These events place Black literature in context. Use it as you explore other parts of the exhibit to learn more about the times that authors lived and wrote in.
While the Proclamation claimed "that all persons held as slaves...are and henceforward shall be free," it did not truly free all enslaved people. The document outlawed slavery in the states of the Confederacy, but not loyal states.
The Civil War lasted 4 years. The main cause of the war was the issue of whether to abolish slavery or not.
When Lincoln was killed, Andrew Johnson became President. He pursued a much more lenient version of Reconstruction, leading to lengthy political battles over new laws.
Menard was a Representative elected in Louisiana. He never took office, however, because his opponent contested the election.
Revels was elected in Mississippi. He became known as a representative of all freedmen, not just Mississippians, championing their causes until the expiration of his term in 1871.
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People was founded by an interracial group that included W.E.B. Du Bois and Ida B. Wells. The NAACP focuses on protecting the rights of Black people.
The Ku Klux Klan (KKK) was revived in Georgia by William J. Simmons. The original Klan was founded in 1866, but disappeared around 1870. This hate group is America's oldest terrorist group, and promotes racist violence.
"The Homesteader" was the first film written and directed by a Black man. Oscar Micheaux directed the film based on his book. Unfortunately, it has since been lost.
From April to November, a series of race riots swept across the United States. About 25 riots resulted in the death or injury of hundreds of people, most of them Black.
"Shuffle Along" was a musical by Eubie Blake and Noble Sissle. This was the first major Black hit musical to open on Broadway, and opened the door for other Black shows and the "Jazz Age" of the 1920s.
Opportunity magazine hosted a writing competition that was won by Langston Hughes for his poem "The Weary Blues." Following the prize, the New-York Herald Tribune said “what might not improperly be called a Negro renaissance” was happening in Harlem.
Contralto Marian Anderson gave a public concert for an audience of 75,000 people at the Lincoln Memorial. She was denied the use of Constitution Hall by the Daughters of the American Revolution due to her skin color, prompting outrage.
President Harry Truman issued Executive Order 9981, which ended segregation in all branches of the military. Many Black soldiers fought in World War I and World War II.
Till was a 14-year-old boy from Chicago brutally murdered in Mississippi. His killers were acquitted, but the case brought international attention to the Civil Rights Movement.
The bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama was led by Martin Luther King, Jr. and lasted over a year. It resulted in the desegregation of public transportation in 1956.
Four Black college students in Greensboro, NC began the sit-in movement by refusing to leave a white-only lunch counter. The protests spread to other cities and after months facilities began to desegregate all across the country.
In 1961, groups of Black and white protestors rode on interstate buses to test the desegregation that was supposed to have taken effect. They were met with horrific violence and rampant racism. Eventually, bans on segregation were enforced more strongly.
The March of approximately 250,000 people in Washington, DC garnered massive international attention. At the rally, Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his now-famous "I Have a Dream" speech in front of the Lincoln Memorial.
Malcolm X influenced the Black Power Movement and famously told Black people to take freedom "by any means necessary." He believed that the solution to racial problems was through orthodox Islam.
Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale formed the Black Panthers in California to protect Black neighborhoods from police brutality. The group was targeted by the FBI for alleged communist ties.
King was killed by James Earl Ray while standing on the balcony of his hotel in Memphis, TN. He was a leader of the Civil Rights Movement and promoted peaceful, nonviolent protest methods.