Trade of enslaved Africans began in the 1400s with the Portuguese capture of 12 African men. Enslaved Africans were brought to the Americas by the Spanish in 1526. Between 1525 - 1866, 12.5 million Africans were forced from their homes and sold to the New World.
After slavery was abolished in the United States in 1865, laws at a state and local level, called Jim Crow, were established in the late 19th century, legalizing segregation. Black people could not use the same facilities, live in the same area or marry white people.
Amendments, Acts, & Rulings
- 13th Amendment: In 1865, the Amendment abolished slavery.
- 14th Amendment: In 1868, the Amendment granted Black people equal protection under the law.
- 15th Amendment: In 1870, this granted Black American men the right to vote.
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President Harry Truman in 1948, ordered integration into the military
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In Brown v. Board of Education, the Supreme Court ruled that educational segregation was unconstitutional in 1954.
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President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act in 1964, which legally ended the segregation from Jim Crow laws.
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In 1965, the Voting Rights Act ensured that minorities can't be kept from voting.
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The Fair Housing Act of 1968 ended discrimination in renting and selling homes.
Holidays
- Created in 1966, Kwanzaa is a weeklong holiday celebrating African-American and Pan-American culture, history, values, community, and family.
- Juneteenth marks the day when federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas in 1865 to take control of the state and ensure that all enslaved people be freed. It became an official federal holiday on June 17, 2021