The following are documents which have contributed to the shaping of African American history. These documents are a starting point for additional research and discussions that help further our understanding of the history of people of African ancestry in the United States.
REPORT OF THE NATIONAL ADVISORY COMMISSION ON CIVIL DISORDERS SUMMARY OF REPORT INTRODUCTION The summer of 1967 again brought racial disorders to American cities, and with them shock, fear and bewilderment to the nation. The worst came during a two-week period in July, first in … Read More(1967) National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders (The Kerner Report)
No. 645 Argued: April 1-2, 1968 — Decided: June 17, 1968 392 U.S. 409 MR JUSTICE STEWART delivered the opinion of the Court. In this case, we are called upon to determine the scope and the constitutionality of an Act of Congress, 42 U.S.C. § … Read More(1968) Jones v. Alfred H. Mayer Co.
In the editorial below that first appeared in the Black Panther Party newspaper in April 1969, the leaders of the Party make the case for the nationwide Panther Free Breakfast for School Children Program. To Feed Our Children The Free Breakfast for School Children is … Read More(1969) The Black Panther Party: To Feed Our Children
December 14, 1970, Argued March 8, 1971, Decided MR. CHIEF JUSTICE BURGER delivered the opinion of the Court. [1]We granted the writ in this case to resolve the question whether an employer is prohibited by the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title VII, from requiring … Read More(1971) Griggs v. Duke Power Co.
THE BLACK AGENDA The Gary Declaration: Black Politics at the Crossroads Introduction The Black Agenda is addressed primarily to Black people in America. It rises naturally out of the bloody decades and centuries of our people’s struggle on these shores. It flows from the most … Read More(1972) Gary Declaration, National Black Political Convention
Syllabus Keyes v. School District No. 1, Denver, Colorado Argued: October 12, 1972 — Decided: June 21, 1973 Petitioners sought desegregation of the Park Hill area schools in Denver and, upon securing an order of the District Court directing that relief, expanded their suit to … Read More(1973) Keyes v. School District No. 1, Denver, Colorado
Morgan v. Hennigan, 379 F. Supp. 410 (D.C. Mass., June 21, 1974). OPINION GARRITY, District Judge. This is a school desegregation case brought by black parents and their children who attend the Boston public schools. Plaintiffs seek for themselves and on behalf of their class … Read More(1974) Boston Busing Case
Argued February 26, 1974. Decided April 23, 1974. After being denied admission to a state-operated law school, petitioner brought this suit on behalf of himself alone for injunctive relief, claiming that the school’s admissions policy racially discriminated against him in violation of the Equal Protection … Read More(1974) DeFunis v. Odegaard
We are a collective of Black feminists who have been meeting together since 1974. [1] During that time we have been involved in the process of defining and clarifying our politics, while at the same time doing political work within our own group and in … Read More(1977) The Combahee River Collective Statement
