African Americans have played a central role in shaping U.S. history. From slavery and its abolition to the Great Migration, the civil rights movement and military, scientific, cultural and political achievements, explore key moments, milestones, facts and figures in Black History.
Celebrating Our History. Inspiring Our Future.
Black history is American history. It is a story of courage, resilience, achievement, creativity, and determination. Through generations of leaders, educators, innovators, artists, scientists, and everyday heroes, Black Americans have helped shape the world we live in today.
Martin Luther King Jr.
Civil Rights Leader
Malcolm X
Human Rights Activist
Muhammad Ali
Legendary Boxer & Activist
Nelson Mandela
Anti-Apartheid Leader & Statesman
Frederick Douglass
Abolitionist & Writer
Harriet Tubman
Abolitionist & Freedom Fighter
George Washington Carver
Scientist & Educator
Jackie Robinson
Baseball Pioneer
Thurgood Marshall
First Black U.S. Supreme Court Justice
James Baldwin
Writer & Social Critic
The Underground Railroad (1800s)
A network of people and safe houses that helped enslaved African Americans escape to freedom.
Emancipation Proclamation (1863)
President Abraham Lincoln declared enslaved people in the Confederate states to be free.
Juneteenth (1865)
June 19 marks the day news of emancipation reached enslaved people in Galveston, Texas.
Founding of the NAACP (1909)
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People was established to fight racial discrimination and inequality.
Harlem Renaissance (1920s–1930s)
A powerful cultural movement celebrating Black literature, music, art, and intellectual life.
Brown v. Board of Education (1954)
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional.