People, Locations, Episodes

Swain v. Alabama is decided

*On this date in 1965, Swain v. Alabama was decided. This case was heard before the United States Supreme Court regarding the legality of a struck jury. Robert Swain, a Black man, was indicted and convicted of rape in the Circuit Court of Talladega County, Alabama, and sentenced to death by an all-white jury. The […]

The Race Relations Act is passed

*On this date in 1965, the Race Relations Act was enacted. This was the first legislation in the United Kingdom to address racial discrimination. The Act outlawed discrimination on the “grounds of color, race, or ethnic or national origins” in public places in Great Britain. It also prompted the creation of the Race Relations Board […]

Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections is Decided

*On this date in 1966, Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections, 383 U.S. 663 (1966), was decided. This was a case in which the U.S. Supreme Court found that Virginia’s poll tax was unconstitutional under the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment.   In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, eleven southern states established poll taxes to disenfranchise most blacks and many […]

The United States v. Guest is Decided

*On this date in 1966, the Supreme Court decided United States v. Guest, 383 U.S. 745. Justice Potter Stewart authored this landmark decision. The Court extended the protection of the 14th Amendment to citizens who suffer rights deprivations at the hands of private conspiracies, where there is minimal state participation in the conspiracy. The Court also held that […]

The Civil Rights (Fair Housing Act) of 1968 is Signed

*On this date in 1968, the Civil Rights Act of 1968 was signed. This federal law prohibited discrimination concerning the sale, rental, and financing of housing.   President Lyndon Johnson signed this landmark act into law almost immediately following the Martin Luther King assassination riots in America. It was the final primary legislation passed in the modern 20th-century American […]

The H.U.D. Act is Signed Into Law

*The Housing and Urban Development Act was enacted on this date in 1968.    President Lyndon B. Johnson signed this landmark law in the United States during the King assassination riots.   Titles II through VII comprise the Indian Civil Rights Act, apply to the Native American tribes of the United States, and make many but […]

Shuttlesworth v. Birmingham is Decided

*On this date in 1969, Shuttlesworth v. Birmingham was decided. This was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Supreme Court struck down a Birmingham, Alabama, ordinance that prohibited citizens from holding parades and processions on city streets without obtaining a permit.   The Petitioner was Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth, a Black minister who helped lead 52 African Americans in an orderly civil rights march in Birmingham, […]

The Police murder two Black Panthers Members

On this date in 1969, Fred Hampton, chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party, and Mark Clark, a fellow member were killed while sleeping by Chicago police.

The attack, aided by the help of an infiltrator, was masterminded by the city police force and the FBI’s powerful counter-intelligence program (COINTEL-PRO).

Adrian Fenty, Politician and Lawyer born.

*Adrian Fenty was born on this date in 1970. He is a Black politician and lawyer. Adrian Malik Fenty was born in Washington, D.C., the second of the three children of Jeanette Bianchi Perno Fenty and Phil Fenty. He is the middle child of three boys: Shawn, himself, and Jesse. Fenty’s mother is Italian-American. His […]

Griggs v. Duke Power Co. is Decided

*On this date in 1971, Griggs v. Duke Power Co. was decided.  This court case was argued before the United States Supreme Court on December 14, 1970. It concerned employment racial discrimination and the adverse impact theory.  It is generally considered the first case of its type.  The Supreme Court ruled that the company’s employment […]

Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg B. O. E. is Decided

*On this date in 1971, Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education was decided. This was a landmark United States Supreme Court case dealing with busing students to promote integration in public schools.   The Court held that busing was an appropriate remedy for the problem of racial imbalance in schools, even when the imbalance resulted from the selection of students based […]

Fani Willis, Lawyer, Judge, and Prosecutor born

*Fani Willis’s birth is celebrated on this date in 1971. She is a Black attorney, judge, and prosecutor. Fani Taifa Willis was born in Inglewood, California. Her father was a member of the Black Panthers and a criminal defense attorney. When Willis was in the first grade, her family moved to Washington, D.C. Her parents divorced, and […]

The Soledad Brothers (Prison Inmates) are Acquitted

*The two surviving Soledad Brothers were acquitted on this date in 1972. An all-white jury cleared Fleeta Dumgo and John Cluchette of murder charges.

They had been charged with killing a white guard at Soledad Prison in 1970. The third Soledad Brother, George Jackson, was killed in the August 1971 alleged escape attempt.

The National Association of Blacks in Criminal Justice is Formed

*The beginning of the National Association of Blacks in Criminal Justice (NABCJ) in 1974 is celebrated on this date.

Dereck Chauvin, Policeman born

*Derek Chauvin was born on this date in 1976. He is a white-American former police officer and murderer. Derek Michael Chauvin was born in Cottage Grove, Minnesota. His mother was a housewife, and his father was a certified public accountant. At seven, his parents divorced and were granted joint custody of him. Chauvin attended Park […]