Below find a timeline of the African presence in the Americas. It
is divided into three sections for easy viewing. Click on a time period
to view its timeline.
1000
B.C. - 1800 A.D. | 1800
- 1960 |
1960 - 1992
| Full
Timeline
| 1960 |
Nigeria proclaimed independent. The Alvin Alley American Dance Theater debuts Revelations. |
| 1962 |
Jamaica proclaimed independent. Trinidad-Tobago proclaimed independent. James H. Meredith registered at the University of Mississippi. Edward J. Dwight, Jr. became the first African-American astronaut candidate. |
| 1963 |
March on Washington, largest Civil Rights demonstration in history. President John F. Kennedy assassinated in Dallas. Muhammad Ali becomes world heavyweight boxing champion. Malcolm X founds the Organization for Afro-American Unity in New York. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. awarded Nobel Peace Prize. |
| 1965 | Malcolm X assassinated in New York. |
| 1966 |
Barbados proclaimed independent. Bill Russell named first black coach of a major professional sports team in the United States. Black Panther party organized in Oakland, California. |
| 1967 |
First African American government installed in the Bahamas. United States Supreme Court ruled Virginia law banning interracial marriage unconstitutional. Thurgood Marshall became the first African-American Supreme Court Justice. Carl B. Stokes elected the first African-American mayor of a major American city, Cleveland, Ohio. |
| 1968 |
Martin Luther King, Jr. assassinated. John Carlos and Tommie Smith stage Black Power demonstration at Olympics. |
| 1971 | Soledad Brothers murdered at San Quentin. |
| 1974 |
Hearings on the Watergate controversy begin. Henry "Hank" Aaron broke Babe Ruth's record. |
| 1977 | Alex Haley's Roots televised. |
| 1978 | NASA names three African-American astronauts. |
| 1979 | Rosa L. Parks, catalyst in the Montgomery Bus Boycott, awarded Spingarn Medal. |
| 1983 | Guion S. Bluford, Jr., first African-American to go into space. |
| 1984 | Jesse Jackson becomes first serious African-American contender in a presidential place. |
| 1989 | Douglas Wilder elected first African American governor in the United States, in Virginia. |
| 1990 |
First democratic election in Haiti. Nelson Mandela freed from prison after 27 years. |
| 1991 | Clarence Thomas, second African American appointed to the United States Supreme Court. |
| 1992 |
Rebellion in Los Angeles, California and other urban centers in the United States. Mae Jemison, first African-American woman astronaut, travels on mission for NASA. |
1000 B.C. - 1800 A.D. | 1800 - 1960 | 1960 - 1992 | Full Timeline