Democracy & Citizenship Archives

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.

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 9, 1954: Joseph Welch Confronts Sen. Joseph McCarthy

Joseph N. Welch confronted Sen. Joseph McCarthy about allegations of communists in the U.S. Army.

The closing words of the Port Huron Statement, the founding document of the Students for a Democratic Society, which met June 11-15 in Port Huron, Michigan.

June 11, 1962: Students for a Democratic Society Issue Port Huron Statement

Students for a Democratic Society held its founding convention in Michigan and issued the Port Huron Statement.

June 11, 1965: Chicago School Boycott

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

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.

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

Hamburg Massacre Marker | Zinn Education Project: Teaching People's History

July 8, 1876: Hamburg Massacre

During a clear sign of Reconstruction era voter suppression, a Black militia was accused of blocking a road and punished with the Hamburg Massacre.

July 9, 1868: 14th Amendment Adopted

The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was adopted.

Shirley Chisholm '72 | Zinn Education Project

July 10, 1972: Shirley Chisholm at Democratic National Convention

Shirley Chisholm was an historic candidate at the Democratic National Convention in Miami Beach. Chisholm was outspoken on behalf of civil rights legislation, the Equal Rights Amendment, and a minimum family income; she opposed wiretapping, domestic spying, and the Vietnam War.