On June 12, 1967
In Loving v. Virginia, U.S.Supreme Court strikes down as unconstitutional laws in 16 states that prohibit interracial marriage. Read more This was the year before I graduated from college – […]
Category Archives: African American History
America’s segregated shores: beaches’ long history as a racial battleground
In 1965 when I was a volunteer for Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference, I worked in rural South Carolina. That summer nine civil rights workers, SCLC and […]
On May 23, 1796
President George Washington offers $10 reward for return of Oney Judge, an enslaved black woman who fled after learning that Mrs. Washington planned to give her away as a wedding […]
On May 21, 1961
National Guard called to disperse several thousand whites threatening to set fire to First Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama, with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Freedom Riders inside. Read […]
On May 20, 1961
Freedom Riders arrived in Montgomery, Alabama, where local police allow a mob of angry whites to attack; several people are severely injured, including a U.S. Justice Department official. Read more […]
On May 18, 1980
Violent protests continue in Miami, Florida, after four police officers are acquitted in brutal beating death of Arthur McDuffie, leaving 23 dead and hundreds injured. Read more A History of […]
On May 8, 2009
Members of the Ku Klux Klan burn a cross in an African American neighborhood in Ozark, Alabama, to intimidate lack residents. Learn more Me: This was only nine years ago. […]
On May 7, 1955
In Belzoni, Mississippi, NAACP member Rev. George Lee is fatally shot after angering local whites when he attempted to register to vote. Read more A History of Racial Injustice Calendar […]
On May 3, 1946
Louisiana fails in is attempt to execute 17-year-old Willie Francis by electrocution; the state executes him a year later by electrocuting him again. Read more From A History of Racial […]
On May 2, 1963
More than 700 black children protesting racial segregation in Birmingham, Alabama, are arrested, blasted by fire hoses, clubbed by police and attacked by police dogs. For more information A […]
