Laws & Citizen Rights Archives

Aug. 27, 1963: W. E. B. Du Bois Dies

W. E. B. Du Bois died in Accra, Ghana.

Aug. 30, 1843: Liberty Party Convention

The Liberty Party held its second convention.

Frances Harper, William Sylvis, Isaac Myers, and John Roy Lynch pictured. They were leaders of the Reconstruction Era in US history

When the Impossible Suddenly Became Possible: A Reconstruction Mixer

Teaching Activity. By Adam Sanchez and Nqobile Mthethwa. 25 pages.
A mixer role play explores the connections between different social movements during Reconstruction.

Teaching Activity by Adam Sanchez

Black Power USA Book Cover | Zinn Education Project

Black Power U.S.A.: The Human Side of Reconstruction, 1867-1877

Book — Non-fiction. By Lerone Bennett Jr. 1967. 426 pages.
A bottom-up, student friendly text about the people's history of Reconstruction.

Sept. 22, 1862: Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation

Abraham Lincoln issued the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation.

Oct. 1, 1964: Free Speech Movement

The Free Speech Movement was launched at UC–Berkeley.

A colorful painting of people being deported back to Mexico, by Kaelyn Savard.

Deportations on Trial: Mexican Americans During the Great Depression

Teaching Activity. By Ursula Wolfe-Rocca.
In this lesson, students analyze who is to blame for the illegal, mass deportations of Mexican Americans and immigrants during the Great Depression.

Teaching Activity by Ursula Wolfe-Rocca

American Islamophobia (Book) | Zinn Education Project

American Islamophobia: Understanding the Roots and Rise of Fear

Book — Non-fiction. By Khaled Beydoun. 2018. 264 pages.
Describes the many ways in which law, policy, and official state rhetoric fueled the resurgence of Islamophobia in the United States

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.

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.

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.

Dec. 15, 1791: Bill of Rights Ratified

The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution, known as the United States Bill of Rights, were ratified.

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.

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.

Jan. 7, 1868: Mississippi Constitutional Convention

The Mississippi Constitution was one of the first pieces of legislation that provided a uniform system of free public education for children regardless of race.

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.

McCarthy State Dep't | Zinn Education Project

Feb. 9, 1950: Sen. Joseph McCarthy Announces “Enemies Within”

Senator Joseph McCarthy delivered a speech at the McLure Hotel during which he claimed to hold a list of known communists in the U.S. State Department.

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.

March 10, 1903: African American Leaders Protest Streetcar Segregation

African Americans in Little Rock organized a boycott and “we walk” league to protest the Streetcar Segregation Act.

Radical members of the first South Carolina legislature after the war.

Jan. 14, 1868: South Carolina Constitutional Convention

The South Carolina constitutional convention met with a majority of Black delegates, adopting a constitution that provided for all people regardless of race, economic class, or gender.

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