African American Archives

May 15, 1970: Jackson State Killings

College student Phillip Lafayette Gibbs (21) and high school student James Earl Green (17) were killed by the police during an anti-war protest at Jackson State College.

Spottswood Thomas Bolling Jr. and his mother Mrs. Sarah Bolling of the Bolling v. Sharpe school desegregation case, decided on the same day as Brown v. Board. Image: © The Washington Post by permission from the Washingtoniana Division.

May 17, 1954: Brown v. Board Ruling

After decades of organizing and strategic efforts by parents, teachers, lawyers, and more — the U.S. Supreme Court issued the unanimous decision in Brown v. Board of Education on school segregation.

May 19, 1930: Lorraine Hansberry Born

Lorraine Hansberry was an author and activist who wrote “A Raisin in the Sun.”

May 19, 1918: Mary Turner Lynching

Mary Turner, a young African American woman who was eight months pregnant, was lynched in Lowndes County, Georgia.

May 20, 1963: Medgar Evers Speech on WLBT

Medgar Evers made a 17-minute speech on WLBT in a rare and historic exception to the white supremacist only voice on Mississippi radio and television.

May 21, 1881: Blanche K. Bruce Became Register of the Treasury

Blanche K. Bruce became Register of the Treasury, which placed his name on all U.S. currency.

May 27, 1958: Ernest Green Graduates from Little Rock

Ernest Green became the first African-American to graduate from Little Rock Central High School in 1958.

May 29: Memorial Day

Learn about the people’s history of Decoration Day (Memorial Day) and the Memorial Day Massacre.

June 5, 1950: The Supreme Court and School Segregation Cases

The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in three cases that weakened the structure of legalized segregation.

James Meredith and Stokely Carmichael. Photo by Bob Fitch.

June 6, 1966: James Meredith and the March Against Fear

Air Force veteran James Meredith began the March Against Fear from Memphis, Tennessee to Jackson, Mississippi.

June 7, 1892: Homer Plessy Arrested for Violating Louisiana’s Separate Car Act

Homer Plessy was arrested for violating Louisiana’s Separate Car Act.

June 8, 1961: Freedom Riders Arrested

Freedom Riders traveling from New Orleans, Louisiana to Jackson, Mississippi were arrested in 1961.

June 10, 1966: Ben Chester White Murdered

Ben Chester White, caretaker on a farm, was brutally murdered by the Ku Klux Klan in Natchez, Mississippi.

June 11, 1965: Chicago School Boycott

More than 100,000 students stayed out of school to protest inequality and segregation in Chicago, Illinois.

June 13, 1866: 14th Amendment Passed

The 14th Amendment to the constitution was passed, granting citizenship to “all persons born or naturalized in the United States.”

June 12, 1967: Loving Day

The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Mildred and Richard Loving in the historic Loving v. Virginia case.

Dec. 23, 1815: Henry Highland Garnet Born

Henry Highland Garnet, abolitionist and minister, called for a militant slave revolt.

June 17, 2015: Charleston Church Massacre

Nine African American churchgoers were gunned down inside a church in an act of white supremacist terrorism.

June 18, 1964: St. Augustine Swim-In

Black and white protesters attempted to desegregate a pool in St. Augustine, Florida. The owner dumped acid into the protester-filled pool in an attempt to force them to leave. Police officers eventually dragged protesters out of the pool and took them to jail.

June 19, 1865: “Juneteenth” Emancipation Day

Juneteenth — June 19th, also known as Emancipation Day — Juneteenth — is one of the many commemorations of people seizing their freedom in the United States.

June 26, 1959: Prince Edward County Closes Public Schools

Rather than desegregate, the Prince Edward County, Virginia Board of Supervisors refused to appropriate money from the County School Board to the public schools.

June 25, 2002: Tamir Rice Born

Killed by the police only twelve years later, today Tamir Rice was born.

COINTELPRO: Teaching the FBI’s War on the Black Freedom Movement

Teaching Activity. By Ursula Wolfe-Rocca. Rethinking Schools. 29 pages.
Through examining FBI documents, students learn the scope of the FBI’s COINTELPRO campaign to spy on, infiltrate, discredit, and disrupt all corners of the Black Freedom Movement.

Teaching Activity by Ursula Wolfe-Rocca