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.
March 26, 2003, Argued June 26, 2003, Decided LAWRENCE et al. v. TEXAS CERTIORARI TO THE COURT OF APPEALS OF TEXAS, FOURTEENTH DISTRICT Responding to a reported weapons disturbance in a private residence, Houston police entered petitioner Lawrence’s apartment and saw him and another adult … Read More(2003) Lawrence v. Texas
THE MICHIGAN CIVIL RIGHTS INITIATIVE (MCRI), PROPOSAL 2, AMENDMENT TO THE STATE CONSTITUTION (2006) ARTICLE I, SECTION 26: Civil Rights. 1. The University of Michigan, Michigan State University, Wayne State University, and any other public college or university, community college, or school district shall not … Read More(2006) The Michigan Civil Rights Initiative
Primary Documents: (Slip Opinion) December 4, 2006, Argued June 28, 2007, * Decided SYLLABUS: Respondent school districts voluntarily adopted student assignment plans that rely on race to determine which schools certain children may attend. The Seattle district, which has never operated legally segregated schools or … Read More(2007) Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1
Title A Constitutional amendment to prohibit the state from discriminating against, or granting preferential treatment to any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in public employment, public education or public contracting; to apply the amendment only to … Read More(2008) Nebraska Civil Rights Initiative 424
In an open letter to his daughters, Malia and Sasha, appearing in PARADE Magazine on Sunday, January 18, 2009, two days before his inauguration as the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama describes his hopes and dreams for the future with them and … Read More(2009) Barack Obama, “What I Want For You–and For Every Child”
(Slip Opinion) Argued April 22, 2009 Decided June 29, 2009 New Haven, Conn. (City), uses objective examinations to identify those firefighters best qualified for promotion. When the results of such an exam to fill vacant lieutenant and captain positions showed that white candidates had outperformed … Read More(2009) Ricci v. DeStefano
This bibliography lists sources for the history of African-Americans in the city of Portland and the state of Oregon, and less comprehensively, the Pacific Northwest and Far West. A list of Portland and West Coast African-American newspapers and periodicals and a brief list of selected … Read MoreHistory of African Americans in Portland & Oregon: A Selected Bibliography
August 11, 1955 Editor: I promised God and some other responsible characters, including a bench of bishops, that I was not going to part my lips concerning the U.S. Supreme Court decision on ending segregation in the public schools of the South. But since a … Read MoreZora Neale Hurston’s Letter to the Orlando Sentinel (1955)
