An Online Reference Guide to African American History
Quintard Taylor
Scott and Dorothy Bullitt Professor of American History
University of Washington, Seattle
An Online Reference Guide to African American History
Quintard Taylor
Scott and Dorothy Bullitt Professor of American History
University of Washington, Seattle
 |
|
 |
generates revenue for the website. Please consider purchasing ALL your Amazon.com items here.
African American History Timelines:
2001—In January President-elect George Bush nominates Colin Powell to be Secretary of State. Condoleezza Rice takes the position of National Security Advisor for the Bush administration. This is the first time either of these posts is held by an African American.
In November Shirley Clarke Franklin becomes the first African American woman to head the government of a major Southern city when she is elected mayor of Atlanta.
2002—In March, Halle Berry and Denzel Washington win Oscars for best actress and best actor for their portrayals in Monster’s Ball and Training Day respectively.
2004—On November 2, Barack Obama is elected to the U.S. Senate from Illinois. He becomes the second African American elected to the Senate from that state, and only the fifth black U.S. Senator in history.
2005—In January Condoleezza Rice becomes the Secretary of State. She is the first African American woman to hold the post.
On August 30, Hurricane Katrina hits the Gulf Coast, taking an estimated 1,700 lives. The vast majority of the deaths are in Louisiana including heavily African American New Orleans.
2006—The Covenant with Black America text, edited by Tavis Smiley, climbs to number 1 on the New York Times Best Seller List; making it the first black book to reach number 1 on the nonfiction paper back list.
Nov. 7. With the Democratic takeover of both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate in the November mid-term elections, for the first time four members of the Congressional Black Caucus chair full committees in the House: Rep. John Conyers (Mi), Judiciary, Rep. Juanita-Millender McDonald (Ca), House Administration Committee, Rep. Charles Rangel (NY), House Ways and Means, and Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (Ms), Homeland Security.
Nov. 7, Deval Patrick is elected Governor of Massachusetts. He becomes the second African American, after L. Douglas Wilder in Virginia in 1989, in the nation popularly elected to this position.
2008—On November 4, Barack Obama, the only sitting African American U.S. Senator, is elected President of the United States. Obama wins the election in a landslide and becomes the first African American elected to this office.
BlackPast.org is an independent non-profit corporation 501(c)(3). It has no affiliation with nor is it endorsed by the University of Washington. BlackPast.org is supported in part by a grant from Humanities Washington, a state-wide non-profit organization supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the state of Washington, and contributions from individuals and foundations.
