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 Royal Ice Cream Sit-In was a nonviolent protest that occurred on June 23, 1957, in Durham, North Carolina. The sit-in was led by Douglas E. Moore and began when he and seven other protestors entered the Royal Ice Cream Parlor and sat in the … Read MoreRoyal Ice Cream Sit-In (1957)
The First Black Power Conference occurred in Newark, New Jersey, from July 20 to July 23, 1967. More than 1,000 delegates representing 286 organizations and institutions from 126 cities and 26 states gathered in Newark just days after the 1967 Newark Riot, the worst civil … Read MoreThe First Black Power Conference (1967)
The Read Drug Store Sit-Ins, also known as the Baltimore Sit-Ins, occurred on January 20, 1955, in Baltimore, Maryland. The sit-ins were organized by the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) and students from Morgan State College (Now Morgan State University) against two locations of Read … Read MoreThe Read Drug Store Sit-Ins (1955)
The Alexandria Library sit-in was one of the first acts of civil disobedience of its type in United States history involving racial discrimination and is credited with pioneering the use of nonviolent direct action. The sit-in occurred at the racially segregated Alexandria Public Library in … Read MoreAlexandria Library Sit-In (1939)
The Charleston Hospital Strike occurred between March 19, 1969, and June 27, 1969, in Charleston, South Carolina. The leading causes of the strike were pay inequality based on race, racial discrimination, and racial segregation of African American hospital workers. On March 17, 1969, a group … Read MoreThe Charleston Hospital Strike (1969)
The Memphis Sanitation Strike occurred between February 12 and April 16, 1968. The sanitation strike was called in response to the deaths of sanitation workers Echol Cole and Robert Walker and in response to the racial discrimination that Black sanitation workers experienced. Dr. Martin Luther … Read MoreMemphis Sanitation Strike (1968)
Kelley V. Board of Education was a lawsuit filed in 1955 by several Black families to desegregate Nashville public schools. Zephaniah Alexander Looby, a prominent Nashville Black attorney, joined Thurgood Marshall, Director of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Legal and … Read MoreKelley V. Board of Education (1955-1957)
The Greenville (South Carolina) Library Desegregation Crisis involved eight African American students who protested the segregated library system in Greenville, South Carolina, from March 1, 1960, to September 9, 1960. The eight students included future civil rights leader and presidential candidate Jesse Jackson, Dorris Wright, … Read MoreThe Greenville Library Desegregation Crisis/ The Greenville Eight (1960)
The North Little Rock High School Desegregation Crisis created the North Little Rock Six, a group of six African American students who attempted to desegregate North Little Rock High School on September 9, 1957. This desegregation event was overshadowed by the nationally prominent effort to … Read MoreThe North Little Rock High School Desegregation Crisis (1957)
The case of the Jena Six exposed racial injustice and inequality following an incident involving six male African American teenagers. The arrest of the students, all enrolled at Jena High School in Jena, Louisiana, ignited a national movement to address longstanding injustices in what has … Read MoreJena Six (2006)
