Category Archives: African-American Civil Rights

Tulsa race massacre begins as white mobs attack blacks in affluent Greenwood District 100 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (May 31 1921)

1920s, African-American Civil Rights, Uncategorized


Video: 'The massacre of Tulsa's "Black Wall Street"'

(Tuesday, May 31, 1921, 10:30 p.m. EDT; during the Tulsa race massacre) — The Tulsa race massacre began tonight as white mobs began looting and leveling the affluent black district of Greenwood over reports a black man had assaulted a white woman in an elevator; hundreds are believed to have died.
Continue reading Tulsa race massacre begins as white mobs attack blacks in affluent Greenwood District 100 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (May 31 1921) →

Freedom Riders attacked by violent white mob in Anniston, Alabama 60 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (May 14 1961)

1960s, African-American Civil Rights


Video: 'The Heinous 1961 KKK Attack on the Freedom Riders'

(Mother’s Day, Sunday, May 14, 1961, shortly after 1:00 p.m. CDT;  part of the Civil Rights Movement) — A group of civil rights activists known as the Freedom Riders, traveling by Greyhound bus from Washington, D.C., to New Orleans, were met by a white mob today in Anniston, Alabama.
Continue reading Freedom Riders attacked by violent white mob in Anniston, Alabama 60 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (May 14 1961) →

First ‘Freedom Riders’ depart for Deep South to challenge segregation in public transit 60 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (May 4 1961)

1960s, African-American Civil Rights


Video: 'The Heinous 1961 KKK Attack on the Freedom Riders'

(Thursday, May 4, 1961; part of the Civil Rights Movement) — Thirteen members of the interracial “Freedom Riders” group, including 21-year-old John Lewis, boarded regular interstate Greyhound and Trailways buses today in Washington, D.C., and headed for the Deep South to challenge the non-enforcement of the Supreme Court’s ruling in Boynton v. Virginia (1960), which declared segregation in interstate bus and rail stations unconstitutional. Continue reading First ‘Freedom Riders’ depart for Deep South to challenge segregation in public transit 60 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (May 4 1961) →

Nine Black teenagers in Alabama are falsely accused of raping two white women 90 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Mar 25 1931)

1930s, African-American Civil Rights


Video: 'Scottsboro: An American Tragedy'

(Wednesday, March 25, 1931, morning CST) — The “Scottsboro Boys,” nine African-American males aged 12 to 19, were taken off a train in Paint Rock, Alabama, today, falsely accused of raping two white women.
Continue reading Nine Black teenagers in Alabama are falsely accused of raping two white women 90 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Mar 25 1931) →

U.S. Supreme Court frees Africans who seized control of slave ship and taken into slavery illegally 180 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Mar 9 1841)

1840s, African-American Civil Rights


Video: 'A Legal Slave Uprising? | United States v. The Amistad'

(Tuesday, March 9, 1841) — The U.S. Supreme Court, in United States v. Schooner Amistad, ruled 7-1 in favor of a group of illegally enslaved Africans who were captured off the U.S. coast after seizing control of a Spanish schooner, La Amistad; the justices ruled that the Africans should be set free.
Continue reading U.S. Supreme Court frees Africans who seized control of slave ship and taken into slavery illegally 180 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Mar 9 1841) →

Amateur video captures severe beating of black motorist Rodney King by four LAPD officers 30 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Mar 3 1991)

1990s, African-American Civil Rights


Video: '3/7/91: Video of Rodney King Beaten by Police Released'

(Sunday, March 3, 1991, 12:30 a.m. PST) — Four Los Angeles Police Department officers were captured on amateur video early this morning savagely beating black motorist Rodney King after a pursuit through the streets of Los Angeles.
Continue reading Amateur video captures severe beating of black motorist Rodney King by four LAPD officers 30 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Mar 3 1991) →

Satchel Paige becomes first Negro League player voted into baseball’s Hall of Fame 50 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Feb 9 1971)

1970s, African-American Civil Rights


Video: 'Satchel Paige Biography'

(Tuesday, February 9, 1971) — Pitcher Satchel Paige became the first primarily Negro League player to be voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, today.
Continue reading Satchel Paige becomes first Negro League player voted into baseball’s Hall of Fame 50 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Feb 9 1971) →

50 people injured in racially motivated ‘Ax Handle Saturday’ attack in Jacksonville, Florida 60 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Aug 27 1960)

1960s, African-American Civil Rights


Video: 'AX HANDLE SATURDAY'

(Saturday, August 27, 1960, early afternoon; during Ax Handle Saturday) — 50 people were injured today when group of 200 middle aged and older white men (allegedly some were members of the Ku Klux Klan), armed with baseball bats and ax handles, clashed with African Americans who were engaging in sit-in protests opposing racial segregation in Hemming Park in Jacksonville, Florida. Continue reading 50 people injured in racially motivated ‘Ax Handle Saturday’ attack in Jacksonville, Florida 60 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Aug 27 1960) →

Lunch counter at Woolworth store in Greenboro, North Carolina desegregated 60 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jul 25 1960)

1960s, African-American Civil Rights


Video: 'Woolworth Lunch Counter'

(Monday, July 25, 1960, 2:30 p.m. EDT; during the Greensboro sit-ins, part of the civil rights movement) — The lunch counter at the Woolworth’s store in Greensboro, North Carolina, where the “Greensboro Four,” four black students from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (Joseph McNeil, David Richmond, Franklin McCain and Ezell Blair, Jr.), had started the first sit-in on Feb. 1, 1960, began service to African-American customers (actually, four store employees) today. Continue reading Lunch counter at Woolworth store in Greenboro, North Carolina desegregated 60 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jul 25 1960) →

Rhythm Club fire kills 209 people in Natchez, Mississippi 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Apr 23 1940)

1940s, African-American Civil Rights


Video: 'The Rhythm Club Fire Documentary (full movie)'

(Tuesday, April 23, 1940, 11:15 p.m. CST) — The Rhythm Club fire (or The Natchez Dance Hall Holocaust), a fire in a dance hall in Natchez, Mississippi, killed 209 people — all African Americans — and severely injured many others tonight. Continue reading Rhythm Club fire kills 209 people in Natchez, Mississippi 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Apr 23 1940) →