Nov. 3, 1874: Robert Smalls Elected
Robert Smalls was elected to Congress from South Carolina during Reconstruction.
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Theme: Laws & Citizen Rights
Laws & Citizen Rights
Teaching a People’s History of Abolition and the Civil War
Teaching Guide. Edited by Adam Sanchez. 2019. Rethinking Schools. 181 pages.
Students will discover the real abolition story, one about some of the most significant grassroots social movements in U.S. history.
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Students will discover the real abolition story, one about some of the most significant grassroots social movements in U.S. history.
Scandalize My Name: Stories From the Blacklist
Film. Directed by Alexandra Isles. 2000. 60 minutes.
Documentary about the impact of the McCarthy era on African Americans in the film industry.
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Documentary about the impact of the McCarthy era on African Americans in the film industry.
Nov. 14, 1960: Gomillion v. Lightfoot
SCOTUS ruled 9-0 that redrawing city boundaries in Tuskegee, Alabama to exclude African-American voters violates the 15th Amendment.
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Nov. 21, 1842: George Latimer Freed In Boston
A Boston judge stopped the extradition of George Latimer, who had escaped enslavement in Virginia, and allowed him to raise funds for his own manumission.
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Seizing Freedom Podcast
Podcast. Written and hosted by Kidada E. Williams. 2021.
A Black history podcast tells stories "drawn from archives of voices from American history that have been muted time and time again."
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A Black history podcast tells stories "drawn from archives of voices from American history that have been muted time and time again."
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.
Nov. 28, 1919: Jane Addams and Palmer Raids
The Palmer Raids began in November of 1919 and targeted suspected radical leftists, especially anarchists, and deported them from the United States.
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Dec. 1, 1955: Rosa Parks Refuses to Give Up Her Seat
Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama.
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Dec. 4, 1865: Ex-Confederate States Blocked From Joining 39th Congress
After the Civil War, representatives from states recently in rebellion were blocked from being sworn-in at the 39th Congress.
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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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March 7, 1932: Hunger March Against Ford Motors
A hunger march by unemployed workers against Ford Motors.
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April 23, 1866: Freedmen Demand Equal Medical Treatment
William Beverly Nash and several others asked the federal government to intervene to ensure equal medical treatment for all.
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Dec. 24, 1865: Ku Klux Klan Founded
The Ku Klux Klan was founded in Pulaski, Tennessee.
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Feb. 24, 1868: President Andrew Johnson Impeached by House
President Andrew Johnson was impeached by the House of Representatives.
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Jan. 6, 1811: Charles Sumner is Born
Born on this day in Massachusetts, Charles Sumner was outspoken against slavery, for full recognition of Haiti, against the U.S.-Mexico War, for true reconstruction with land distribution, against school segregation, and much more.
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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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Bound in Wedlock: Slave and Free Black Marriage in the Nineteenth Century
Book — Non-fiction. By Tera W. Hunter. 2019. 416 pages.
A comprehensive history of African American marriages in the nineteenth century.
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A comprehensive history of African American marriages in the nineteenth century.
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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Oct. 30, 1956: Texas School District Found Guilty of Discriminating Against Mexican-American Students
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas Corpus Christi found a South Texas school district guilty of discriminating against Mexican-American students in one of the first cases that directly applied the ruling made in Brown v. Board of Education to Mexican-American students.
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March 17, 1856: Laws Enacted to Thwart Freedom-seekers on Ships
With escalating escapes of the formerly enslaved, the Virginia General Assembly responded to lobbying from slaveholders and human traffickers by making it harder for enslaved African Americans to escape on ships and by increasing penalties for anyone helping such freedom-seekers.
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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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Oct. 7, 1873: Henry E. Hayne Accepted at USC Medical School
Henry E. Hayne was the first Black student to be accepted to the University of South Carolina’s medical school, a bold act which encouraged other Black students to apply. By 1875, Black men comprised the majority of the student body.
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May 27, 1954: “Black Monday” Speech Incites White Supremacy
Future Mississippi Supreme Court Justice Tom P. Brady delivered a racist speech called “Black Monday” in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education decision, inspiring many white leaders to join the White Citizens’ Council.
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No Kids in Prison
Website. NoKidsinPrison uses art to model, imagine and advocate for alternatives to youth incarceration by lifting up the voices of youth most impacted by the criminal justice system through art and culture.
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