Here’s a compilation of key dates related to African American & Black history in the United States. For more information and resources, visit the blog article here!
15th century – Portugal becomes first European country to participate in trade of enslaved African people
December 6, 1492 – Columbus lands on Hispaniola (now Haiti and the Dominican Republic)
August 1619 – Arrival of the White Lion in Jamestown, Virginia. Commonly recognized as the “beginning” of African slavery in the American colonies
1705 – Passing of the Virginia Slave Codes
1861-1865 – Civil War
January 1, 1863 – President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. This was later codified into law with the 13th Amendment on December 6, 1865
June 19, 1865 – The news of the end of the Civil War and emancipation reached Texas. President Joe Biden established Juneteenth as a federal holiday in 2021
July 9, 1868 – 14th Amendment ratified
February 3, 1870 – the 15th Amendment was ratified, allowing Black men to vote
April 20, 1871 – Civil Rights Act of 1871
1896 – Plessy v Ferguson
August 18, 1920 – the 19th Amendment was ratified, allowing women to vote. However, this did not eliminate all barriers for Black women to exercise their voting rights
1954 – Brown v Board of Education
July 2, 1964 – Civil Rights Act of 1964
August 6, 1965 – Voting Rights Act of 1965
1966 – Kwanzaa established as a holiday celebrating the pan-African diaspora
April 11, 1968 – Civil Rights Act of 1968 (Fair Housing Act)
1976 – National Black History Month established
1983 – Martin Luther King Jr. Day established as a federal holiday 15 years after being proposed
2000 – Alabama is the last state to formally repeal its ban on interracial marriage
2007 – The United Nations proclaimed March 25 as International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade
February 26, 2012 – Fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin, launching the #BlackLivesMatter movement
July 17, 2014 – Fatal shooting of Eric Garner
August 9, 2014 – Fatal shooting of Michael Brown
March 13, 2020 – Fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor
Want to learn more about different cultural and cause-related observances? Check out the Social Impact Nerd Observation Calendar.
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