Black History

The United States would not be the great country it is without the contributions of African Americans. For almost 400 years, they have helped to shape our nation in important ways. Black history began in America in 1619 when the first Africans were brought to our continent. Today we will explore 10 different days since then that were “history in the making.” Each date marks an event or milestones that still affects our country and our world.

January 1, 1863 The Emancipation Proclamation that Frees Southern Slaves

Slavery was a horrible part of America’s past for almost 250 years. During that time, people of all color worked to put an end to it. Abraham Lincoln was one. He made many speeches about the evils of slavery.

After he became president, Lincoln faced a huge problem. More and more people in the northern states demanded laws to limit slavery. But people in the south wanted to keep slavery in place. In 1861, the southern “slave states” announced they were their own country - the Confederate States of America. The Confederates attacked a US military fort and US fought back. The Civil War began.

Lincoln works very hard to win the war so he could keep the country together. One plan he put in place was to free the slaves in the Confederate states. For weeks he worked on his declaration. On January 1, 1963 Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. The document freed about 20,000 slaves immediately. Millions more were liberated as northern troops took over land in the south.

December 6, 1865 – 13th Amendment Outlaws Slavery

Even though the Emancipation Proclamation freed millions of slaves, it was not a law. After the Civil War, slavery was still legal in a few states. Most Americans wanted slavery gone from their country for good.

In January 1865, the US Congress passed an amendment, or addition, to the US Constitution. The 13th amendment was ratified by the states on December 6, 1865. On this day, slavery ended in the United States.

April 15, 1947 – 1st Black in Major League Baseball

African Americans had become citizens, but not all people treated them as equal. Blacks faced a lot of prejudice, which is fear and dislike of a group of people based on race or some other trait. This dislike led to discrimination, or unfair treatment.

Discrimination could even be found in sports. Black athletes, including the most skillful, we’re not allowed to play in most sports with whites. In fact, for almost 60 years, blacks and whites hadn’t played together in professional baseball. Then, on April 15, 1947, Jackie Robinson broke the “color barrier” to become the first African American in Major- League Baseball.

Robinson was 28 years old when he first stepped out on Ebbets Field in New York City to play first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers. African Americans felt great pride in his achievement.

Robinson went on to help the Dodgers win six pennants and a World Series championship. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962.

However, Robinson faced prejudice as well. He was the victim of jeers, threats, and violence from racist whites, including some of his own teammates. But he endured it all with courage and dignity. He scored a victory for equality for people of all color.

May 17, 1954 – Public Schools are Desegregated

Just as in sports, there was discrimination in schools. Throughout the United States, schools were segregated. This meant that black children were kept out of schools with white children.

In the early 1950s, a civil rights organization worked to change this. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People took a case to the US Supreme Court. The case was called Brown versus Topeka Board of Education.

Lawyers with the NAACP argued that all public schools should be open to children of all color. Their arguments were so good that they won their case.

On May 17, 1954, the Supreme Court ruled that schools must be desegregated. This was a difficult change for many people. Students and parents of different races had to accept each other so they could learn and work together.

December 1, 1955 – Rosa Parks is Arrested

Throughout the south, people in power try to keep blacks and whites apart. They set up separate drinking fountains, bathrooms, elevators, swimming pools, waiting rooms and more. And public buses, blacks had to sit in the back of the bus or stand if a white person wanted a seat.

In Montgomery, Alabama, an African American seamstress named Rosa parks rode the bus to and from work every day. One day, she decided she wouldn’t follow the unfair rules anymore. And December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her bus seat to a white man.

Blacks throughout the city wanted to protest, or act out against, the arrest of Rosa parks. They boycotted, or stopped riding, the buses. A boycott is a way to protest unfair treatment by not buying or taking part in something.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. helped organize the Montgomery bus boycott. It lasted more than a year. Finally, on December 20, 1956, the US Supreme Court ruled that segregation on buses was illegal. From then on, blacks could sit anywhere they want it on a public bus. This win led to the desegregation of trains, planes, and all buses across the country. The arrest of Rosa parks is usually known as the beginning of the civil rights movement in America.

January 12, 1959 – Motown Records is Founded

African Americans have played a huge part in the musical world for more than 100 years. They created styles of music we called blues, jazz, gospel, soul, reggae, rhythm and blues, hip-hop and even rock ‘n’ roll.

Until the late 1950s, music by black artists was mainly popular just with blacks. This change things to an African American music producer in Detroit Michigan. On January 12, 1959 Berry Gordy Jr. founded Motown Records.

Most of the Motown musicians were African American. With the help of Gordy, they created the “Motown Sound.” It combined soul and pop music. Motown songs top the charts of popular music through the 1960s and are still very popular today.

February 1, 1960 – Sit-In Movement Begins

Another kind of protest is called a sit in. They just want a group of people refuse to leave a place and instead sit there for days or even months until an unfair policy is changed.

On February 1, 1960, the sit in movement was launched when four black college students insisted on service at a “whites only” lunch counter. The counter was in a Woolworths store in Greensboro North Carolina. The store wouldn’t serve the students and ask them to leave. Instead, they stayed in their seats until the store closed, and came back the next day. White and black students join them. A few days later, other students started a sit in at a store across the street. Within two months, sit ins were being held in 54 cities and nine states. A movement had been born.

Day after day, for five months, the students sat peacefully at the Greensboro Woolworth’s lunch counter. Angry whites yelled at them and even poured food over them. On July 25, 1960, the first African American was finally served a meal there. Within a few months, former “whites only” restaurants across the South were serving blacks.

August 28, 1963 – March on Washington

Civil rights activists had made a lot of progress over the years, but things still were not equal everywhere in America. Many African Americans were denied jobs and the right to vote. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and other activists organized a massive event in the nation’s capital to demand, once and for all, equality in all areas of life.

On my August 28, 1963, the civil rights movement reached its climax when 250,000 people marched on Washington DC. The official name of the event was the “March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.” Marchers demanded that the government pass the Civil Rights Act so that blacks had a legal right to equality.

Many people spoke and musicians performed at the march. The most famous event that day was Dr. king delivering his “I Have a Dream” speech. Broadcast live on TV and radio, the speech touched and inspired millions of Americans. Dr. King’s great words raised a lot of support for the movement.

The next year, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act into law. It banned discrimination in employment, voting and they use the public facilities. One year later, President Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act into law. These actions were brought about by the famous march.

January 23, 1977 – Roots Airs on TV

African American writer and journalist Alex Haley group hearing stories about his ancestors. Eager to know more, he spent years researching his family history. Haley was able to trace back seven generations to his first ancestor brought by slave-ship from Africa. He collected the stories in a book titled “Roots: The Saga of an American Family.” It won many awards and became a bestseller.

The next year his story was made into a television show. On January 23, 1977, the miniseries Roots began to air on TV. For the first time, a show about blacks was hugely popular with a wide audience. It was also the first miniseries to air for several nights in a row. Miniseries before that aired weekly.

January 20, 2009 – Barack Obama Becomes President

One of the most important days in American history was when our nation elected its first African American leader in November of 2008. On January 20, 2009 Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th President of the United States.

The swearing-in ceremony of the US president is called an inauguration. It is held outside the capital building in Washington DC. More than one million people attended Obama’s inauguration. Hundreds of millions more saw it on TV and the Internet. It was one of the most watched events of all time. Obamas message of hope and change brought people together. He also showed Americans that a person of any race can become president.

Obama was reelected for a second term as US president in 2012. During his eight years in office, he achieved a lot for the country. He was a well-respected and popular president.