People, Locations, Episodes

Voting Rights For Black Felons in America, a story

*Elections in America are held in November and this date’s Registry looks at the National voting process in Black America.

America’s First Black Secretary of State is Appointed

On this date in 2000, Colin Powell was appointed as United States Secretary of State. Accepting President-elect George W. Bush’s nomination to be the America’s 65th Secretary of State, Powell became the first African American to hold that position.

Powell, as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, had presided over Operation Desert Storm during the Persian Gulf War in 1991. He said, “If you want to be successful in the 21st century, you must find your path to democracy, market economics and a system which frees the talents of men and women to pursue their individual destinies.”

The First Black Secretary of Education is Confirmed

*The United States Senate confirmed Rod Paige as the Secretary of Education on this date 2001.

The first African American secretary of education is from Monticello, Mississippi and is the son of public school educators. He served for a decade as Dean of the College of Education at Texas Southern University.

He also established the university’s Center for Excellence in Urban Education, a research facility that concentrates on issues related to instruction and management in urban school systems.

The Civil Rights Commission Reports on the 2000 Presidential Election

On this date in 2001, the United States Civil Rights Commission, headed by Mary Frances Berry, issued the results of its six-month long study to the November 2000 presidential election.

The report concluded that minority voters were disenfranchised by the methods used in the Florida election. It noted that Blacks were 10 times more likely than whites to have their ballots rejected and Black voting districts were disproportionately hindered by old and error prone voting equipment.

A White Policeman is Acquitted for Killing a Black Youth

On this date in 2001, a white police officer in Cincinnati, OH, was acquitted in the killing of an unarmed black man. The killing sparked that city’s worst racial unrest in three decades.

The African Union (AU) is formed

*On this date in 2002, the African Union (AU) was formed. This African continental union consists of 55 member states located in Africa. The African Union has both political and administrative bodies. The highest decision-making organ is the Assembly of the African Union, comprised of all the heads of state or government of member states […]

The ‘Help America Vote Act’ is Signed

*On this date in 2002, the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) became law.  This is a United States federal law that was signed into law by President George W. Bush. The bill was drafted (at least partly) in reaction to the controversy surrounding the 2000 U.S. presidential election when the Florida Central Voter File disqualified almost […]

Trent Lott Resigns As Senate Majority Leader

On this date in 2002, Trent Lott, a White Republican senator from Mississippi, resigned his position as Senate majority leader.

Lott’s tumble followed a tribute that he gave earlier in the month at Senator Strom Thurmond’s 100th birthday party. The Mississippian hailed the respected South Carolinian and said he thought the nation would have been better off if Thurmond had won his campaign for the presidency in 1948. Thurmond ran as a Dixiecrat at the time, on a segregationist platform.

The Bill to Create The African American Museum and Culture is Signed

On this date in 2003, H.R. 3491 was signed into law, launching the National Museum of African American History.

Signed by President George W. Bush in the Oval Office, the act authorizes the creation of a Smithsonian Institution museum dedicated to the legacy of African Americans in America.

The bill also states that a site should be selected within 12 months. The museum could be opened by 2013.

The Pan-African Parliament is founded

*On this date in 2004, The Pan-African Parliament (PAP) was founded.   Also known as the African Parliament, it is the legislative body of the African Union. It held its inaugural session in March 2004. For the first five years, the Parliament exercised oversight and had advisory and consultative powers. Initially, the seat of the Pan-African […]

Black Man Freed From Prison After 41 years

*On this date in 2004, a 76-year-old African American prisoner walked out of jail, a free man after 41 years of imprisonment.

Texas State District Judge David Wilson dismissed the conviction against Robert Carroll Coney, convicted of a 1962 robbery. Showing a surprising lack of bitterness as he left Angelina County Jail with his wife on Tuesday Coney said. “I’m going to try to pick up the pieces.” Coney said his identity had been confused with a man he had carpooled with through Lufkin, TX on the day of the crime: March 7, 1962.

Cracker Barrel Restaurant Admits to Racism

On this date in 2004, the Cracker Barrel restaurant chain agreed to an $8.7 million settlement to resolve all lawsuits brought or supported by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). The civil rights organization accused the restaurant chain of segregating Blacks in the smoking section and denying them service.

“This matter has been resolved to everyone’s satisfaction and the parties are now ready to move forward,” said Donald Turner, the chain’s president and chief operating officer.

The President of Somalia Declares Peace

On this date in 2004, Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed was elected as president of Somali.

Ahmed extended an olive branch to warlords he defeated and urged neighboring states to help rebuild Somalia. The east African country has been in a state of chaos since 1991. Yusuf has served as president of the autonomous northeastern region of Puntland since 1998 and was a faction leader and army officer. He beat 25 candidates, in which the 275 members of an interim legislature voted.

The First Black Female Secretary of State in America is Appointed

On this date in 2004, Condoleezza Rice became the first African American Secretary of State in America.

She was appointed by President George W. Bush The former National Security Adviser since 2001 was the second Black (after Colin Powell) and second female (after Madeleine Albright) to serve as Secretary of State.

Sweden elects its first Black African minister

*On this date in 2006, the first Black African born Swedish politician became a Minister. Nyamko Sabuni is a project manager and administrator.  Sabuni moved to Sweden from Burundi at the age of 12.  In her campaign, she suggested that all girls should undergo compulsory checks for genital mutilation (known as female circumcision); which led […]