1917
- In the same year that the United States enters World War I, anti-black riots are held in St. Louis, Illinois and more than 100 black citizens are either killed or injured. More than 10,000 black New Yorkers hold the Silent Parade to protest the violence.
December 8, 1936
- The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) sues the government to make them pay black and white teachers equal salaries.
June 3, 1946
- US Supreme Court bans segregation of black and white people on public transit.
Civil Rights - December 1, 1955
- Rosa Parks is arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, AL. Martin Luther King Jr. leads a boycott of Montgomery buses that lasts over a year.
September 24, 1957
- Nine black students integrate with white students at Central High School in Little Rock, AR. President Dwight Eisenhower sends the paratroopers in to ward off any violence.
August 28, 1963
- More than 250,000 civil rights demonstrators march on Washington, DC, where Martin Luther King Jr. delivers his "I Have A Dream" speech.
1964
- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wins the Nobel Peace Prize.
April 4, 1968
- Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated in Memphis, TN, where had gone to give a speech to striking garbage workers.
1978
- Unita Blackwell, founding member of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, becomes the first black woman mayor in the history of Mississippi in the city of Mayersville. She had once been denied the right to vote there.
1983
- Vanessa Williams is crowned the first black Miss America.
January 15, 1986
- Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday is celebrated as a federal holiday for the first time.
1999
- NAACP launches a campaign against TV networks to increase number of minorities in shows.
2000
- Colin Powell becomes the first black US Secretary of State.
March 24, 2002
- Halle Berry becomes first African American woman to win an Oscar for best actress.
- Click here to hear about other strides in black history.
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