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 Poor People’s Campaign (PPC) was created on December 4, 1967, by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) to address the issues of unemployment, housing shortages for the poor, and the impact of poverty on the lives of millions of Americans. Unlike earlier efforts directed … Read MorePoor People’s Campaign (December 4, 1967 – June 19, 1968)
The Miami Riot of 1980 was the first major race riot since the late 1960s. In December 1979, a number of white Miami-Dade (Florida) police officers were involved in a high-speed chase involving black motorist Arthur McDuffie. Police reports said that the chase ended when … Read MoreMiami (Liberty City) Riot, 1980
Around 10 P.M. on Saturday, July 9, 1938, a mob (estimated by local paper to be two hundred strong) of white residents of Wapato, a small town in the Yakima Valley region of Washington State, instigated what the Yakima Morning Herald termed a “miniature race … Read MoreThe Wapato Race Riot, 1938
The first Kansas State Colored Convention was a call from black Kansans to be granted a future of “Liberty, Justice and Equality” under the United States government. The first Kansas Colored Convention was held in Leavenworth, Kansas on October 13-16, 1863 in the African Methodist … Read MoreKansas State Colored Convention (1863)
The four California Colored Conventions held between 1855 and 1865 were a response to blacks being treated as second-class citizens and constantly threatened and violently assaulted by white men without legal and political recourse in Gold Rush era California. The first convention in 1855 marked … Read MoreThe Conventions of Colored Citizens of the State of California (1855-1865)
The Mother’s Day Disturbance of May 11, 1969, also called the Mother’s Day Riot, is viewed by many as the turning point in Tacoma, Washington’s civil rights struggle. While Tacoma in the 1960s did not experience the violence that enflamed many northern cities, the Mother’s … Read MoreMother’s Day Disturbance, 1969
The 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing took place on September, 15 1963, just 19 days after Dr. Martin Luther King gave his “I Have A Dream” speech at the March on Washington, in Washington, D.C. Four young girls, Denise McNair, age 11, and Cynthia Wesley, … Read MoreBirmingham 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing (1963)
The Orangeburg Massacre took place in Orangeburg, South Carolina at South Carolina State University on February 8, 1968. This horrific incident ended with three young men killed, Samuel Hammond, Henry Smith, and Delano Middleton, and twenty-seven other students wounded. It was the worst example of … Read MoreOrangeburg Massacre (1968)
Slavery in New Mexico Territory was never focused on black bondage as in the Southern states. New Mexico Territory never had more than a dozen or so black slaves because it had other forms sources of coerced labor, both Native American indentured servants and slaves, … Read MoreThe New Mexico Territory Slave Code (1859-1862)
The Detroit Race Riot in Detroit, Michigan in the summer of 1967 was one of the most violent urban revolts in the 20th century. It came as an immediate response to police brutality but underlying conditions including segregated housing and schools and rising black unemployment … Read MoreDetroit Race Riot (1967)
