The Seattle Civic Unity Committee was formed by Seattle Mayor William F. Devin in 1944 in response to rising racial tension in the city. During World War II Seattle, like other west coast cities, received an influx of African Americans raising its black population from … Read MoreSeattle Civic Unity Committee
Arthur D. Shores, attorney and civil rights activist, was born in Birmingham, Alabama on September 23, 1903. He completed his primary and secondary education in that same city. In 1927 he earned a bachelor’s degree in education from Talladega College in Alabama and then a … Read MoreArthur D. Shores (1903-1996)
Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth was born on March 18, 1922 in Mount Meigs, Alabama to Vetta Green and Alberta Robinson. However, his mother and stepfather, William Nathan Shuttlesworth, a farmer in Oxmore, Alabama raised Fred Shuttlesworth. Shuttlesworth attended Oxmore Elementary School. He graduated from Rosedale High … Read MoreFred Shuttlesworth (1922-2011)
Ernie Davis is best known for being one of the greatest football players in college football history and the first black person to win the Heisman Trophy. In the process, Davis became an icon for an integrated America and for African Americans achieving the American … Read MoreErnie Davis (1940-1963)
On June 25, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 8802, creating a Committee on Fair Employment Practices (FEPC) to investigate complaints of discrimination and take action against valid complaints in any defense industry receiving government contracts. President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 8802 only … Read MorePresident’s Committee on Fair Employment Practice (FEPC)
The Ville is a residential and business district remembered as the cultural center of the African American community in St. Louis, Missouri. The Ville, located just northwest of downtown St. Louis, was open to African Americans during a time that much of the city was … Read MoreThe Ville (St. Louis, MO)
Plaintiff for a landmark Supreme Court case, Homer A. Plessy was born on March 17, 1863 in New Orleans. He was a light-skinned Creole of Color during the post-reconstruction years. With the aid of the Comité des Citoyens, a black organization in New Orleans, Homer … Read MoreHomer Plessy (1863-1925)
The Congress of Racial Equality pioneered direct nonviolent action in the 1940s before playing a major part in the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s. Founded by an interracial group of pacifists at the University of Chicago in 1942, CORE used nonviolent tactics … Read MoreCongress of Racial Equality (1942)
The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, held on August 28, 1963 in Washington, D.C., was a landmark event for the early civil rights movement and is partly credited with winning the passage of the Federal Civil Rights Act of 1964. Over 250,000 demonstrators … Read MoreMarch on Washington for Jobs and Freedom (August 28, 1963)
The Central Area School Council (CASC) was formed in 1969 at a time when community control of public schools was considered by many local activists as a more effective strategy than school integration in improving the performance of African American students. Activists argued that with … Read MoreCentral Area School Council (1969-1975)
