hundred citizens of Marshall, Michigan, helped Adam and Sarah Crosswhite escape slavery and kidnapping and flee to Canada.

Clifton Walker (Photo) | Zinn Education Project

Feb. 28, 1964: Clifton Walker Murdered

Korean War veteran Clifton Walker was murdered by the White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan while on his way home from his late work shift at the International Paper plant in Mississippi.

March 1, 1874: White League Formed

A group of Confederate veterans in Louisiana formed the White League with the goal of using terrorism to undermine Reconstruction.

Jan. 23, 1957: Klan Forces Man to Jump from Bridge

Mr. Willie Edwards Jr., a 24-year-old African American man, was murdered by members of the Alabama KKK.

The Fifteenth Amendment and its results poster | Zinn Education Project: Teaching People's History

Feb. 3, 1870: 15th Amendment Ratified

The 15th Amendment to the United States Constitution officially granted African American men the right to vote.

Jan. 1, 1960: Greenville Airport Protest

South Carolina NAACP held Greenville Airport Protest in support of Jackie Robinson.

Jan. 1, 1923: Rosewood Massacre

White supremacists destroyed the Black town of Rosewood, Florida, and murdered many of its residents. Descendants have fought for reparations and recognition of the history.

Jan. 1, 1804: Haitian Independence

Haiti became a free republic after a revolution, declaring independence for ALL people.

Jan. 1, 1863: Emancipation Proclamation

The Emancipation Proclamation took effect in 1863. Who did it “emancipate”? And who gets credited?

Jan. 1, 2009: Oscar Grant Killed

Oscar Grant was fatally shot by BART Police in Oakland.

Jan. 3, 1966: Sammy Younge Jr. Murdered

Samuel Younge Jr., Navy vet, Tuskegee student, activist was killed in Alabama for using a “whites-only” bathroom. SNCC issued a powerful statement about his murder and in opposition to the Vietnam War.

March 24, 1853: Mary Ann Shadd Cary Published “The Provincial Freeman”

Mary Ann Shadd Cary published the first edition of “The Provincial Freeman,” Canada’s first anti-slavery newspaper.

May 31, 1921: Tulsa Massacre

In one of countless white supremacist massacres in U.S. history, white supremacists destroyed a thriving Black community in Oklahoma, known today as the Tulsa Massacre.

Jack Johnson fighting Jim Jeffries, Reno, 1910. Source: Nevada Historical Society.

July 4, 1910: Jack Johnson Defeats James J. Jeffries

African American heavyweight champion Jack Johnson successfully defended his title by knocking out James J. Jeffries, who had come out of retirement “to win back the title for the White race” in Reno, Nevada.

Jan. 2, 1915: John Hope Franklin Born

John Hope Franklin, born this day in Rentiesville and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma, was one of most important historians of the 20th century.

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