Education
88 facts
Martin Luther King Jr. Born
Martin Luther King Jr., who would become the most prominent leader of the American civil rights movement, was born in Atlanta, Georgia.
Brown v. Board of Education
The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional, overturning Plessy v. Ferguson.
Little Rock Nine Integrate Central High School
Nine Black students integrated Little Rock Central High School under federal military escort.
Little Rock Nine Enroll
Nine Black students enrolled at Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, under the protection of federal troops.
Toni Morrison Wins Nobel Prize
Toni Morrison became the first African American woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Little Rock Nine Enter Central High
The Little Rock Nine entered Central High School under the protection of the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division.
Greensboro Sit-Ins Begin
Four Black college students sat down at a whites-only lunch counter at Woolworth's in Greensboro, North Carolina, launching a wave of sit-in protests.
W.E.B. Du Bois Born
W.E.B. Du Bois, pioneering sociologist, historian, and civil rights activist who co-founded the NAACP, was born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts.
Hiram Revels Sworn In as First Black U.S. Senator
Hiram Rhodes Revels became the first African American to serve in the United States Congress when he was sworn into the U.S. Senate.
Negro History Week First Celebrated
Carter G. Woodson launched the first Negro History Week, precursor to Black History Month.
Ruby Bridges Integrates William Frantz Elementary
Six-year-old Ruby Bridges became the first African American child to integrate an all-white elementary school in the South.
James Meredith Integrates University of Mississippi
James Meredith became the first Black student admitted to the University of Mississippi.
Soweto Uprising
Black South African students protested being forced to learn in Afrikaans, leading to a violent crackdown that galvanized the anti-apartheid movement.
Booker T. Washington Born
Booker T. Washington, educator, author, and advisor to presidents, was born into slavery in Virginia.
Maya Angelou Born
Maya Angelou, poet, memoirist, and civil rights activist, was born in St. Louis, Missouri.
W.E.B. Du Bois Publishes The Souls of Black Folk
W.E.B. Du Bois published "The Souls of Black Folk," one of the most influential works in African American literature.
SNCC Founded
The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) was founded at Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Carter G. Woodson Born
Carter G. Woodson, the "Father of Black History," was born in New Canton, Virginia.
James Meredith Enrolls at Ole Miss
James Meredith became the first African American student admitted to the University of Mississippi.
Central High School Crisis Begins
Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus ordered the National Guard to prevent nine Black students from entering Central High School in Little Rock.
W.E.B. Du Bois Dies
W.E.B. Du Bois, scholar, activist, and co-founder of the NAACP, died in Accra, Ghana, at age 95.
Ruby Bridges Integrates School
Six-year-old Ruby Bridges became the first African American child to attend an all-white elementary school in the South.
George Washington Carver Born
George Washington Carver, agricultural scientist who developed hundreds of products from peanuts, was born into slavery in Diamond, Missouri.
Carter G. Woodson Creates Negro History Week
Carter G. Woodson established Negro History Week, which later became Black History Month.
Carter G. Woodson Founds Negro History Week
Carter G. Woodson launched the first Negro History Week, the precursor to Black History Month.
Smithsonian National Museum of African American History Opens
The Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture opened on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
University of Timbuktu Founded
The Sankore Madrasah in Timbuktu, one of the oldest universities in the world, was established as a major center of learning in West Africa.
Mary McLeod Bethune Born
Educator and civil rights leader Mary McLeod Bethune was born in Mayesville, South Carolina.
Mary McLeod Bethune Founds Bethune-Cookman College
Mary McLeod Bethune established a school for Black girls that became Bethune-Cookman College.
Mary McLeod Bethune Founds School
Mary McLeod Bethune founded the Daytona Educational and Industrial Training School for Negro Girls.
Oprah Winfrey Born
Oprah Winfrey, media mogul and philanthropist, was born in Kosciusko, Mississippi.
Alice Walker Wins Pulitzer Prize
Alice Walker became the first African American woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for "The Color Purple."
Booker T. Washington Dies
Booker T. Washington, educator, author, and adviser to presidents, died at Tuskegee Institute.
Pauli Murray Born
Pauli Murray, civil rights activist, lawyer, poet, and first African American woman ordained as an Episcopal priest, was born in Baltimore, Maryland.
Howard University Founded
Howard University, one of the most prominent HBCUs, was established in Washington, D.C.
Wole Soyinka Wins Nobel Prize
Nigerian playwright Wole Soyinka became the first African to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Charles Hamilton Houston Born
Charles Hamilton Houston, the legal architect of the civil rights movement, was born in Washington, D.C.
Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler Graduates
Rebecca Lee Crumpler became the first African American woman to earn a medical degree in the United States.
Chinua Achebe Born
Chinua Achebe, author of "Things Fall Apart" and father of modern African literature, was born in Ogidi, Nigeria.
Ella Baker Founds SNCC
Ella Baker organized the conference at Shaw University that led to the founding of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee.
Richard Allen Founded AME Church
Richard Allen established the African Methodist Episcopal Church, the first independent Black denomination in America.
Frantz Fanon Born
Frantz Fanon, psychiatrist and revolutionary theorist whose writings influenced anti-colonial movements, was born in Martinique.
Kenneth and Mamie Clark Conduct Doll Test
Psychologists Kenneth and Mamie Clark conducted their famous doll studies demonstrating the harmful effects of segregation on Black children.
National Black History Month Established
President Gerald Ford officially recognized February as Black History Month during the nation's bicentennial.
Nikole Hannah-Jones Wins Pulitzer for 1619 Project
Nikole Hannah-Jones won the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary for her work on The 1619 Project.
Ta-Nehisi Coates Publishes Between the World and Me
Ta-Nehisi Coates published "Between the World and Me," a landmark letter to his son about being Black in America.
Booker T. Washington Delivers Atlanta Compromise Speech
Booker T. Washington delivered his famous Atlanta Compromise address advocating vocational education for African Americans.
First African American Rhodes Scholar
Alain Locke became the first African American Rhodes Scholar.
Benjamin Banneker Born
Benjamin Banneker, self-taught astronomer, mathematician, and almanac author, was born in Baltimore County, Maryland.
Mary McLeod Bethune Leads Black Cabinet
Mary McLeod Bethune became the highest-ranking African American woman in the Roosevelt administration.
Wesley Brown Graduates Naval Academy
Wesley Brown became the first African American to graduate from the U.S. Naval Academy.
Kwanzaa First Celebrated
Dr. Maulana Karenga and his organization Us celebrated the first Kwanzaa, a week-long celebration of African American heritage.
Fisk Jubilee Singers First Performance
The Fisk Jubilee Singers performed for the first time, preserving and popularizing African American spirituals.
First Historically Black College Founded
The Institute for Colored Youth, now Cheyney University, was established as the first institution of higher education for African Americans.
Mary Church Terrell Born
Mary Church Terrell, activist, educator, and first president of the National Association of Colored Women, was born in Memphis, Tennessee.
Septima Clark Born
Septima Clark, educator who created citizenship schools that taught literacy for voter registration, was born in Charleston, South Carolina.
Fisk University Founded
Fisk University, one of the most prestigious HBCUs, was established in Nashville, Tennessee.
Spelman College Founded
Spelman College, the first HBCU for women, was founded in Atlanta, Georgia.
John Hope Franklin Born
John Hope Franklin, historian whose "From Slavery to Freedom" became the definitive text on African American history, was born in Rentiesville, Oklahoma.
Augusta Savage Born
Augusta Savage, sculptor and arts educator who shaped the Harlem Renaissance, was born in Green Cove Springs, Florida.
First Black Church in America Founded
The Silver Bluff Baptist Church was established in South Carolina, considered among the first Black churches in America.
Shirley Ann Jackson Born
Shirley Ann Jackson, the first African American woman to earn a doctorate from MIT, was born in Washington, D.C.
First African Free School Opens
The first free school for African American children opened in New York City.
Daisy Bates Born
Daisy Bates, journalist and civil rights leader who mentored the Little Rock Nine, was born in Huttig, Arkansas.
Oliver Hill Born
Oliver Hill, civil rights attorney who helped end school segregation, was born in Richmond, Virginia.
Alain Locke Born
Alain Locke, philosopher, educator, and intellectual architect of the Harlem Renaissance, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Michelle Obama Born
Michelle Obama, lawyer, author, and first African American First Lady of the United States, was born in Chicago, Illinois.
Marian Wright Edelman Born
Marian Wright Edelman, founder of the Children's Defense Fund, was born in Bennettsville, South Carolina.
West Virginia State College v. Brewster
The Supreme Court ruled that the University of Texas must admit Heman Marion Sweatt to its law school.
Cornel West Born
Cornel West, philosopher, activist, and public intellectual, was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Artis Gilmore Born
The first Black graduate of West Point, Henry O. Flipper, was born in Thomasville, Georgia.
Hinton Rowan Helper Published
Charlotte E. Ray became the first African American woman admitted to a bar association and to practice law.
Rembrandt Peale Paints Absalom Jones
Absalom Jones, the first African American to be ordained as an Episcopal priest, was born into slavery in Sussex, Delaware.
First Black Rhodes Scholar
Alain Locke became the first African American to be named a Rhodes Scholar.
Claudia McNeil Born
The first African American woman to earn a PhD, Georgiana Rose Simpson, was awarded her doctorate from the University of Chicago.
John Hope Franklin Dies
John Hope Franklin, historian and author of "From Slavery to Freedom," died in Durham, North Carolina, at age 94.
LeBron James Opens I PROMISE School
LeBron James opened the I PROMISE School in his hometown of Akron, Ohio, for at-risk students.
Henry Louis Gates Jr. Born
Literary critic and scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr., a leading figure in African American studies, was born.
Dillard University Founded
Dillard University, a historically Black university, was established in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Clara Hale Born
Clara "Mother" Hale, who cared for hundreds of drug-addicted and HIV-positive babies, was born in Elizabeth City, North Carolina.
Claudia Alta Taylor Johnson Signs Civil Rights Act
The first African American graduate of a Southern white medical school completed studies at the University of Arkansas.
Balm of Gilead Founded
Mary Lena Lewis Tate became one of the first Black women to found a Christian denomination in the United States.
Mary Frances Berry Born
Mary Frances Berry, civil rights activist, historian, and chair of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, was born in Nashville, Tennessee.
LeVar Burton Born
LeVar Burton, actor best known for "Roots" and "Reading Rainbow," was born in Landstuhl, West Germany.
Eslanda Goode Robeson Born
Eslanda Goode Robeson, anthropologist, author, and civil rights activist married to Paul Robeson, was born in Washington, D.C.
Claudine Gay Resigns as Harvard President
Claudine Gay resigned as president of Harvard University amid controversy, having served as the first Black president of the institution.
Jason Reynolds Named National Ambassador for Young People's Literature
Jason Reynolds was named the seventh National Ambassador for Young People's Literature by the Library of Congress.
African American History Museum Passes 10 Million Visitors
The Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture surpassed 10 million visitors since its 2016 opening.