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Explore the rich and varied chronicle of African Americans in U.S. history, from slavery and civil rights to achievements and culture. Find key moments, milestones, figures, videos, stories and more on Black History.
- Black History Month
The celebration of Black History Month began as “Negro...
- Black History Facts
Black History Month honors the contributions of African...
- Civil Rights Act
The Civil Rights Act of 1964, which ended segregation in...
- Brown v. Board of Education: Summary, Ruling & Impact
- Civil Rights Movement Timeline - Timeline & Events
- Little Rock Nine - Definition, Names & Facts
- Black Codes - Definition, Dates & Jim Crow Laws
- Black History Milestones: Timeline
- Black Panthers - History, Definition & Timeline
- March on Washington - Date, Facts & Significance
- Segregation in the United States - Meaning, Facts. & Legacy
- Martin Luther King Jr. Assassination - Facts, Reaction & Impact
- Emmett Till: Body, Death, Funeral & Face - HISTORY
- Black History Month
- Slavery Comes to North America, 1619
- Rise of The Cotton Industry, 1793
- Nat Turner’s Revolt, August 1831
- Abolitionism and The Underground Railroad, 1831
- Dred Scott Case, March 6, 1857
- John Brown's Raid, October 16, 1859
- Civil War and Emancipation, 1861
- The Post-Slavery South, 1865
- 'Separate But Equal,' 1896
- Washington, Carver & Du Bois, 1900
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To satisfy the labor needs of the rapidly growing North American colonies, white European settlers turned in the early 17th century from indentured servants (mostly poorer Europeans) to a cheaper, more plentiful labor source: enslaved Africans. After 1619, when a Dutch ship brought 20 Africans ashore at the British colony of Jamestown, Virginia, sl...
In the years immediately following the Revolutionary War, the rural South—the region where slavery had taken the strongest hold in North America—faced an economic crisis. The soil used to grow tobacco, then the leading cash crop, was exhausted, while products such as rice and indigo failed to generate much profit. As a result, the price of enslaved...
In August 1831, Nat Turnerstruck fear into the hearts of white Southerners by leading the only effective slave rebellion in U.S. history. Born on a small plantation in Southampton County, Virginia, Turner inherited a passionate hatred of slavery from his African–born mother and came to see himself as anointed by God to lead his people out of bondag...
The early abolition movement in North America was fueled both by enslaved people's efforts to liberate themselves and by groups of white settlers, such as the Quakers, who opposed slavery on religious or moral grounds. Though the lofty ideals of the Revolutionary era invigorated the movement, by the late 1780s it was in decline, as the growing sout...
On March 6, 1857, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its decision in Scott v. Sanford, delivering a resounding victory to southern supporters of slavery and arousing the ire of northern abolitionists. During the 1830s, the owner of an enslaved man named Dred Scott had taken him from the slave state of Missouri to the Wisconsin territory and Illinoi...
A native of Connecticut, John Brown struggled to support his large family and moved restlessly from state to state throughout his life, becoming a passionate opponent of slavery along the way. After assisting in the Underground Railroad out of Missouri and engaging in the bloody struggle between pro- and anti-slavery forces in Kansasin the 1850s, B...
In the spring of 1861, the bitter sectional conflicts that had been intensifying between North and South over the course of four decades erupted into civil war, with 11 southern states seceding from the Union and forming the Confederate States of America. Though President Abraham Lincoln’s antislavery views were well established, and his election a...
Though the Union victory in the Civil War gave some 4 million enslaved people their freedom, significant challenges awaited during the Reconstruction period. The 13th Amendment, adopted late in 1865, officially abolished slavery, but the question of freed Black peoples’ status in the post–war South remained. As white southerners gradually reestabli...
As Reconstruction drew to a close and the forces of white supremacy regained control from carpetbaggers (northerners who moved South) and freed Black people, Southern state legislatures began enacting the first segregation laws, known as the “Jim Crow” laws. Taken from a much-copied minstrel routine written by a white actor who performed often in b...
As the 19th century came to an end and segregation took ever stronger hold in the South, many African Americans saw self-improvement, especially through education, as the single greatest opportunity to escape the indignities they suffered. Many Black people looked to Booker T. Washington, the author of the bestselling Up From Slavery (1900), as an ...
Explore the key events and figures in the history of Black people in the United States, from slavery and resistance to civil rights and achievement. Learn about the cotton gin, Nat Turner's revolt, Harriet Tubman, the Underground Railroad and more.
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- Anti-Racism Resource Videos
Black history refers to the stories, experiences, and accomplishments of people of African origin. Black history did not begin in recent times in Canada, but in ancient times in Africa. People connected by their common African history and ancestry have created Black history here.
Oct 3, 2023 · Learn about the history and impact of black heritage and culture in the UK and beyond. Find out how Black History Month started, who it honours, and why it matters in 2023.
- Origins of Black History Month, NAACP. Black History Month: The celebration of Black History Month began as “Negro History Week,” which was created in 1926 by Carter G. Woodson, a noted African American historian, scholar, educator and publisher.
- Famous Lawyers, Activists, Scientists and Politicians. First Lawyer: John Mercer Langston was the first Black man to become a lawyer when he passed the bar in Ohio in 1854.
- Famous Black Athletes. Heavyweight Champ: Jack Johnson became the first African American man to hold the World Heavyweight Champion boxing title in 1908.
- First Black Millionaire, Billionaire and Oscar Winner. Self-Made Millionaire: Madam C.J. Walker was born on a cotton plantation in Louisiana and became wealthy after inventing a line of African American hair care products.
6 days ago · Learn about the origins, significance, and celebration of Black History Month in the United States. Explore the achievements and contributions of African Americans in various fields and topics with Britannica's articles, videos, and news.
May 3, 2021 · For a time in Canada, the UNIA was the most important Black socio-economic and educational force. Moreover, the UNIA, with more than 1,000 chapters in 40 countries and millions of members, became one of the most important political and social organizations in history.
