People, Locations, Episodes

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 […]

America Elects Its First Muslim Congressman

On this date in 2006, Minneapolis, MN, elected the nation’s first Muslim member of Congress, and the state’s first nonwhite representative in Washington.

The African National Congress Elects Jacob Zuma as President

On this date in 2007, Jacob Zuma was elected leader of the governing African National Congress (ANC).

Zuma, a populist whose political career survived rape and corruption charges, received 2,329 votes, ahead of incumbent Thabo Mbeki’s 1,505 votes, following one of the most divisive campaigns the party has seen. The win put Zuma into a position to become South Africa’s president in 2009. As the results were announced, chaos erupted in the hall; then Mbeki and Zuma, both 65-year-old veterans of the ANC in exile, mounted the stage together and embraced.

The First Black Man Wins The American Presidential Nomination

On this date in 2008, Senator Barack Obama of Illinois won the Democratic presidential nomination.

This historic step made him the nation’s first Black president candidate. Obama defeated Hillary Rodham Clinton and set up a five-month campaign with Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona, a race between a 46-year-old opponent of the Iraq War and a 71-year-old former Vietnam prisoner of war and staunch supporter of the current U.S. military mission.

The U.S. Congress Apologizes For American Slavery

*On this date in 2008, The House of Representatives passed a resolution apologizing to African Americans for slavery and the era of Jim Crow.

America Elects Its First Black President

On this date in 2008 Barack Obama became the first Black man to be elected president of the United States of America.

Obama, the multiracial son of a white mother from Kansas and an African father from Kenya, was elected as the 44th president of the United States, writing a remarkable new chapter in American history with a campaign built on the theme of hope.

The Montford Point Marines Are Honored

*On this date in 2012 Hundreds of African American veterans who helped to integrate the Marine Corps during World War II received the nation’s highest civilian honor.

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 contains […]

America Elects Its First Black Republican Woman to Congress

*On this date in 2014, the first Black Republican woman was elected to Congress in U.S. history.

Utah Voters sent Mia Love, the former small-town mayor in that state to Washington DC. She won a narrow victory in the state’s open Fourth Congressional District adding noticeable buzz to the Republican celebrations over their election-night shellacking of Democrats across the country.

Zimbabwe Elects a New President

*On this date in 2017, Zimbabwe elected Emmerson Mnangagwa as their president.  For the first time since the country gained independence from white minority rule in 1980, they have a new leader. At a packed stadium in the capital city of Harare, he promised not to “squander this moment” to change his country’s political culture.   […]

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 […]