Black History Month

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Slide 8

EVENTS THAT CHANGED

BLACK AMERICA

10. SEPTEMBER 25, 1957

Nine Little Rock, Arkansas, schoolchildren are escorted to Central High School by federal troops, ending efforts to thwart court-ordered integration.

Slide 9

EVENTS THAT CHANGED

BLACK AMERICA

11. DECEMBER 17, 1959

The founding of Motown Records {Barry Gordon} help change the understanding, marketing, and promotion of Black popular music.

12. AUGUST 28, 1963

25,000 people participate in the March

on Washington, the biggest civil rights

demonstration ever. This is where

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered

his famous speech “I Have a Dream.”

Slide 10

EVENTS THAT CHANGED

BLACK AMERICA

13. FEBRUARY 21, 1965

Malcolm X {Malcolm Little} charismatic Black nationalist leader, is assassinated at the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem. Three Blacks were later convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.

Slide 11

EVENTS THAT CHANGED

BLACK AMERICA

14. MARCH 21, 1965

Thousands of marchers, led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and protected by federal troops, complete the first leg of the Selma-to Montgomery march.

Slide 12

EVENTS THAT CHANGED

BLACK AMERICA

15. AUGUST 11, 1965

An insurrection starts in the Watts section of Los Angeles and rages for six days. The Watts insurrection was the first in a wave of major disturbances that forced a national reappraisal of racism in America.

16. OCTOBER 2, 1967

Thurgood Marshall {1908 – 1993] becomes the first Black member of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Slide 13

EVENTS THAT CHANGED

BLACK AMERICA

17. APRIL 4, 1968

Martin Luther King, Jr. is assassinated by a James Earl Ray in Memphis. The assassination triggered a national crisis with rioting in more than 100 cities and calls for racial renewal and repentance. President Johnson declared a day of mourning. Note: James Earl Ray died April 23, 1998.

Slide 14

EVENTS THAT CHANGED

BLACK AMERICA

18. JANUARY 23-30, 1977

The ABC-TV dramatization of Alex Haley’s Roots becomes the highest-rated drama in TV history and sparks a national “roots” craze.

Slide 15

EVENTS THAT CHANGED

BLACK AMERICA

19. NOVEMBER 2, 1983

President Ronald Reagan signs a bill designating the third Monday in January of each year as a federal holiday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Millions celebrated the first holiday on January 20, 1986.