On January 30, 2009, Michael Steele became the first African American to lead the Republican Party as Chairman of the Republican National Committee.
Chairman Steele is also only the second African American to lead either the Democratic or Republ...
Posted Wednesday, February 18th 2009 at 12:03PM
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Very few know the story of the man known as the "Gullah Statesman."
He was born, Robert Smalls, on April 5, 1839. His birthplace was Beaufort, a bustling waterfront town sitting on one of the Sea Islands, in what was known as the South Carolina l...
Posted Monday, April 20th 2009 at 5:27PM
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She was born, Jane Matilda Bolin on April 11, 1908. She was the youngest of four children. Her father was Gaius Charles Bolin. He was the first African American (also part Native American) to attend Williams College, in the Berkeshire Mountains o...
Posted Friday, May 1st 2009 at 1:19PM
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In 1953, President Dwight D. Eisenhower appointed as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, California Governor Earl Warren. One year later, on May 17 1954, a Warren court ruling was handed down which stated that segregated educati...
Posted Thursday, February 19th 2009 at 2:11PM
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13th through 15th Amendments to the United States Constitution
Background and Summary
The 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution officially abolished, and continues to prohibit, slavery, and, with limited exceptions,...
Posted Wednesday, December 19th 2007 at 5:15PM
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Introducing one of the nineteenth century's most famous and perplexing pianists. Born a slave in Georgia, Blind Tom died an international celebrity in 1908. He had an encyclopedic memory, all-consuming passion for music and mind boggling capacity to ...
Posted Saturday, July 10th 2010 at 8:27AM
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Amistad
Background and Summary
The Amistad was a U.S. Supreme Court case resulting from the rebellion of slaves on board the Spanish schooner ship, La Amistad in 1839.
The rebellion broke out when the schooner, traveling along the coast of Cuba, w...
Posted Monday, January 14th 2008 at 4:17PM
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The Black Cultural Festival is designed to bring together the several African and African American communities that represent the Greater Columubs Metropolitan area. Our theme is, "Celebrating our heritage, while Confronting the Challenges...
Posted Tuesday, May 20th 2008 at 5:51PM
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Bloody Sunday
Background and Summary
"Bloody Sunday" occurred on March 7, 1965, when 600 civil rights marchers were attacked by state and local police with Billy clubs and tear gas so the march was cancelled. The route taken by the marche...
Posted Wednesday, December 19th 2007 at 5:39PM
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Brown v. Board of Education
Background and Summary
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kan., of 1954 is the landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court, which overturned earlier rulings going back...
Posted Wednesday, December 19th 2007 at 5:53PM
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Emancipation Proclamation
Background
The Emancipation Proclamation consists of two executive orders issued by President Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War. The first one, issued on September 22, 1862, declared the ...
Posted Wednesday, December 19th 2007 at 5:56PM
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Atlantic Southeast Airlines flights 5202 (Atlanta to Nashville) and 5106 (Nashville to Atlanta) became the first commercial jet revenue flights to be operated by an all-female all-African-American crew, on February 12. Captain Rachelle Jones and Fir...
Posted Tuesday, March 3rd 2009 at 6:55AM
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Freedom Rides
Background and Summary
Civil rights activists called “freedom riders” rode on interstate buses around the segregated South on “freedom rides” to test results of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Boynton v. Vir...
Posted Thursday, January 31st 2008 at 12:27PM
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