People, Locations, Episodes

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 […]

Green v. School Board of New Kent County is Decided

*On this date in 1968, Green v. School Board of New Kent County, 391 U.S. 430, was decided.  This was a United States Supreme Court case involving freedom of choice plans created to avoid compliance with the Court’s mandate in the Brown II decision regarding public school segregation.   The Court held that New Kent County’s freedom of choice plan did […]

The National Conference of Black Lawyers is Formed

*This date in 1968 affirms the beginning of the National Conference of Black Lawyers (NCBL). This African American association was initially formed to offer legal assistance to black civil rights activists; it comprises judges, law students, lawyers, legal activists, legal workers, and scholars.   That founding year, young people of African descent in America were growing impatient with the slow […]

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 United States v. Montgomery County Board of Education is Decided

*On this date in 1969, United States v. Montgomery County Board of Education was decided. In this action, the United States District Court in Montgomery, Alabama, ordered the local Montgomery County Board of Education to desegregate the county school system’s faculty and staff based on race.  This action commenced in May 1964 to end racial segregation in […]

Kramer v. Union Free School is Decided

*On this date in 1969, Kramer v. Union Free School District No. 15, 395 U.S. 621, was decided.   This was a United States Supreme Court decision in which the Court struck down a longstanding New York State statute requiring that to be eligible to vote in certain school district elections; an individual must either own or rent taxable real property within the school district, […]

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.

Curt Flood’s Court Suit Against Baseball is Ruled

On this date in 1972, Curt Flood lost his suit against Major League Baseball’s (MLB) anti-trust statute.

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.

Milliken v. Bradley is Decided

*On this date in 1974, Milliken v. Bradley was decided. This ruling was a significant United States Supreme Court case dealing with the planned desegregation busing of public school students across district lines among 53 school districts in metropolitan Detroit. It concerned the plans to integrate public schools in the United States following the Brown v. […]