Jewish American Heritage Month

May is Jewish American Heritage Month. This is the time to recognize the experiences and contributions of Jewish Americans. In 1980, the first Jewish American Heritage Week was celebrated in April of the year. In 2006, it was elevated to a month-long recognition and moved to the month of May.

Percentage of Jewish population in each state in 2015.
By Irvadm [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

The Berman Jewish DataBank estimates that as of 2015 there were 6,829,930 Jewish people living in the United States. That is 2.14% of the total population.

Timeline of Jewish American History

1654 First record of Jewish settlers coming to North America. Twenty-three Sephardi Jews arrived in New Amsterdam (which became New York in 1664). In 1655, the directors of the Dutch West India Company, who governed the colony, agreed to allow them to settle there permanently.
"The Early History of the Jews in New York, 1654-1664" in Publications of the American Jewish Historical Society by Samuel Oppenheim

1730 The New York Jewish community created the first synagogue in North America.
"The Congregation Shearith Israel" in Publications of the American Jewish Historical Society by N. Taylor Phillips
America's First Synagogues [streaming video]

1763 The Touro Synagogue was built in Newport, Rhode Island. It is the oldest continuously operating synagogue in the United States.
"House of Worship: At Touro Synagogue, the Jewish Story is the American Story" in National Parks by Ethan Gilsdorf

1774 Francis Salvador became the first Jewish elected official in America. He was elected to the South Carolina legislature. In 1776, he died fighting for the patriot cause in the American Revolution.
"Francis Salvador, A Prominent Patriot of the Revolutionary War" in Publications of the American Jewish Historical Society by Leon Huhner

Interior of the Touro Synagogue in Newport, RI. Built in 1763. It is the oldest continuously operating synagogue in the US.
By S.d.touro [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], from Wikimedia Commons

1802 In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania the first Ashkenazi synagogue was built in the United States.

1819 Philanthropist Rebecca Gratz founded the Female Hebrew Benevolent Society, a charity organization that is still in operation.

1843 German Jewish immigrants form the B'nai B'rith fraternal order.

1845 Lewis Charles Levin, of Pennsylvania, became the first Jewish person to serve in the House of Representatives.

         David Levy Yulee, of Florida, became the first Jewish person to serve in the Senate.

1854 Isaac Mayer Wise founded The Israelite newspaper (It became The American Israelite in 1874). It is the longest-running English language Jewish newspaper still in publication the United States.

1860 Morris Raphall became the first Rabbi to open a session of the US Congress with prayer.

1861-65 Judah P. Benjamin became the first Jewish person to serve in a government Cabinet in North America. He served the Confederate States of America as Attorney General, then Secretary of War, and finally as Secretary of State.
Judah P. Benjamin by Pierce Butler

 Rebecca Gratz (1781-1869).
Painted by Thomas Sully in 1831. [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

1880-1924 About 27 million people immigrated to the US during this period. Approximately 2 million of them were Jewish people from Central and Eastern Europe.
Jewish Immigration to the United States from 1881-1910 by Samuel Joseph
Troubled Waters: The Origins of the 1881 Anti-Jewish Pogroms in Russia by Irwin Michael Aronson

1883 Emma Lazarus composed the poem "The New Colossus" to raise money to build a pedestal for the Statue of Liberty. In 1903, a plaque engraved with the poem was placed in the statue's pedestal. A famous line from that poem is "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free..."
Emma Lazarus by Esther H. Schor
Liberty's Voice: The Story of Emma Lazarus by Erica Silverman

1885 The first Yiddish language newspaper Yidishes Tageblatt (The Jewish Daily News) was published in the United States. It ceased publication in 1928.

1887 Washington Bartlett, of California, became the first Jewish person elected as governor of a US State.

1906 Oscar Straus became the first Jewish person to serve on the US Cabinet. He served as Secretary of Commerce until 1909.
The American Spirit by Oscar S. Straus
Under Four Administrations: From Cleveland to Taft by Oscar S. Straus

1910 The first Ladino language newspaper Lah Amerikah began publication. It continued until 1925.
"Asymmetric Fates: Secular Yiddish and Ladino Culture in Comparison" in The Jewish Quarterly Review by Sarah Abrevaya Stein

Louis D. Brandeis (1856-1941) in 1916.
By Harris & Ewing [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

1915 Leo Frank was lynched in Marietta, Georgia.
The Leo Frank Case by Leonard Dinnerstein
An Unspeakable Crime: The Prosecution and Persecution of Leo Frank by Elaine Marie Alphin

1916 Louis Brandeis became the first Jewish person to serve on the Supreme Court.
Letters of Louis D. Brandeis by Louis Dembitz Brandeis
Other People's Money and How the Bankers Use It by Louis Dembitz Brandeis

1920 Henry Ford acquired the Dearborn Independent newspaper and used it to publish 91 anti-Semitic propaganda articles over the next several years, including the Protocols of the Elders of Zion.

1924 Immigration Act of 1924 strictly limited the number of immigrants entering the United States, which resulted in a decline of Jewish immigration from Europe.

1933 Fleeing persecution from the Nazi government in Germany, Albert Einstein immigrated to the United States and became a resident scholar at the Institution for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. He obtained US citizenship in 1940. 
The Meaning of Relativity by Albert Einstein
On a Beam of Light: A Story of Albert Einstein by Jennifer Berne

Albert Einstein (1879-1955) in 1935.
By Sophie Delar, photographer; published in 1955 by "unknown press organization" per source (RR Auction and Einstein's World) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

1941-45 Approximately 500,000 Jewish Americans served in the armed forces during World War II.
GI Jews: How World War II Changed a Generation by Deborah Dash Moore

1945-52 President Truman issued a directive to allow immigration preference for those displaced by World War II. An estimated 80,000 Jewish immigrants arrived to the US during these years.

1955 Jonas Salk developed the polio vaccine.
Splendid Solution: Jonas Salk and the Conquest of Polio by Jeffrey Kluger

1963 Betty Friedan published The Feminine Mystique, which sparked the modern feminist movement. In 1966, she co-founded the National Organization for Women.
Success and Solitude: Feminist Organizations Fifty Years after The Feminine Mystique by Sarah Maxwell

1993 The United States Holocaust Museum opened in Washington DC.

2000 Joe Lieberman became the first Jewish American nominated for Vice President by one of the two major political parties.


Tarleton's library has a large collection of materials relevant to the Jewish American experience. Such as these titles:

The Chosen Folks: Jews on the Frontiers of Texas by Bryan Edward Stone
The Columbia History of Jews & Judaism in America ed. by Marc Lee Raphael
God, Faith & Identity from the Ashes: Reflections of Children and Grandchildren of Holocaust Survivors by Menachem Z. Rosensaft
Jewish "Junior League": The Rise and Demise of the Fort Worth Council of Jewish Women by Hollace Ava Weiner
Jewish Women Pioneering the Frontier Trail: A History in the American West by Jeanne E. Abrams
Jews and Gentiles in Early America, 1654-1800 by William Pencak
The Jews of the United States, 1654-2000 by Hasia R. Diner
Lone Stars of David: The Jews of Texas by Hollace Ava Weiner
Memories of Two Generations: A Yiddish Life in Russia and Texas by Z. Gurwitz
Still Jewish: A History of Women and Intermarriage in America by Keren R. McGinity
Who is a Jew? Reflections on History, Religion, and Culture by Leonard J. Greenspoon

Women's History Month

March is Women's History Month. This is the time of year to recognize the experiences and contributions of America's women. Starting in 1981 Congress recognized the second week of March as "Women's History Week." In 1987, it was upgraded to a month-long commemoration.

Sex ratio by county in 2010. The redder the county the more women there are than men, the bluer the county the more men there are than women.
U.S. Census Bureau [Public Domain]. 

The 2010 US Census counted 143,368,343 women in the population, which is 50.9% of the total. In that year, only 10 states had larger male populations than female (Alaska, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming). The other 40 states (plus DC and Puerto Rico) had larger female populations.

Timeline of Women's History 

1607 Pocahontas saved English colonist John Smith's life in Virginia. 

Malinche, Pocahontas, and Sacagawea: Indian Women as Cultural Intermediaries and National Symbols by Rebecca K. Jager

1636 Anne Hutchinson challenged the teachings of the religious leaders in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. She was convicted of heresy and banished. 

American Jezebel: The Uncommon Life of Anne Hutchinson, the Woman Who Defied the Puritans by Eve LaPlante

1650 Anne Bradstreet became the first published poet in America. 

A Woman's Inner World: Selected Poetry and Prose of Anne Bradstreet by Anne Bradstreet

1655 Elizabeth Key, a slave of mixed African and English heritage, successfully won her freedom via a lawsuit in the Virginia Colony. In 1661, the Virginia colonial assembly (House of Burgesses) passed legislation to prevent other slaves from winning their freedom in a similar way.
"Dangerous Woman: Elizabeth Key's Freedom Suit: Subjecthood and Racialized Identity in Seventeenth Century Colonial Virginia" in Akron Law Review by Taunya Lovell Banks

1692 Hundreds of people (mostly women) were accused of witchcraft in Salem, MA. Twenty people were executed, 14 of whom were women. 

In the Devil's Snare: The Salem Witchcraft Crisis of 1692 by Mary Beth Norton

1756 Lydia Chapin Taft is the only known woman to cast a vote in colonial America. She voted in multiple town elections in Uxbridge, MA.

1765 When men formed the Sons of Liberty organization to protest British taxes, women formed the Daughters of Liberty organization.
Liberty's Daughters: The Revolutionary Experience of American Women, 1750-1800 by Mary Beth Norton

1774 Ann Lee founded the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing (commonly known as the Shakers) religious movement in America.
Mother's First-Born Daughters: Early Shaker Writings on Women and Religion by Jean McMahon Humez

Abigail Adams (1744-1818), 2nd First Lady of the United States.
By Gilbert Stuart [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons. 

1776 Abigail Adams wrote to her husband John Adams (who was serving in the Continental Congress) stating: "And, by the way, in the new code of laws which I suppose it will be necessary for you to make, I desire you would remember the ladies and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors. Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the husbands. Remember, all men would be tyrants if they could. If particular care and attention is not paid to the ladies, we are determined to foment a rebellion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any laws in which we have no voice or representation.”
The Book of Abigail and John: Selected Letters of the Adams Family, 1762-1784 by Abigail Adams

         The New Jersey constitution allowed female property owners to vote. It was the only place in the United States where women could vote at that time. In 1807, an act was passed that limited voting rights to free white male citizens.

         According to legend, Betsy Ross created the United States flag. No firm evidence has yet been found to confirm this legend. 

1781 - Margaret Catherine Moore Barry (aka Kate Barry) served as a messenger and scout for American forces at the Battle of Cowpens in South Carolina during the American Revolutionary War.

1782-83 Deborah Sampson, of Massachusetts, disguised herself as a man and served in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. When her true identity was discovered she was honorably discharged.
The Female Review: Life of Deborah Sampson, the Female Soldier of the War of Revolution by Herman Mann

1790 Judith Sargent Murray published her essay "On the Equality of the Sexes."
First Lady of Letters: Judith Sargent Murray and the Struggle for Female Independence by Sheila L. Skemp

1792 Sarah Pierce founded the Litchfield Female Academy school for girls.

1805-06 Sacagawea served as a guide and interpreter on the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
The Making of Scagawea: A Euro-American Legend by Donna J. Kessler

1821 Emma Willard founded the Troy Female Seminary (now known as the Emma Willard School) the first women's higher education institution in the United States.
Emma Willard, a Pioneer Educator of American Women by Alma Lutz

1834 Female factory workers in Lowell, MA staged one of the first strikes in American history in protest of wage cuts.
Women at Work: The Transformation of Work and Community in Lowell, Massachusetts, 1826-1860 by Thomas Dublin

Lowell Mills factory workers circa 1870.
[Public domain] via Wikimedia Commons. 

1835 Angelina and Sarah Grimké became active in the abolitionist and women's rights movements. They were the first female agents of the American Anti-Slavery Society. Angelina was the first woman to address a legislative body in America when she presented anti-slavery petitions to the Massachusetts legislature in 1838.  
The Grimké Sisters from South Carolina: Rebels Against Slavery by Gerda Lerner
Letters on the Equality of the Sexes and the Condition of Women by Sarah Moore Grimké

1841 Dorothea Dix began her investigation of the poor treatment of mentally ill people in Massachusetts. In 1843, she presented her findings to the Massachusetts legislature, which convinced them to make reforms. In later years, she conducted similar investigations in other states.
Memorial to the Legislature of Massachusetts, 1843 by Dorothea Lynde Dix

1844 Sarah Bagley formed the Lowell Female Labor Reform Association. It was the first labor union for women in the US. 
The Lowell Offering: A Repository of Original Articles, Written Exclusively by Females Actively Employed in the Mills by Maria Louise Thomas 

1848 Elizabeth Cady Stanton organized a women's rights convention in Seneca Falls, NY. Attendees signed the "Declaration of Sentiments" which included a demand for women's voting rights. 
The Road to Seneca Falls: Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the First Women's Rights Convention by Judith Wellman

1849 Harriet Tubman escaped from slavery. Over the next 10 years she helped hundreds of slaves escape the South via the Underground Railroad. 
Harriet Tubman: The Road to Freedom by Catherine Clinton 

Harriet Tubman (1821-1913) in 1880.
By H. B. Lindsley [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.

1851 Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony began a life-long partnership advocating for a variety of social reform movements. In 1852, they formed the the New York Women's State Temperance Society. In 1863, they formed the Women's Loyal National League, which supported the abolition of slavery. In 1866, they founded the American Equal Rights Association. In 1868, they began publishing a women's rights newspaper called The Revolution. In 1869, they founded the National Woman Suffrage Association, which advocated for women's voting rights.
The Selected Papers of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony by Elizabeth Cady Stanton
The Story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony: Revolution [Streaming Video]

         Former slave Sojourner Truth gave her famous "Ain't I a Woman?" speech at a women's rights convention in Ohio.
Sojourner Truth: A Life, a Symbol by Nell Irvin Painter

1869 - Wyoming granted women the right to vote. They were followed by several other western territories/states: Utah in 1870, Colorado in 1893, and Idaho in 1896.

1872 Susan B. Anthony, and 14 other women, were arrested for voting in Rochester, NY.

1874 Frances Willard founded the Women's Christian Temperance Union.
Frances Willard: A Biography by Ruth Birgitta Anderson Bordin

Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony ( sometime between 1880-1902)
By David B. Edmonston [Public Domain]. 

1881 Clara Barton, who served as a nurse in the US Civil War (1861-65), founded the American Red Cross.
The American Red Cross: From Clara Barton to the New Deal by Marian Moser Jones
Clara Barton: In the Service of Humanity by David H. Burton

1889 Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr opened Hull House, which provided social services for Chicago's working poor. It is the most famous and longest-lived example of the Settlement House Movement in America.
Jane Addams and the Dream of American Democracy: A Life by Jean Bethke Elshtain
Twenty Years at Hull House by Jane Addams

1890 The National Woman Suffrage Association and the American Woman Suffrage Association merged to form the National American Woman Suffrage Association.

1892 Ida B. Wells published Southern Horrors: Lynch Law in All Its Phases, an exposé into the lynching of African Americans in Memphis, TN.
'They Say': Ida B. Wells and the Reconstruction of Race by James West Davidson

1893 Florence Kelley shared the findings of her investigation into the conditions of child laborers in Chicago with the Illinois legislature. The state followed her recommendations, and also appointed her the state's chief factory inspector. In 1899, she became head of the National Consumers League and used that position to encourage consumers not to buy products from companies that employed children.
Civilizing Capitalism: The National Consumers' League, Women's Activism, and Labor Standards in the New Deal Era by Landon R.Y. Storrs
Some Ethical Gains through Legislation by Florence Kelley

1904 Muckraking journalist Ida Tarbell published History of the Standard Oil Company. It exposed the company's corrupt practices. In 1911, the company was dissolved and split into several separate companies due to its monopolistic practices.
Taking on the Trust: The Epic Battle of Ida Tarbell and John D. Rockefeller by Steve Weinberg

1910 Washington state granted women the right to vote. They were soon followed by California (1911), Kansas, Oregon, Arizona (1912), Alaska (1913), Nevada, and Montana (1914).

Image of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire.
Picture published in The New York Work in 1911 [Public Domain] via Wikimedia Commons. 

1911 The Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire in New York City caused the deaths of 146 workers, 123 of whom were female. As a result the International Ladies' Garment Workers Union, along with other groups, organized a massive protest over poor working conditions. New York state passed legislation to address their concerns.
The Triangle Fire by Leon Stein

1914 Margaret Sanger was arrested in New York for disseminating information about birth control. In 1916, she opened the first birth control clinic in the US and was arrested again. In 1921, she founded the American Birth Control League, and by 1942 this organization merged with others to become Planned Parenthood.
The Margaret Sanger Story and the Fight for Birth Control by Lawrence Lader
The Selected Papers of Margaret Sanger by Margaret Sanger

1916 Jeannette Rankin, of Montana, became the first woman elected to the US House of Representatives.

1917 Members of the National Woman's Party held a silent protest over voting rights outside the White House. Known as the "Silent Sentinels," they were arrested and went on a hunger strike in jail. Their force-feeding by prison officials gained national attention.
The Story of the Women's Party by Inez Haynes Gillmore

 Women march in New York  City in 1917, displaying placards containing signatures of over 1 million women demanding the right to vote.
[Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

1920 The 19th amendment to the Constitution was ratified. It granted women the right to vote across the United States. The National American Woman Suffrage Association thus transformed itself into the League of Women Voters.
Victory, How Women Won It: A Centennial Symposium, 1840-1940 by National American Woman Suffrage Association

1924 Nellie Ross, of Wyoming, became the first woman elected governor of a US state.

         Florence Prag Kahn, of California, became the first Jewish woman elected to the US House of Representatives.

1932 Hattie Caraway, of Arkansas, became the first woman elected to the US Senate.

         Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. In 1937, she disappeared over the Pacific Ocean while attempting a flight around the Earth.
Lost Star: The Search for Amelia Earhart by Randall Brink

1933 Francis Perkins became the first woman to serve on the US Cabinet. She served as Secretary of Labor until 1945.
Madam Secretary, Francis Perkins by George Whitney Martin

1941-45 During World War II women's participation in the workforce increased dramatically, and the military created women's branches in each of the armed services: WAVES (Navy); WAC (Army); SPARS (Coast Guard); and WASP (Air Force).
Angles of the Underground: The American Women Who Resisted the Japanese in the Philippines in World War II by Theresa Kaminski
Bands of Sisters: U.S. Women's Military Bands during World War II by Jill M. Sullivan
Beyond Rosie the Riveter: Women of World War II in American Popular Graphic Art by Donna B. Knaff
Clipped Wings: The Rise and Fall of the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) of World War II by Molly Merryman
Code Girls: The Untold Story of the American Women Code Breakers of World War II by Liza Mundy

Four WASPs in 1944: Frances Green, Margaret Kirchner, Ann Waldner, and Blanche Osborn.
By U.S. Air Force photo [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.

1955 Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her bus seat to a white man, thus sparking the Montgomery bus boycott.
She would not be Moved: How We Tell the Story of Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott by Herbert R. Kohl

1960 The first birth control pill was approved by the Food and Drug Administration and made available on the market.
America and the Pill: A History of Promise, Peril, and Liberation by Elaine Tyler May

1963 Betty Friedan published The Feminine Mystique, which sparked the second-wave feminist movement.
Betty Friedan: The Personal is Political by Susan Oliver

1964 Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of sex.
The Longest Debate: A Legislative History of the 1964 Civil Rights Act by Charles W. Whalen

         Patsy Mink, of Hawaii, became the first Asian American woman elected to the House of Representatives.

1965 In Griswold v Connecticut the Supreme Court struck down laws that restricted a married couple's right to use contraceptives.

1966 The National Organization for Women (NOW) was founded.
Governing NOW: Grassroots Activism in the National Organization for Women by Maryann Barakso

Shirley Chisholm first African American woman elected to Congress (1968), and the first African American to seek the presidential nomination from a major party (1972)
By Thomas J. O'Halloran, U.S. News & World Reports.
Light restoration by Adam Cuerden [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

1968 Shirley Chisholm, of New York, became the first African American woman elected to the House of Representatives.

1972 Title IX of the Education Amendments prohibits sex discrimination in all aspects of education programs that receive federal support.
A Place on the Team: The Triumph and Tragedy of Title IX by Welch Suggs

         In Eisenstadt v. Baird the Supreme Court ruled that an unmarried person has a right to use contraceptives.

1973 In Roe v. Wade the Supreme Court ruled that women have a right to an abortion.
Abortion: The Supreme Court Decisions, 1965-2007 by Ian Shapiro
Roe v. Wade: The Abortion Rights Controversy in American History by N.E.H. Hull

1975 In Taylor V. Louisiana the Supreme Court ruled that women could not be excluded from juries.

1977 Patricia Roberts Harris became the first African American woman to serve on the Cabinet. She served as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development until 1979.

Sandra Day O'Connor being sworn in as a Supreme Court Justice in 1981.
 By The U.S. National Archives [Public Domain], via Wikimedia Commons

1981 Sandra Day O'Connor became the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court.
The Majesty of the Law: Reflections of a Supreme Court Justice by Sandra Day O'Connor

1982 The Equal Rights Amendment failed to be ratified by the states.
The Equal Rights Amendment: The History and the Movement by Sharon Whitney

1984 Geraldine Ferraro became the first woman nominated for Vice President by a major party.
Changing History: Women, Power, and Politics by Geraldine Ferraro

         Madeleine M. Kunin, of Vermont, became the first Jewish Woman elected governor of a US state.

1989 Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, of Florida, became the first Hispanic American woman elected to the House of Representatives.

1992 Carol Moseley Braun, of Illinois, became the first African American woman elected to the Senate.

         Diane Feinstein, of California, became the first Jewish woman elected to the Senate.

1993 Ruth Bader Ginsburg became the first Jewish woman to serve on the Supreme Court.

2001 Elaine Chao became the first Asian American woman to serve on the Cabinet. She served as Secretary of Labor until 2009.

2007 Nancy Pelosi became the first woman to serve as Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the New American Politics by Ronald M. Peters

Speaker Nancy Pelosi along side Vice President Dick Cheney during President George W. Bush's 2007 State of the Union address.
By White House photographer David Bohrer [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

2009 Hilda Solis became the first Hispanic American woman to serve on the Cabinet. She served as Secretary of Labor until 2013.

         Sonia Sotomayor became the first Hispanic American woman to serve on the Supreme Court.
Sonia Sotomayor: A Judge Grows in the Bronx by Jonah Winter

2010 Susana Martinez, of New Mexico, became the first Hispanic American woman elected governor of a US state.

         Nikki Haley, of South Carolina, became the first Asian American woman elected governor of a US state.

2012 Mazie Hirono, of Hawaii, became the first Asian American woman elected to the Senate.

2013 Penny Pritzker became the first Jewish woman to serve on the Cabinet. She served as Secretary of Commerce until 2017.

2016 Hillary Clinton became the first woman to be nominated for President by a major party, and the first woman to win the popular vote in a presidential election.
Living History by Hillary Clinton

         Catherine Cortez Masto, of Nevada, became the first Hispanic American woman elected to the Senate.

2017 A record number of women served in the 115th Congress: 22 in the Senate (out of 100) and 89 in the House of Representatives (out of 435).

Tarleton's Dick Smith Library has a wealth of resources for learning more about women's history. Such as these titles:

The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time by Kathleen Kuiper
American Women Activists' Writings: An Anthology, 1637-2002 by Kathryn Cullen-DuPont
Antebellum Women: Private, Public, Partisan by Carol Lasser
Breaking the Wave: Women, their Organizations, and Feminism, 1945-1985 by Kathleen A. Laughlin
First Ladies: Presidential Historians on the Lives of 45 Iconic American Women by Susan Swain
Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation by Cokie Roberts
Her Story: A Timeline of the Women Who Changed America by Charlotte S. Waisman
Sisters: The Lives of America's Suffragists by Jean H. Baker
Still Paving the Way for Madam President by Nichola D. Gutgold
Women's Rights by Sharon Hartman Strom
Women's Suffrage by Richard Haesly
       
Let us know if you need any assistance with library resources at 254-968-9249 or reference@tarleton.edu.

African American History Month

February is African American History Month. This is the time we recognize the experiences and contributions of Americans of African ancestry. The idea of celebrating African American history began in 1926 when the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (now the Association for the Study of African American Life and History) founded Negro History Week. Dr. Carter G. Woodson chose the week in February that included the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. In 1976, President Gerald Ford proclaimed the first Black History Month, and it has been a month-long recognition ever since.

"Percent Black or African America, 2010" by Jon T. Kilpinen is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

The 2010 census counted 42,020,743 African Americans in the United States. That represents 13.6% of the total population and a 15.4% increase since the 2000 census.

Timeline of African-American history

Click the links below to learn more about each topic. Many of these link to resources available through our subscription databases. If you are a Tarleton student, faculty, or staff you can access these resources from off-campus with your NTNET username and password. 

1527-39 After surviving the ill-fated Pánfilo de Narváez expedition, Estevanico (an enslaved African) led an expedition into present-day New Mexico on behalf of Spain in 1539.
"Estevanico, Negro Discoverer of the Southwest: A Critical Reexamination" in Phylon by Rayford W. Logan

1619 First record of African slaves brought to English North American colonies. Approximately twenty arrived in Jamestown, VA that year.
"Blacks in Virginia: A Note on the First Decade" in The William and Mary Quarterly by Alden T. Vaughan

1641 Mathias de Sousa (a freeman of African decent) was elected to the Maryland colonial assembly.

1655 Elizabeth Key, a slave of mixed African and English heritage, successfully won her freedom via a lawsuit in the Virginia Colony. In 1661, the Virginia colonial assembly (House of Burgesses) passed legislation to prevent other slaves from winning their freedom via this legal route.
"Dangerous Woman: Elizabeth Key's Freedom Suit: Subjecthood and Racialized Identity in Seventeenth Century Colonial Virginia" in Akron Law Review by Taunya Lovell Banks

1712 About two dozen slaves led a revolt in New York City.

1724 France enacted the Code Noir in its Louisiana colony. The first body of laws that governed both slaves and free blacks in North America.
"Colonial Intimacies: Legislating Sex in French Louisiana" in William & Mary Quarterly by Jennifer M. Spear

The Transatlantic Slave Trade began in the late 15th century and continued to the mid 19th century. It is estimated that 12 to 15 million Africans were enslaved and transported to the Americas during that time, and about half arrived in the 18th century. Approximately 7% of the total were brought to the area that is now the United States.
The African Slave Trade: Precolonial History, 1450-1850 by Basil Davidson
The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African by Olaudah Equiano
The Transatlantic Slave Trade: A History by James A. Rawley

Stowage of the British slave ship Brookes under the regulated slave trade act of 1788. By Plymouth Chapter of the Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.

1738 Beginning in 1693, Spain offered freedom to slaves who escaped from English colonies to Florida. In 1738, hundreds of escaped slaves established Fort Mose (also known as Gracia Real de Santa Teresa de Mose) near St. Augustine. It was the first community of free blacks in North America.
"Gracia Real de Santa Teresa de Mose: A Free Black Town in Spanish Colonial Florida" in The American Historical Review by Jane Landers

1739 The Stono Rebellion took place in South Carolina. It was the largest slave uprising in colonial America, with approximately 120 deaths. After suppressing the rebellion, the South Carolina colonial assembly responded by enacting the Slave Code of 1741. That law prevented slaves from growing their own food, assembling in groups, earning money, or learning to read and write.
Black Majority: Negroes in Colonial South Carolina from 1670 to the Stono Rebellion by Peter H. Wood
Stono: Documenting and Interpreting a Southern Slave Revolt by Mark M. Smith

1741 New York Slave Conspiracy - rumors of slaves plotting to burn the city caused panic among the white community. Thirty four people were executed for allegedly being involved in the conspiracy.
New York Burning: Liberty, Slavery, and Conspiracy in Eighteenth-Century Manhattan by Jill Lepore

1752 Astronomer and clock-maker Benjamin Banneker built the first clock in America. In 1789, he successfully predicted a solar eclipse. In 1791, Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson appointed him to the planning committee that designed Washington DC.
Benjamin Banneker: Pioneering Scientist by Ginger Wadsword

1770 Crispus Attucks was shot and killed by British soldiers in the Boston Massacre. He is known as the first casualty of the American Revolution.

1773 Phillis Wheatley, a young slave living in Boston, published Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral. Many doubted that she could have published such a work, but she proved herself when she successfully passed an oral examination conducted by a board of Harvard University professors.
Complete Writings by Phillis Wheatley
The Trials of Phillis Wheatly: America's First Black Poet and Her Encounters with the Founding Fathers by Henry Louis Gates Jr.

Phillis Wheatley (1753-84).
This illustration was in the Frontispiece to her book Poems on Various Subjects.
By Scipio Moorhead [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.

1775-83 During the American Revolution approximately 5000 African Americans served in the Continental Army, and approximately 1000 served on the British side. Many African Americans who sided with the British settled in Sierra Leone after the war.
The Black Presence in the Era of the American Revolution by Sidney Kaplan
The Forgotten Fifth: African Americans in the Age of Revolution by Gary B. Nash

During, and in the years following, the American Revolution a number of slaves were granted freedom by their owners, and several Northern states began outlawing the practice (most did so gradually). However, the invention of the cotton gin in 1793 resulted in a growing demand for slaves in the South during the first half of the 19th century.

1777 Vermont abolished slavery.
1780 Pennsylvania enacted a gradual emancipation law.
1783 The Massachusetts Supreme Court abolished slavery.
1784 Connecticut and Rhode Island enacted gradual emancipation laws.
1787 The Northwest Ordinance banned slavery in the territories "North West of the River Ohio."
The Northwest Ordinance: Constitutional Politics and the Theft of Native Land by Robert Alexander
1789 New Hampshire abolished slavery.
1793 Eli Whitney (or was it Catherine Greene?) invented the Cotton Gin. This made growing cotton as a cash crop possible throughout much of the South, which led to increased demand for slave labor.
Inventing the Cotton Gin: Machine and Myth in Antebellum America by Angela Lakwete
1799 New York enacted a gradual emancipation law.
1804 New Jersey enacted a gradual emancipation law.

This graph shows a correlation between cotton production and the increasing number of slaves in the early 19th century.
By Conrad Zbikowski (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.

1800 The White House and US Capitol buildings were completed in Washington DC. They were built with slave labor.

1804 Ohio enacted Black Codes, becoming the first non-slave holding state to pass laws restricting the rights of African Americans.

1808 The United States abolished the international slave trade. Although African slaves continued to be smuggled illegally into the country, the domestic slave trade took on increasing importance.
Carry Me Back: The Domestic Slave Trade in American Life by Steven Deyle
Mutiny on the Amistad: The Saga of a Slave Revolt and Its Impact on American Abolition, Law, and Diplomacy by Howard Jones

1811 The German Coast Rebellion, the largest slave uprising in US history, took place in the Louisiana Territory. It was eventually suppressed with the assistance of federal troops.

1814 Joseph Savary became the first African American to hold the rank of major in the US Army. He led the Battalion of Freemen of Color which fought under General Andrew Jackson at the Battle of New Orleans during the War of 1812.

1816 The American Colonization Society was formed. It promoted freeing slaves and settling them in Africa. Throughout the mid 19th century, it assisted thousands of former African American slaves to settle in Liberia.
The African Colonization Movement 1816-1865 by P. J. Staudenraus
Back to Africa: A History of Sierra Leone and Liberia by Richard West

1821 Thomas Jennings became the first African American to receive a patent. He invented a dry cleaning process and created the world's first dry cleaning business.

1822 Demark Vesey was arrested and executed for plotting a slave uprising in Charleston, SC.
The Denmark Vesey Affair: A Documented History ed. by Douglas R. Egerton
Denmark Vesey: The Slave Conspiracy of 1822 by Rober S. Starobin

1823 Alexander Twilight became the first African American to receive a degree from an American college. In 1836, he became the first African American elected to a state legislature (Vermont).

1831 Nat Turner led a slave rebellion in Virginia.
The Land Shall Be Deluged in Blood: A New History of the Nat Turner Revolt by Patrick H. Breen
Nat Turner by Eric Foner

Frederick Douglass (1818-95)
By unknown (National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.

1838 Frederick Douglass escaped from slavery, and became active in the Abolitionist Movement. In 1845 he became nationally famous with the publication of his autobiography. After the Civil War he served in several government posts including Minister to Haiti from 1889-1891.
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave by Frederick Douglass
There was once a slave...The Heroic Story of Frederick Douglass by Shirley Graham Du Bois
Speeches by Frederick Douglass (audio reenactments of Douglass' speeches)

1845 Macon Allen became the first African American to practice law.

1847 Dr. David J. Peck became the first African American to graduate from a US medical school.

1849 Harriett Tubman escaped from slavery via the Underground Railroad. Over the next 10 years she made 19 trips back to slave states and helped approximately 300 slaves escape to freedom.
Fleeing for Freedom: Stories of the Underground Railroad by Levi Coffin
Harriet Tubman: The Road to Freedom by Catherine Clinton
"Wanted Dead or Alive": The True Story of Harriet Tubman by Ann McGovern

1851 Former slave Sojourner Truth gave her famous "Ain't I a Woman?" speech at a women's rights convention in Ohio.
Sojourner Truth: A Life, a Symbol by Nell Irvin Painter

1857 The Supreme Court issued its ruling in the Dred Scott v. Sandford case. Among other things, this infamous court decision found that constitutional rights did not apply to African Americans, whether they were free or slave.
The Dred Scott Case, Its Significance in American Law and Politics by Don E. Fehrenbacher
Mrs. Dred Scott: A Life on Slavery's Frontier by Lea VanderVelde

1861 Philip Reid, an enslaved sculptor, completed his work on the Statue of Freedom, which sits atop the Capitol dome in Washington DC. 

The Statue of Freedom on top of the US Capitol Dome. Created, in part, by the work of Philip Reid.
By Andreas Praefcke (Self-photographed) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC BY 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.

1861-65 Approximately 200,000 African Americans served in the Union armed forces during the Civil War.
Black Soldiers in Blue: African American Troops in the Civil War Era by John David Smith
Paying Freedom's Price: A History of African Americans in the Civil War by Paul D. Escott

1863 The Emancipation Proclamation took effect on January 1st. This executive order by President Lincoln declared "...slaves within any State...in rebellion...shall be...forever free..." This proclamation did not outlaw slavery in the border states that remained loyal to the Union (Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri).
Lincoln, Congress, and Emancipation by Paul Finkelman
Lincoln's Hundred Days: The Emancipation Proclamation and the War for the Union by Louis P. Masur

1865 The Freedmen's Bureau was established to provide health care, education, and technical assistance to freed slaves. The Bureau terminated its work in 1868.
A History of the Freedmen's Bureau by George R. Bentley

         On June 19th, enslaved African Americans in Texas received news of emancipation. Thus creating the Juneteenth holiday.
Juneteenth!: Celebrating Freedom in Texas by Anna Pearl Barrett

         The 13th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified. It outlawed slavery throughout the US.
Who Freed the Slaves?: The Fight Over the Thirteenth Amendment by Leonard L. Richards

1866  Approximately 80 African Americans were killed in race riots in Memphis, TN and New Orleans, LA.
An Absolute Massacre: The New Orleans Race Riot of July 30, 1866 by James G. Hollandsworth Jr.

         Congress approved the creation of four all-black regiments of the US Army. They were nicknamed Buffalo Soldiers by Native American tribes in the west.
The Buffalo Soldiers: A Narrative of the Black Cavalry in the West by William H. Leckie

Buffalo Soldiers of the 25th Infantry, Montana 1890.
By Chr. Barthelmess [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

1868 The 14th Amendment to the constitution was ratified. It granted citizenship to any person born or naturalized in the United States, and reversed the Dred Scott v Sanford decision.
The Adoption of the Fourteenth Amendment by Horace Edgar Flack

1870 The 15th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified. It states, "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied...on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude."
The Right to Vote: Politics and the Passage of the Fifteenth Amendment by William Gillette

         Hiram Revels, of Mississippi, became the first African American to serve in the US Senate, and Joseph Rainey, of South Carolina, became the first African American to serve in the US House of Representatives.
Black Americans in Congress, 1870-2007 by The United States Congress House Committee on House Administration

1873 A white mob killed hundreds of African Americans in Colfax, Louisiana after a disputed election.
The Colfax Massacre: The Untold Story of Black Power, White Terror, and the Death of Reconstruction by LeeAnna Keith

1875-1910 Southern states enacted a variety of Jim Crow Laws. These laws enforced the segregation of races in educational facilities and public places. Additionally, these laws made it effectively impossible for African Americans to vote via the creation of poll taxes and literacy tests.
American Nightmare: The History of Jim Crow by Jerrold M. Packard
The Strange Career of Jim Crow by C. Vann Woodward

1876 Edward Bouchet became the first African American to earn a doctoral degree when he graduated with a PhD in Physics from Yale University.
Edward Bouchet: The First African-American Doctorate by Ronald E. Mickens

1892 Ida B. Wells published Southern Horrors: Lynch Law in All Its Phases, an exposé into the lynching of African Americans in Memphis, TN.
'They Say': Ida B. Wells and the Reconstruction of Race by James West Davidson

Lynchings in the US by decade from 1865-1965.
By Bcrowell [CC BY-SA 2.5], via Wikimedia Commons

1895 Booker T. Washington, founder of the Tuskegee Institute (now University), delivered his Atlanta Compromise speech. He advocated that African Americans should focus on economic development rather than political and civil rights.
Uncle Tom or New Negro?: African Americans reflect on Booker T. Washington...100 Years Later by Rebecca Carroll
Up from Slavery by Booker T. Washington

1896 In Plessy v. Ferguson the US Supreme Court ruled that segregation laws were constitutional, and established the "separate but equal" doctrine.
Plessy v. Ferguson: A Brief History with Documents by Brook Thomas
Right to Ride: Streetcar Boycotts and African American Citizenship in the Era of Plessy v. Ferguson by Blair Murphy Kelley

        George Washington Carver, botanist, was appointed Director of Agricultural Research at the Tuskegee Institute. His research benefited peanut and sweet potato farmers.
How to Grow the Peanut and 105 ways of Preparing it for Human Consumption by George Washington Carver
My Work is that of Conservation: An Environmental Biography of George Washington Carver by Mark D. Hersey

1898 A white gang attacked the biracial government of Wilmington, NC and overthrew the elected government of the city. Approximately 60 African Americans were killed in the violence.
Democracy Betrayed: The Wilmington Race Riot of 1898 and its Legacy by David S. Cecelski

1899 Scott Joplin, a Texas native, composed Maple Leaf Rag, which began the Ragtime music craze of the early 20th century.
Complete Piano Rags by Scott Joplin

1901 George H. White, the last African American elected to congress in the 19th century, left office. Due to the impact of Jim Crow laws, no African Americans served in Congress for the next 28 years.

Ida B. Wells (1862-1931) journalist who investigated lynchings in Memphis, TN.
By Barnett (http://blackusa.com/ida-b-wells-barnett/) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

1903 W.E.B. Du Bois published Souls of Black Folk. He rejected Booker T. Washinton's argument and recommended that African Americans strive for political and civil rights.
Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. Du Bois, and the Struggle for Racial Uplift by Jacqueline M. Moore
W.E.B. Du Bois: American Prophet by Edward J. Blum

1904 George Edwin Taylor became the first African American to run for president. He was nominated by the National Liberty Party.

1908 Jack Johnson, a Texas native, became the first African American heavyweight boxing champion.
My Life and Battles by Jack Johnson

1909 The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was formed.
NAACP: A History of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People by Charles Flint Kellogg

1913 President Woodrow Wilson's Administration implemented segregation in federal government departments, which caused many African American federal employees to lose their positions.
Racism in the Nation's Service: Government Workers and the Color Line in Woodrow Wilson's America by Eric Steven Yellin

1914 Garrett Morgan invented the gas mask, which was widely used in World War I. In 1923, he invented the three-way automatic traffic signal.
Garret Morgan by Sarah L. Schuette

1915 The Great Migration of African Americans out of the South began, and continued through the 1960s. Approximately 7 million African Americans left the South during this time.
The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson

1916 Marcus Garvey brought his Universal Negro Improvement Association to the United States, and promoted the Back to Africa movement.
Negro with a Hat: The Rise and Fall of Marcus Garvey by Colin Grant

1917-18 United States entered World War I. Approximately 400,000 African Americans served.
African American Army Officers of World War I: A Vanguard of Equality in War and Beyond by Adam P. Wilson
Freedom Struggles: African Americans and World War I by Adriane Lentz-Smith

1919 The Red Summer race riots occurred in 25 cities across the country. The deadliest riots took place in Elaine, AR, where over 200 people were killed, and Chicago, IL where approximately 40 people were killed.
Blood in Their Eyes: The Elaine Race Massacres of 1919 by Grif Stockley
The Negro in Chicago: A Study of Race Relations and a Race Riot by Chicago Commission on Race Relations

1920s-30s The Harlem Renaissance, an African American literary and artistic movement, had a profound impact on American cultural life. Claude McKay, Langston Hughes, and Zora Neal Hurston were prominent writers in the movement. Blues and Jazz musicians like Bessie Smith, Duke Ellington, and Louis Armstrong became household names.
Black Culture and the Harlem Renaissance by Cary D. Wintz
Harlem: Negro Metropolis by Claude McKay
Let America be America Again by Langston Hughes
Their Eyes Were Watching God: A Novel by Zora Neale Hurston
The Bluesman: The Musical Heritage of Black Men and Women in the Americas by Julio Finn
The History of Jazz by Gunther Schuller
Music is my Mistress by Duke Ellington
Louis Armstrong: An Extravagant Life by Laurence Bergreen

View of the Apollo Theater Marquee, New York, N.Y., between 1946 and 1948 by William P. Gottlieb [Public Domain] via The Library of Congress.
The Apollo Theater opened in Harlem in 1934.  

1921 Over 80 people were killed in a race riot in Tulsa, OK.
Riot and Remembrance: The Tulsa Race War and its Legacy by James S. Hirsch

1923 A white mob destroyed the African American community of Rosewood, FL. An estimated 40 people were killed in the riot.
"The Rosewood Massacre and the Women Who Survived It" in The Florida Historical Quarterly by Maxine D. Jones

1931 Nine African American males (aged 12 to 20) were falsely convicted of raping two white women on a train near Scottsboro, AL. They spent many years in prison before they were finally released.
The Last of the Scottsoboro Boys: An Autobiography by Clarence Norris
Scottsboro: A Tragedy of the American South by Dan T. Carter

1932 The US Public Health Service began the Tuskegee Institute Syphilis Study. Approximately 400 African American men were infected with syphilis without their knowledge or consent. The purpose of the study was to see the full effects of untreated syphilis on the human body. The study ended in 1972.
Examining Tuskegee: The Infamous Syphilis Study and its Legacy by Susan Reverby

1936 Track star Jesse Owens won four gold medals at the Berlin Olympics.
Triumph: The Untold Story of Jesse Owens and Hitler's Olympics by Jeremy Schaap

1940 Hattie McDaniel was the first African American actor to win an academy award. She won it for her role as Mammy in Gone with the Wind.
Gone with the Wind [DVD]
Hattie McDaniel: Black Ambition, White Hollywood by Jill Watts

1941 US Army authorized the creation of the Tuskegee Air Squadron, usually known as the Tuskegee Airmen. Led by Benjamin O. Davis Jr., they had an excellent record of service in World War II.
Freedom Flyers: The Tuskegee Airmen of World War II by J. Todd Moye
Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., American: An Autobiography by Benjamin O. Davis Jr.

Tuskegee Airmen in 1942 or 1943.
Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.

1941-45 Over 1 million African Americans served in the US military during World War II.
Blood on German Snow: An African American Artilleryman in World War II and Beyond by Emiel W. Owens
Forgotten: The Untold Story of D-Day's Black Heroes, at Home and at War by Linda Hervieux
Let us Fight as Free Men: Black Soldiers and Civil Rights by Christine Knauer

1943 - Approximately 38 people were killed in the Detroit, MI race riot.
Race Riot, Detroit 1943 by Alfred McClung Lee

1947 Jackie Robinson became the first African American major league baseball player of the modern era. There were major league African American baseball players in the 19th century (like Moses Fleetwood Walker), but the sport was segregated in the 1890s.
Jackie Robinson and the Integration of Baseball by Scott Simon

1948 President Harry S. Truman issued an executive order desegregating the armed forces.
Foxholes & Color Lines: Desegregating the U.S. Armed Forces by Sherie Mershon

1950 Juanita Hall became the first African American to win a Tony award. She won for her role as Bloody Mary in South Pacific.
Juanita Hall Sings the Blues [Streaming audio]
South Pacific: A Musical Play by Richard Rodgers

         Gwendolyn Brooks became the first African American to win a Pulitzer Prize.
A Life Distilled: Gwendolyn Brooks, her Poetry and Fiction by Maria Mootry
Selected Poems by Gwendolyn Brooks

         Ralph Bunche became the first African American to win the Nobel Peace Prize.
Ralph Bunche Discusses United Nations Policy to End Wars [Streaming Video]

1951 Harry Moore, NAACP official in Florida, was assassinated.

1954 US Supreme Court ruled that segregation in public schools was unconstitutional in the Brown v. Board of Education case.
Brown v. Board of Education: A Civil Rights Milestone and its Troubled Legacy by James T. Patterson
Simple Justice: The History of Brown v. Board of Education and Black America's Struggle for Equality by Richard Kluger

1955 Fourteen-year old Emmett Till was lynched in Mississippi for allegedly whistling at a white woman.
A Death in the Delta: The Story of Emmett Till by Sephen J. Whitfield
Getting Away with Murder: The True Story of the Emmett Till Case by Chris Crowe

        Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her bus seat to a white man. In response, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. led a year-long boycott of the segregated bus system in Montgomery, AL.
Daybreak of Freedom: The Montgomery Bus Boycott by Stewart Burns
She would not be Moved: How We Tell the Story of Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott by Herbert R. Kohl

Rosa Parks (1913-2005) being fingerprinted after being arrested for boycotting public transportation in Montgomery, AL in 1956.
By Associated Press (http://www.rmyauctions.com/lot-8002.aspx) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

1957 - Nine African American students were prevented from enrolling at Central High School in Little Rock, AR when, under the direction of Governor Orval Faubus, the Arkansas National Guard and white rioters blocked their entrance. Weeks later President Dwight Eisenhower deployed the US Army 101st Airborne to Little Rock to protect the students.
Little Rock: Race and Resistance at Central High School by Karen Anderson

          Althea Gibson became the first African-American woman to win the Wimbledon tennis championship.
Charging the Net: A History of Blacks in Tennis from Althea Gibson to Arthur Ashe to the Williams Sisters by Cecil Harris

1958 The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) was formed. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. served as its first president.
Bearing the Cross: Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference by David J. Garrow

1960 Four African American college students organized a sit-in to protest Woolworth's whites-only lunch counter in Greensboro, NC. A few months later, 150 black and white college students in North Carolina formed the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) to organize future sit-ins and other protests.
Hands on the Freedom Plow: Personal Accounts by Women in SNCC by Faith S. Holsaert
In Struggle: SNCC and the Black Awakening of the 1960s by Clayborne Carson
Sit-in: How Four Friends Stood Up by Sitting Down by Andrea Davis Pinkney

1961 SNCC organized the Freedom Rides, integrated interstate bus rides, though several Southern states. They encountered violence in Anniston, AL where the bus was firebombed.
Freedom's Main Line: The Journey of Reconciliation and the Freedom Rides by Derek Catsam

1962 James Meredith became the first black student to enroll at the University of Mississippi. Violent protests broke out. Two were killed and over 300 injured. President John F. Kennedy deployed US Marshals and National Guard to restore order.
An American Insurrection: The Battle of Oxford, Mississippi, 1962 by William Doyle
The Battle of Ole Miss: Civil Rights v. States' Rights by Frank Lambert

1963 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested and spent 11 days in jail for organizing non-violent protests in Birmingham, AL.
The Radical King by Martin Luther King Jr.

        Although Governor George Wallace gave a speech at the schoolhouse door proclaiming "Segregation forever," Vivian Malone and James Hood were able to enroll at The University of Alabama. Integrating the school without violence.
The Schoolhouse Door: Segregation's Last Stand at the University of Alabama by E. Culpepper Clark

        Medgar Evers, NAACP official in Mississippi, was assassinated.

        Hundreds of thousands attended the March on Washington demonstration demanding civil rights for African Americans, where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous "I Have a Dream" speech.
The Speech: The Story Behind Dr. Martin Luther Kin Jr.'s Dream by Gary Younge

       The Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, AL was bombed killing four African American girls ages 11-14.
Last Chance for Justice: How Relentless Investigators Uncovered New Evidence Convicting the Birmingham Church Bombers by T.K. Thorne

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-68) delivers his "I Have a Dream" speech in Washington DC in 1963.
[Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

1964 The 24th amendment to the constitution was ratified. It outlawed poll taxes.

        Cassius Clay (who later changed his name to Muhammad Ali) won first of three world heavyweight boxing championships.
Muhammad Ali: The Making of an Icon by Michael Ezra

          SNCC organized the Freedom Summer project to register black voters in Mississippi. Three activists (James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner) who were involved in the project were murdered.
Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer, Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement by Carole Boston Weatherford
We are not Afraid: The Story of Goodman, Schwerner, and Chaney and the Civil Rights Campaign for Mississippi by Seth Cagin

         President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law. It prohibited unequal application of voter requirements and racial segregation in public accommodations.
The Longest Debate: A Legislative History of the 1964 Civil Rights Act by Charles W. Whalen

1965 Malcolm X was assassinated.
The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X.

         On March 7th, civil rights activists attempted to march from Selma to Montgomery, AL to bring attention to continuing denial of voting rights for African Americans. They were violently suppressed by Alabama State Troopers on the Edmund Pettus Bridge. On March 21st, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. successfully led a larger group to complete the march.
From Selma to Montgomery: The Long March to Freedom by Barbara Combs   
This Day in History: March 7th, 1965 - "Bloody Sunday" in Selma, AL [Streaming Video]

         President Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act into law. It prohibited literacy tests and racial discrimination in voting. It gave the Justice Department enforcement powers to protect voting rights.
Protest at Selma: Martin Luther King Jr., and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 by David J. Garrow

        Watts Riot took place in Los Angeles, CA over allegations of police brutality against African Americans. Thirty four people were killed.
The Politics of Violence: The New Urban Blacks and the Watts Riot by David O. Sears

1966 President Johnson appointed Robert C. Weaver as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Making him the first African American to serve in the Cabinet.
The Urban Complex: Human Values in Urban Life by Robert C. Weaver

         The Black Panther Party was founded in Oakland, CA.
Survival Pending Revolution: The History of the Black Panther Party by Paul Alkebulan

         Bill Cosby became the first African American to win an Emmy award for his role in I Spy.
Primetime Blues: African Americans on Network Television by Donald Bogle

1967 The Supreme Court ruled interracial marriage bans unconstitutional in the Loving v. Virginia case.
Loving: Interracial Intimacy in America and the Threat to White Supremacy by Sheryll Cashin

         Thurgood Marshall became the first African American to serve on the Supreme Court.
Thurgood Marshall: American Revolutionary by Juan Williams

         Race riots occured in Newark, NJ (23 killed) and Detroit, MI (43 killed).
This Day in History: July 12,1967 - Riots Break Out in Newark [Streaming video]
The Detroit Riots, 1967 [Streaming video]

Thurgood Marshall (1908-93) photographed in the Oval Office in 1967.
By Okamoto, Yoichi R. (Yoichi Robert) Photographer [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

1968 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated.
Hellhound on His Trail: The Stalking of Martin Luther King Jr. and the International Hunt for His Assassin by Hampton Sides

        President Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1968 into law. It prohibited racial discrimination in the sale or renting of housing.

1972 Shirley Chisholm became the first African American to seek the presidential nomination from one of the two major political parties. She won 152 delegates at the Democratic National Convention.
What to Start a Revolution?: Radical Women in the Black Freedom Struggle by Dayo F. Gore

         Barbara Jordan of Houston, TX and Andrew Young of Atlanta, GA became the first African Americans elected to the Congress from the South since 1898.
Barbara Jordan, a Self-Portrait by Barbara Jordan

1983 President Ronald Reagan signed a bill establishing January 20th as a federal holiday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

1989 President George H.W. Bush appointed Colin Powell as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Making him the first African American to hold that position.
The Leadership Secrets of Colin Powell by Oren Harari

         Douglas Wilder, of Virginia, became the first African American elected as governor of a US state.

1992 Riots broke out in Los Angeles, CA after a jury found police officers not-guilty of assault  against Rodney King. Fifty-four people were killed in the rioting. 
L.A. Riots Revisited [Streaming Video]

1993 Toni Morrison became the first African American to win the Nobel Prize for Literature.
Click here for a complete list of books written by Toni Morrison in our library's collection.

1997 Tiger Woods became the first African American to win The Masters Tournament professional golf championship.
Tiger Woods: A Biography by Lawrence J. Londino

2008 Barack Obama became the first African American elected President of the United States.
The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream by Barack Obama
Barack Obama: An American Story by Bob Carlton

Barack Obama being sworn in as 44th President of the United States, January 20th, 2009.
By Master Sgt. Cecilio Ricardo, U.S. Air Force [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

2013 The Black Lives Matter organization was founded following the acquittal of George Zimmerman for the murder of Trayvon Martin. The organization gained national attention in 2014 following protests over the killing of Michael Brown by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri.
Policing the Black Man: Arrest, Prosecution, and Imprisonment by Angela J. Davis
Policing the Planet: Why the Policing Crisis Led to Black Lives Matter by Jordan T. Camp

Books & eBooks

The Dick Smith Library has a large collection of books and other resources relevant to African American history.
Such as these titles: 

African American History: An Introduction by Joanne Turner-Sadler
Anti-Black Violence in Twentieth-Century Texas by Bruce A. Glasrud
Black Wings: Courageous Stories of African Americans in Aviation and Space History by Von Hardesty
Children of Fire: A History of African Americans by Thomas C. Holt
Creating Black Americans: African-American History and its Meanings, 1619 to the Present by Nell Irvin Painter
Free Blacks in Antebellum Texas by Bruce A. Glasrud
In the Black: A History of African Americans on Wall Street by Gregory S. Bell
The Power to Die: Slavery and Suicide in British North America by Terri L. Snyder
Slavery, Civil War, and Salvation: African American Slaves and Christianity, 1830-1870 by Daniel L. Fountain
White over Black: American Attitudes Toward the Negro, 1550-1812 by Winthrop D. Jordan

Also, be sure to explore our Black History subject guide to discover more library resources on this topic. If you have any questions about library resources please contact us at reference@tarleton.edu or 254-968-9249.