Nov. 23, 1887: Thibodaux Massacre
Between 30-60 striking Black Louisiana sugarcane workers were massacred.
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Theme: Racism & Racial Identity
Racism & Racial Identity
June 21, 1964: Three Civil Rights Workers Murdered in Mississippi
James Chaney, Michael Schwerner, and Andrew Goodman were tortured and murdered by the Ku Klux Klan in Neshoba County, Mississippi.
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Sept. 5, 1964: Heffners Forced Out of Town for Crossing Color Line
A white family (the Heffners) in McComb, Mississippi, left after a campaign of harassment, ostracism, and economic retaliation for having spoken to civil rights workers.
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Dec. 4, 1969: Black Panther Party Members Assassinated
Black Panther Party members Fred Hampton and Mark Clark were assassinated by police and FBI agents in Chicago, Illinois.
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Dec. 5, 1955: Montgomery Bus Boycott Began
The Montgomery Bus Boycott is one of the most powerful examples of organizing and social change in U.S. history.
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Dec. 6, 1865: 13th Amendment Ratified
The 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution officially ended the institution of slavery.
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Traveling Black: A Story of Race and Resistance
Book — Non-fiction. By Mia Bay. 2021. 400 pages.
From stagecoaches and trains to buses, cars, and planes, this book explores racial restrictions on transportation and resistance to the injustice.
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From stagecoaches and trains to buses, cars, and planes, this book explores racial restrictions on transportation and resistance to the injustice.
Black Was the Ink
Book — Fiction. By Michelle Coles. Illustrations by Justin Johnson. 2021. 368 pages.
A powerful coming-of-age story and an eye-opening exploration of the Reconstruction era.
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A powerful coming-of-age story and an eye-opening exploration of the Reconstruction era.
Jan. 9, 1864: Sgt. William Walker Found Guilty of Mutiny
Sgt. Walker was convicted of mutiny and killed, one of nineteen Union soldiers executed by the Union army for mutiny during the Civil War, fourteen of whom were Black.
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Jan. 23, 1964: 24th Amendment on Poll Tax Ratified
The 24th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States was ratified.
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The Neutral Ground
Film. Directed by C. J. Hunt. 2021. 82 minutes.
A co-production of POV and ITVS, in association with the Center for Asian American Media. A student-friendly documentary on the fight over Confederate monuments and the Lost Cause narrative.
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A co-production of POV and ITVS, in association with the Center for Asian American Media. A student-friendly documentary on the fight over Confederate monuments and the Lost Cause narrative.
April 14, 1875: Frances Harper on Grassroots Organizing During Reconstruction
Frances Ellen Watkins Harper spoke in Philadelphia at the Centennial Anniversary of the Pennsylvania Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery, urging African Americans to continue organizing for justice.
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Dec. 24, 1865: Ku Klux Klan Founded
The Ku Klux Klan was founded in Pulaski, Tennessee.
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The Way to Freedom: Selma and the Making of a Movement
Film. National Park Service. 2020. 23 minutes.
Documentary about the role of young people in the voting rights movement in Alabama in the 1960s.
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Documentary about the role of young people in the voting rights movement in Alabama in the 1960s.
April 19, 1866: Couple Receives Freedmen’s Bureau Marriage Certificate
Benjamin Berry Manson and Sarah Ann Benton White, formerly enslaved in Tennessee, receive an official marriage certificate from the Freedmen’s Bureau.
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Aug. 2, 1869: First “Redeemer” Government Established in Tennessee
The first “Redeemer” government is established in Tennessee after conservatives gain control of the state’s General Assembly, ushering in an era of Jim Crow segregation laws.
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Sick from Freedom: African-American Illness and Suffering During the Civil War and Reconstruction
Book — Non-fiction. By Jim Downs. 2015. 280 pages.
Historical analysis of the illness and suffering endured by African Americans during the Civil War and Reconstruction.
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Historical analysis of the illness and suffering endured by African Americans during the Civil War and Reconstruction.
Jan. 10, 1854: Woman Jailed for Teaching Free Black Children to Read
A judge in Norfolk, Virginia, sentenced a white woman, Margaret Douglass, to one month in jail for teaching free Black children to read.
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Overground Railroad: The Green Book and the Roots of Black Travel in America (YA Edition)
Book — Non-fiction. By Candacy Taylor. 2022. 272 pages.
This book chronicles the history of the Green Book, which was published from 1936 to 1966 and was the “Black travel guide to America.”
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This book chronicles the history of the Green Book, which was published from 1936 to 1966 and was the “Black travel guide to America.”
Seeking Freedom: The Untold Story of Fortress Monroe and the Ending of Slavery in America
Book — Non-fiction. By Selene Castrovilla. Illustrated by E. B. Lewis. 2022. 40 pages.
A Civil War story about a man who seizes his freedom from slavery and teams up with a Union general to save a Union fort from the Confederates.
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A Civil War story about a man who seizes his freedom from slavery and teams up with a Union general to save a Union fort from the Confederates.
W. E. B. Du Bois’s Data Portraits: Visualizing Black America
Book — Non-fiction. By the W. E. B. Du Bois Center at University of Massachusetts Amherst. 2018. 144 pages.
W. E. B. Du Bois's Data Portraits is an informative and provocative history, data, and graphic design book first presented at the 1900 Paris Exposition.
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W. E. B. Du Bois's Data Portraits is an informative and provocative history, data, and graphic design book first presented at the 1900 Paris Exposition.
July 11, 1947: Anguilla Prison Massacre
A camp warden and guards shot dead seven prisoners being held at the Anguilla Prison in Georgia. The Anguilla Prison Massacre Quilt Project tells that story, drawing on records from the NAACP.
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March 30, 1886: Black Civil War Veterans Secure a Cemetery in Norfolk
The West Point Cemetery in Norfolk, Virginia was established to provide a burial area for Black soldiers and sailors who fought to preserve the Union.
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March 16, 1827: Freedom’s Journal Established
Freedom’s Journal was the first African American owned and operated newspaper in the United States.
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April 17, 1944: Modjeska Simkins Challenges SC Governor to a Debate
Prompted by South Carolina’s all-white political primary system, civil rights advocate Modjeska Monteith Simkins wrote a letter to Governor Olin D. Johnston of South Carolina challenging him to a debate on white supremacy.
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