People, Locations, Episodes

Justice is Served for Andrew Goodman, Michael Schwerner, and James Chaney

On this date in 2005, an 80-year-old former Ku Klux Klansman was convicted of manslaughter in Mississippi.

Edgar Ray Killen was convicted in the murders of three Civil Rights workers exactly 41 years ago. A jury of nine Whites and three Blacks reached the verdict on their second day of deliberations, rejecting murder charges against Killen but also turning aside defense claims that he wasn’t involved at all. An all-white jury in 1967 just three years after the murders had found Killen innocent.

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.

Shelby County v. Holder is Decided

*On this date in 2013, Shelby County v. Holder was decided. This was a landmark United States Supreme Court case. It regarded the constitutionality of two provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965: Section 5, which requires certain states and local governments to obtain federal preclearance before implementing any changes to their voting laws or practices, and Section 4(b), which […]

The ‘Central Park Five Case’ is Settled

*On this date in 2014, New York City agreed to a $40 million settlement with five men who were falsely convicted in the vicious rape and beating of a Central Park jogger in 1989. The agreement still needs the approval of the city comptroller and a federal judge.

Husted v. A. Phillip Randolph Institute is Decided

*On this date in 2018, Husted v. A. Philip Randolph Institute was decided. This case was before the United States Supreme Court regarding Ohio’s voter registration laws. Ohio law provides a process to remove an inactive voter from its list of registered voters. After a two-year break from certain voting activities specified by Ohio law (i.e., filing […]

The Justice for Victims of Lynching Act is Passed

*On this date in 2018, the Justice for Victims of Lynching Act was passed. This was a proposed bill to classify lynching (defined as bodily injury based on perceived race, color, religion, or nationality) as a federal hate crime in the United States. The largely symbolic bill aimed to recognize and apologize for historical governmental […]

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

Freedom Riders Conviction Vacated After 75 Years

*On this date in 2022, a 1947 Freedom Riders conviction was officially vacated. “We failed these men,” said Superior Court Judge Allen Baddour, who presided over the special session and at one point paused to gather himself after becoming emotional. “We failed their cause, and we failed to deliver justice in our community,” Baddour said. “And for […]

The U.S. Supreme Court struck down affirmative action

*On June 29, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down affirmative action in admissions decisions at public and private universities. The opinion reversed a longstanding precedent that allowed universities some leeway to consider an applicant’s race to better balance student bodies. The court’s conservative majority effectively overturned cases that lasted 45 years, invalidating admissions plans […]