The following are short descriptions of major events which have contributed to the shaping of African American history. These encyclopedia entries serve as a starting point for much more inclusive descriptions and discussions that appear in other sources. For additional information please consult the print or website sources cited in the entry.
The New Orleans Massacre, also known as the New Orleans Race Riot, occurred on July 30, 1866. While the riot was typical of numerous racial conflicts during Reconstruction, this incident had special significance. It galvanized national opposition to the moderate Reconstruction policies of President Andrew … Read MoreNew Orleans Massacre (1866)
As Harper’s Ferry would prove, John Brown’s preferred method of battling slavery was to free hundreds of enslaved people at a time in a single attack. However, the week of Christmas 1858, he made an exception and successfully rescued eleven Missouri slaves, throwing the region … Read MoreJohn Brown’s Christmas Raid into Missouri 1858
Tensions leading up to the Civil War often manifested themselves through conflicts over the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850. The Oberlin-Wellington Rescue was one such instance of this. It was a struggle between supporters of slavery and supporters of freedom, the outcome of which would … Read MoreOberlin-Wellington Rescue (1858)
The Port Chicago Mutiny involved African American enlisted men in the U.S. Navy who refused to return to loading ammunition after a disastrous explosion at Port Chicago, California on July 17, 1944 that destroyed the Liberty ship SS E.A. Bryan. Sailors and dock workers were … Read MorePort Chicago Mutiny (1944)
Hurricane Katrina began as a Category 1 hurricane in Florida, before striking the Gulf Coast on August 29, 2005. By the time Katrina had run its course, more than 1,700 people were killed and hundreds of thousands of others displaced. Causing billions of dollars of … Read MoreHurricane Katrina (2005)
The Atlanta Race Riot or Atlanta Riot of 1906 was the first race riot to take place in the capital city of Georgia. The riot lasted from September 22 to September 24 and was the culmination of a number of factors, including lingering tensions from … Read MoreAtlanta Race Riot of 1906
A coalition of antipoverty organizations and black nationalist groups initiated the Watts Summer Festival in 1966 as a way to focus the Watts community on celebrating black heritage and culture annually on the anniversary of the Watts riots. Although the groups involved in establishing and … Read MoreWatts Summer Festival (1966- )
In 1966, Huey Newton and Bobby Seale created the Black Panther Party for Self Defense to address police oppression of blacks in Oakland, California. Because community members also turned to the Panthers for help with economic and social problems like job discrimination and evictions, the Panthers started community services in 1969 … Read MoreBlack Panther Party’s Free Breakfast Program (1969-1980)
In the following article Daryl Michael Scott, Professor of History at Howard University and Vice President of Program for the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, discusses the history of the Black History Month Celebration. The story of Black History Month … Read MoreThe History of Black History Month
James v. Marinship was a California Supreme Court decision that ruled that jobs requiring labor union membership could not exclude blacks or other racial groups. The Marinship Corporation operated various shipyards and was involved in the building of various ships and vessels during the wartime … Read MoreJames v. Marinship (1944)
