Major Events
By Jessica McElrath, About.com Guide to African-American History
Here you'll find information on slavery, the abolition movement, the Underground Railroad, the civil war, Jim Crow laws, the Harlem Renaissance, the civil rights movement, and more. Take a look at some of the major events in African American History.
Slavery
For the blacks who were enslaved, the slave era in the U.S. was a time of suffering, family separation, and injustice.
- The Slave Trade
- The Middle Passage
- Slavery in Colonial Times
- Black Election Day in New England
- Slavery Timeline
- Slavery Photos and Images
- Harriet Jacobs
- Thomas Jefferson on Slavery
- Correspondence between Benjamin Banneker and Thomas Jefferson
- Abraham Lincoln on the Dred Scott Decision
- Slaves and the Christmas Celebration
- Fugitive Slave Law of 1850
- Slave Insurance Policies Uncovered
Slave Narratives
Slave narratives have served as a useful tool in providing informative insight into slave life.
- Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
- Narrative of Sojourner Truth
- Narrative of Bethany Veney
- Harriet Jacobs: Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
Abolition/Underground Railroad
A combination of the abolition movement and the Underground Railroad helped set the stage for the end of slavery.
Civil War
African Americans participated in various ways during the Civil War.
- 54th Massachusetts Infantry
- Civil War Photos
- Overview of the Civil War
- Causes of the Civil War
- Events Leading to the Civil War
Reconstruction
Reconstruction was a time of change in the South after the Civil War.
- Radical Reconstruction
- Timeline of the Reconstruction Era
- Freedmen's Bureau
- W.E.B. Du Bois on the Freedmen's Bureau
- Ku Klux Klan
Black Codes
The Black Codes were used to restrain the freedom of newly freed slaves.
- The Black Codes of 1865
- Louisiana Black Codes
- Mississippi Black Codes
- Ohio Black Codes
- Washington Black Codes
Music
This page provides resources about African American's and music--from the early spirituals to the blues, jazz, and opera.
- The History of Blues Music: An Overview
- The History of Blues Music: The Classic Blues Era
- The History of Blues Music: The Country Blues
- Spirituals: Expressions of Slave Life
- A Look Back at Minstrelsy
Harlem Renaissance
The Harlem Renaissance was a time when remarkable African American literature and art flourished during the 1920s.
- Harlem Renaissance: The New Negro Movement
- Writers of the Harlem Renaissance
- Sterling A. Brown
- Countee Cullen
Civil Rights Movement
Here you'll find information about the leaders, participants, and events that were a part of the civil rights movement.
- Martin Luther King Jr. Biography
- Malcolm X Biography
- Rosa Parks Biography
- 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing
- Birmingham Campaign
- Brown v. Board of Education
- The Murder of Emmett Till
- The Freedom Rides
- Freedom Summer - Mississippi Burning
- James Meredith's Admission to Ole Miss
- Desegregation of Little Rock Central High
- Lunch Counter Sit-Ins
- March on Washington
- Montgomery Bus Boycott
- Orangeburg Massacre
- Bloody Sunday: Voting Rights in Selma, Alabama
- Civil Rights Movement Photos
- School Desegregation Photos
- March on Washington Photos
- Photos of Racial Segregation Signs
Black Celebrations
Learn more about Juneteenth, Kwanzaa, and Black History Month.
- The Origins of Black History Month
- Black History Month Special
- Is Black History Month Still Necessary?
Timelines
Timelines of important events in African American history.
