April 30, 1967: “Why I Am Opposed to the War in Vietnam” Speech
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. made a speech criticizing the Vietnam War and praising Muhammad Ali.
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Theme: African American
African American
Midnight Teacher: Lilly Ann Granderson and Her Secret School
Picture book. By Janet Halfmann. Illustrated by London Ladd. 2018. 40 pages.
Tells the story of Lilly Ann Granderson, an enslaved woman who taught hundreds of people in Kentucky and Mississippi to read.
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Tells the story of Lilly Ann Granderson, an enslaved woman who taught hundreds of people in Kentucky and Mississippi to read.
Dark Sky Rising: Reconstruction and the Dawn of Jim Crow
Book — Non-fiction. By Henry Louis Gates Jr. with Tonya Bolden. 2019. 240 pages.
Readers trace the rise and fall of racial equity during Reconstruction as increasingly violent white supremacy and new forms of oppression take hold at the turn of the 20th century.
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Readers trace the rise and fall of racial equity during Reconstruction as increasingly violent white supremacy and new forms of oppression take hold at the turn of the 20th century.
Freedom on the Move: Rediscovering the Stories of Self-Liberating People
Digital collection. Crowdsourcing project that provides access to information, through thousands of print advertisements, about freedom-seekers and their would-be enslavers in the 18th and 19th centuries.
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March 9, 1892: The People’s Grocery Lynchings
A white mob seized three African American business men in Memphis, Tennessee and lynched them without trial.
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Students Secure Marker for Reconstruction Era Lawyer Albion Tourgée
Article. By Richard Dana.
A group of students at Kent State University-Ashtabula helped secure local recognition for Reconstruction era lawyer and writer Albion Tourgee, including a historical marker at his birthplace.
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A group of students at Kent State University-Ashtabula helped secure local recognition for Reconstruction era lawyer and writer Albion Tourgee, including a historical marker at his birthplace.
Rising: Dispatches from the New American Shore
Book — Non-fiction. By Elizabeth Rush. 2019. 328 pages.
A book about the impact of climate change on U.S. communities and societies that privileges the voices of those too often kept at the margins.
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A book about the impact of climate change on U.S. communities and societies that privileges the voices of those too often kept at the margins.
Never Caught: The Story of Ona Judge
Book — Non-fiction. By Erica Armstrong Dunbar and Kathleen Van Cleve. 2019. 272 pages.
This is the true story of Ona Judge who escaped from enslavement by George and Martha Washington.
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This is the true story of Ona Judge who escaped from enslavement by George and Martha Washington.
1919, The Year of Racial Violence: How African Americans Fought Back
Book — Non-fiction. By David F. Krugler. 2015.
This book details the wave of racist violence that swept the United States in 1919, through the lens of Black armed resistance and freedom struggle.
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This book details the wave of racist violence that swept the United States in 1919, through the lens of Black armed resistance and freedom struggle.
White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide
Book — Non-fiction. By Carol Anderson. 2016.
An era-by-era account of how the policies and practices of white supremacy have morphed over time while maintaining the singular goal of undermining Black advancement.
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An era-by-era account of how the policies and practices of white supremacy have morphed over time while maintaining the singular goal of undermining Black advancement.
April 1, 1965: Blackwell v. Issaquena Board of Education
The civil rights suit of Blackwell v. Issaquena Board of Education was filed on behalf of 300 African-American students from several schools across Issaquena County in Mississippi who had been suspended for wearing and distributing “freedom” buttons.
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April 7, 1712: Revolt by Enslaved Africans in New York
Twenty-four enslaved Africans launched a rebellion in Manhattan, New York.
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April 6, 1968: Bobby Hutton Killed by Oakland Police
Little Bobby Hutton (age 17) of the Black Panther Party was shot dead by the Oakland police.
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April 8, 1911: Banner Mine Explosion
An explosion at the Banner Mine in Alabama killed 128 men, almost all of them African American prisoners of the state who were forced to work in the mine under the convict leasing system.
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April 9, 1898: Paul Robeson Born
Paul Robeson was one of the most important figures of the 20th century. He was a “renaissance man” — an acclaimed athlete, actor, singer, cultural scholar, author, lawyer, and internationally-renowned political activist.
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Segregated by Design
Film. Directed by Mark Lopez. Written by Mark Lopez and Richard Rothstein. 2019. 18 minutes.
An animated documentary of how the federal, state and local governments unconstitutionally segregated every major metropolitan area in the U.S. through law and policy.
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An animated documentary of how the federal, state and local governments unconstitutionally segregated every major metropolitan area in the U.S. through law and policy.
Counting Descent
Book — Non-fiction. By Clint Smith. 2016. 84 pages.
A teacher and scholar celebrates Black humanity, and guides readers toward self-reflection through his coming-of-age poems that are political, historical, and deeply personal.
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A teacher and scholar celebrates Black humanity, and guides readers toward self-reflection through his coming-of-age poems that are political, historical, and deeply personal.
April 9, 1865: Civil War Officially Ends
The U.S. Civil War ended when the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia surrendered to U.S. General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House in south-central Virginia.
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April 11, 1968: Fair Housing Act Signed Into Law
The 1968 Fair Housing Act was signed into law after years of struggle and grassroots organizing.
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April 12, 1864: Union Soldiers Massacred at Fort Pillow
Confederate troops massacred over 500 surrendering Union soldiers, majority African American, at the Civil War Battle of Fort Pillow.
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April 16, 1862: Compensated Emancipation Act
The federal government compensated the “owners” of enslaved people for their “loss of property.” The people whose labor and families were stolen for generations were not compensated nor given any assistance for the transition to freedom.
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Red Summer: The Summer of 1919 and the Awakening of Black America
Book — Non-fiction. By Cameron McWhirter. 2012. 368 pages.
A chronicle of white supremacist violence in major U.S. cities across the nation after World War I.
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A chronicle of white supremacist violence in major U.S. cities across the nation after World War I.
April 19, 1989: “Central Park Five” Arrested
The New York Police Department falsely accused four African American teenagers and one Latino teenager who became known as the “Central Park Five.”
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April 27, 1860: Harriet Tubman Helped Rescue Charles Nalle
Harriet Tubman helped rescue Charles Nalle, a fugitive from slavery in Virginia, in Troy, New York.
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May 5, 1905: Chicago Defender Founded
Robert Sengstacke Abbott founded the highly influential newspaper, the Chicago Defender, with the tagline “American Race Prejudice Must Be Destroyed.”
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