African American Archives

Dec. 9, 1864: Ebenezer Creek Massacre

People who had escaped from slavery and were following the Union Army, were blocked from crossing the Ebenezer Creek, leading to their death.

Nov. 3, 1883: Danville Riot

African Americans voters were threatened after the Danville Riot, leading to their loss of political power in this majority African American city in Virginia.

Nov. 3, 1874: White League Attacks Black Voters

Deadly election “riots” took place in Barbour County, Alabama against African American politicians and voters.

July 30, 1920: Lynching of Sergeant Edgar Caldwell

Sergeant Edgar Caldwell, a Black man, was hanged before a crowd of spectators in the yard of the Calhoun County jail for riding in a white streetcar.

Headline of article from the Pine Bluff Daily Graphic, September 4, 1919.

Sept. 1, 1919: Lynching of WWI Veteran Clinton Briggs

Decorated WWI veteran Clinton Briggs was killed in Arkansas.

Feb. 8, 1946: WWII Veteran Timothy Hood Killed

Timothy Hood, a veteran of the U.S. Marines, was killed for removing a Jim Crow sign.

Aug. 3, 1946: J. C. Farmer Killed

J. C. Farmer, a 19-year-old African American WWII veteran, was killed by a mob of 20 white men.

Newspaper article on the Vicksburg Massacre.

Dec. 7, 1874: Vicksburg Massacre

White people attacked and killed many Black citizens who had organized for a Black sheriff to remain in office during the Vicksburg Massacre.

Sept. 4, 1875: Clinton, Mississippi Massacre

Nearly 50 African-Americans were killed by white mobs during the Clinton Riot.

Dec. 9, 1867: Georgia Constitutional Convention

The Georgia Constitutional Convention was held with 33 African Americans and 137 white attendees.

Dec. 9, 1872: P. B. S. Pinchback Becomes Governor

P. B. S. Pinchback of Louisiana became the second Black governor in the United States.

Dec. 12, 1870: Joseph H. Rainey First African-American in U.S. House of Reps

Joseph H. Rainey, from South Carolina, was the first African-American to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Thirteenth Amendment | Zinn Education Project

Dec. 18, 1865: Ratification of 13th Amendment

Secretary of State William H. Seward declared the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution to have been adopted.

Montgomery Boycott Ends | Zinn Education Project

Dec. 20, 1956: Montgomery Bus Boycott Prevails

After a 381-day boycott, a federal ruling declared the Alabama laws requiring segregated buses to be unconstitutional.

Before She Was Harriet

Picture book. By Lesa Cline-Ransome and James E. Ransome. 2017. 32 pages.
An illustrated biography of Harriet Tubman written in verse.

Making All Black Lives Matter (Book) | Zinn Education Project

Making All Black Lives Matter: Reimagining Freedom in the 21st Century

Book — Non-fiction. By Barbara Ransby. 2018. 240 pages.
"A love letter to the organizers in the Movement for Black Lives, and a tribute to their increasingly expansive vision."

Dec. 1850: Harriet Tubman Engineered First Rescue Mission

Abolitionist and suffragist Harriet Tubman, perhaps the most famous conductor of the Underground Railroad, engineered her first rescue mission in December 1850.

Dec. 1961: Christmas Shopping Boycott

Aaron Henry (Mississippi state NAACP president, pharmacist, drugstore owner) and the Coahoma County NAACP organized an effective Christmas shopping boycott in Clarksdale, Mississippi.

Dec 31, 1862: Watch Meetings for Emancipation Proclamation

African Americans across the United States, free and enslaved, in the North and South, held watch meetings for the abolition of slavery.

Jan. 4, 1965: Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party Challenges Congress

Hundreds of Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party supporters went to support the Challenge to the seating of the Mississippi delegation.

Jan. 5, 1980: Rapper’s Delight

The song “Rapper’s Delight” by the Sugarhill Gang (and reportedly Grandmaster Caz) became the first hip hop single ever to reach the Billboard Top 40.

Julian Bond in Mississippi, 1963 | Zinn Education Project: Teaching People's History

Jan. 9, 1967: Julian Bond Sworn in Georgia House of Representatives

Julian Bond was finally sworn in as a member of the Georgia House of Representatives.

Feb. 5, 1866: Thaddeus Stevens Proposes Land Distribution Amendment

Congressman Thaddeus Stevens offered an amendment to the Freedmen's Bureau Bill to authorize the distribution of public land.

School Desegregation | Zinn Education Project

Feb. 15, 1848: Benjamin Roberts Filed the First School Desegregation Suit

Benjamin Roberts, African American, filed the first school desegregation suit after his daughter Sarah was barred from a public school because of her race in Boston, Massachusetts.

Freedmen's Bureau | Zinn Education Project

March 3, 1865: Freedmen’s Bureau Established

The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands was established within the War Department to undertake the relief effort and social reconstruction after the Civil War.

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