People, Locations, Episodes

Life Sentence for Black Florida Boy is Changed

On this date in 2003, A Florida appeals court threw out a African American boy’s conviction for beating a 6-year-old playmate to death.

The case spotlighted a Florida law that says child murderers must be locked away for the rest of their lives. In West Palm Beach, the Florida Fourth District Court of Appeals ordered a new trial for Lionel Tate, now 16, saying his mental competency should have been evaluated before his trial. He was tried as an adult and is serving life without parole at a maximum-security juvenile prison.

The Gullah/Geechee Corridor Act is Passed

*On this date in 2005, the Gullah/Geechee Corridor Act was signed into law. The Gullah/Geechee Cultural Heritage Act – Establishes the Gullah/Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor (Heritage Corridor) to: (1) recognize the significant contributions made to American culture and history by African Americans known as the Gullah/Geechee, who settled in the coastal counties of South Carolina, […]

The Jena Six Teenagers, a story

*On this date in 2006, the Jena Six were convicted. They were six African American teenagers accused and convicted in the beating of Justin Barker, a white student at Jena High School in Jena, Louisiana. Barker was injured in the assault by the members of the Jena Six, and received treatment for his injuries at an emergency room.

While the case was pending, some media commentators cited it as an example of racial injustice in the United States, due to a belief that the defendants had initially been charged with too-serious offenses and had been treated unfairly.

Allegheny, PA. Bar Posthumously Admits George Vashon To Practice Law

*On this date in  2010, a Black man was admitted to the Allegheny County Bar posthumously, 163 years after he applied.  In 1847, the Allegheny County Bar denied George Boyer Vashon entry because he was Black. Vashon reapplied to the bar in 1868 and was again rejected. Pennsylvania was a “free state” before the American […]

Police Brutality Protest in Oakland, CA Occurs

*On this date in 2010 the Black community in Oakland, California protested and verdict in the death of another black man by an Oakland police officer.

Charles Taylor, Liberian President is Found Guilty

*On this date in 2012, an international court trial of former Liberian president Charles Taylor ended.

The Emmett Till Antilynching Act is passed

*On this date in 2022, The Emmett Till Antilynching Act was passed. This legislation was a landmark United States federal law that makes lynching a federal hate crime. The bill was named after 14-year-old Emmett Till, lynched in Mississippi in 1955, sparking national and international outrage. Representative Bobby Rush introduced H.R. 35 on January 3, 2019, during the […]

The First Black Woman Is Confirmed to the United States Supreme Court

*On this date in 2022, the Senate voted 53 to 47 to confirm the first Black woman to the United States Supreme Court. Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson received more than enough support from both legislative chambers for the confirmation.  To Become a Lawyer To become a Judge