The following are short descriptions of the groups and organizations 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 NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF or, alternately, the ‘Inc. Fund’) provides legal services in the fight against racial discrimination. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) program for reform had long combined legal challenges to de jure segregation … Read MoreNAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (1940- )
The Crips are a predominantly African American gang that originated sometime between the mid-1960s and 1971 in South Central Los Angeles, California. The origin of the Crips is highly mythologized and facts are difficult to separate from myth. One of the most common versions involves … Read MoreThe Crips (ca. 1971- )
The Cosby Show was the most popular series on American television in the late 1980s. The situation comedy, which ran on NBC from September 1984 to April 1992, was based on the stand-up comedy routine of its star, Bill Cosby. The show focused on an … Read MoreThe Cosby Show (1984-1992)
When the U.S. Army was reorganized on July 28, 1866, for peacetime service after the American Civil War, six regiments were set aside for Black enlisted men. These included four infantry regiments, numbered 38th through 41st. The 24th Infantry was organized during a reduction in … Read More24th Infantry Regiment (1866-1951)
The 10th Cavalry was one of the original six regiments of the regular army set aside for black enlisted men. These were authorized by Congress in the act of July 28, 1866 reorganizing the army for post-Civil War service, mainly against native peoples in the … Read More10th Cavalry Regiment (1866-1944)
The 9th Cavalry was one of the original six regiments of the regular U.S. Army set aside for black enlisted men. These were authorized by Congress in the act of July 28, 1866 reorganizing the army for post-Civil War service, mainly against native peoples in … Read More9th Cavalry Regiment (1866-1944)
The Sugar Hill Gang, known as the first nationally popular African American hip-hop group, comprised three members: Mike Wright (Wonder Mike), Henry Jackson (Big Bank Hank), and Guy O’ Brien (Master Gee), all from Englewood, New Jersey. The group is best known for its 1979 … Read MoreSugar Hill Gang (1979- )
After more than a decade of organized abolition among northern free blacks, a group of prominent free African American men organized the National Negro Convention Movement. The convention movement among northern free blacks symbolized the growth of a black activist network by the mid-nineteenth century. … Read MoreNational Negro Convention Movement (1831-1864)
The First Kansas Colored Infantry Regiment was established through the efforts of James H. Lane, the U.S. Senator from Kansas from 1861 to 1866. As Kansas joined the Union on the eve of the Civil War in 1861, Lane recruited African-Americans to fight against the … Read MoreFirst Kansas Colored Infantry (1862-1865)
The New York Black Yankees was a baseball team active in the Negro Leagues from 1931 to 1948. For most of their career the Black Yankees played their home games at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York, although the 1938 season saw the team … Read MoreNew York Black Yankees (1932-1948)
