African-Americans in the Twentieth Century

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AFRICAN-AMERICANS IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY

*1900*
	Dr. W.E.B. DuBois (1868-1963), educator and social activist helped to organize the Pan-African Congress in London, England. The organization's main goal was to promote unity, peace, and brotherhood among African people around the world.
	Educator Booker T. Washington (1856-1915) organized the Negro Business League in Boston, Massachusetts in order to foster better cooperation of business opportunities and employment mainly among African-American entrepreneurs.
	Elijah McCoy (1843-1929) was among the growing lists of African-American inventors. On March 26, 1900 he patented his graphite lubricator for machines in motion.
	"Lift Every Voice and Sing" which became known as the Black National Anthem was performed on February 12, 1900 for the first time as written by James Weldon Johnson.
	The first federal anti-lynching legislation was introduced in congress by African-American representative, George H. White (1852-1918), during his term of 1897-1901, but it died in committee. 1922, 1937, and 1940 would see attempts that managed to progress a bit farther, but no federal anti-lynching laws would ever make it all the way through.
	Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature was published for the first time. It became the leading index for magazine citations.

*1901*
	African-American representation in Congress, which started during the Reconstruction Period (1865-1877), stopped in 1901 when Representative George H. White (1852-1918) ended his term. It was not to resume until Oscar DePriest (1871-1951) from Chicago was elected to serve in the 71st Congress in 1928.
	Booker T. Washington published his autobiography, Up From Slavery, and was invited by president Theodore Roosevelt to a state dinner, becoming the first African-American welcomed at this level, October 16, 1901.
	Bert Williams and George Walker become the first African-Americans to record their music for the Victor Talking Machine Company, October 11, 1901. Later, in 1910, Williams became the first African American to perform in the Ziegfeld Follies.

*1902*
	"Ma" Rainey, Queen of the Blues began her singing career, which lasted thirty-five years. She retired in 1933.
	Jockey Jimmy Winkfield won the Kentucky Derby. In a field dominated by African-Americans, fifteen out of twenty-eight races were won by them.
	Southern states began a large-scale disenfranchisement strategy to stop African-Americans from registering to vote due to "literacy tests," "tax requirements," and property rights tests. Alabama and Virginia were the first to enforce these rules.

*1903*
	Dr. W.E.B. DuBois published his The Souls of Black Folk. Dr. DuBois' philosophy of equal rights was said to be in direct opposition to that of educator Booker T. Washington. The division of their different ideologies lasted for years.
	Maggie Lena Walker (1867-1934) became the first woman banker when she established the St. Luke Penny Savings Bank in Richmond, Virginia.
	Racism was threatening the lives and safety of African-Americans at an alarming rate during this period. As a safety net, an increasing number of them moved westward and developed all Black towns. In August of 1903, Boley, Oklahoma became one of many new migrant territories established by African-Americans.
	Meta Vaux Warrick Fuller (1877-1968), sculptress, became one of the first African-American artists to do a showing of her work, "The Wretched," in the Paris Salon.
	The Wright Brothers, Wilbur and Orville, fly the first powered airplane, December 17, 1903.
	Henry Ford opened his Ford Motor Car Company in Detroit, Michigan on June 16, 1903.

*1904*
	Mary McLeod Bethune (1875-1955) established a college to train mainly women known as the Daytona Normal and Industrial School in Florida. The college later merged with Cookman Institute in 1922 and was renamed Bethune-Cookman College.
	George Coleman Poages (1880-1962) became the first African-American Olympic medal winner by placing third (bronze) at the first American Olympic Games in the 400-meter hurdles held in St. Louis, Missouri.
	Charles W. Follis played for the Shelby Athletic Association, becoming the first African-American football player.

*1905*
	The Niagara Movement was formed, and the members met in Fort Erie, Canada to deal with the denial of civil and human rights for African-Americans. Two prominent names surfaced: W.E.B. DuBois and William Monroe Trotter. This movement led to the formation of the NAACP in 1909.
	Alonzo F. Herndon established and opened his Atlanta Life Insurance Company on September 3, 1905. This former slave became one of America's wealthiest businessmen.
	Robert Sengstacke Abbott (1870-1940) published a new newspaper, The Chicago Defender, on May 15, 1905. The paper became one of the longest running exclusive news information organs for African-Americans in the United States.

*1906*
	Alpha Phi Alpha became the first intercollegiate Greek letter organization for African-American undergraduates on the campus of Cornell University at Ithaca, New York, December 4, 1906.
	Morehouse College (founded 1867) installed its first African-American president, John Hope (1868-1936). Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia was known for its high achievers. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was one of its most famous graduates.
	Robert Church, Sr. established a new bank, The Solvent Savings and Trust Company in Memphis, Tennessee. Mr. Church's daughter was Mary Church Terrell, the first president of the National Association of Colored Women.
	This was the year of the big San Francisco earthquake. On April 19, the damage destroyed the entire bay area of San Francisco.
	Madame C.J. Walker (1867-1919), founded her first hair care company in Indianapolis, Indiana. She is credited with becoming the first woman or African American descent to become a millionaire.

*1907*
	Dr. Alain Leroy Locke (1886-1954), educator and scholar, became the first African-American Rhodes Scholar. He studied at Oxford in England (1907-1910) and the University of Berlin in Germany (1910-1911).
	Harlem Hospital opened in New York City, providing the needy help for a growing African-American community.
	The United States Supreme Court handed down a decision that upheld the United States Railroad's rights to segregate passengers by race.
	The Union, one of the earlier African-American newspapers, started to publish on February 13, 1907 in Cincinnati, Ohio.
	The World's Greatest Show took root with the Ringling Brothers, and the circus became a big part of Americans' pastime extravaganza.

*1908*
	Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority was founded as a first among African-American sororities at Howard University on January 15, 1908.
	Thurgood Marshall (1908-1993) was born July 8, 1908 in Baltimore, Maryland. He was able to use his legal mind to open many doors in changing the segregated status of African-Americans via the United States courts.
	John Baxter "Doc" Taylor established a record for the quarter mile from the University of Pennsylvania and became the first African-American to win an Olympic gold medal as part of the 4/400-meter relay team in London, England.
	Jack Johnson won the World Heavyweight Title by knocking out Tommy Burns on December 26, 1908 in Sydney, Australia to become the first African-American heavyweight boxing champion.
	Henry Ford mass produced his famous first Model T Ford as an assembly line motor car on August 12, 1908.

*1909*
	Matthew Henson (1866-1955), as part of the North Pole expedition team, was honored by placing the American flag at the farthest point at the Pole on April 6, 1909. This team was credited with being the first people to reach the North Pole.
	The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was founded on February 12, 1909 in New York City. The organization attracted to its membership over 300 participants, mainly progressive white and black thinkers and intellectuals. Its first official conference was held on May 31, 1909.
	The New York Amsterdam News was first published on December 4, 1909. It is among the oldest published African-American newspapers in the United States.
	The swell in number of African-American women nurses in the United States led to a union called the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses as a professional organization of quality for the nursing profession.

*African-Americans in the Twentieth Century*
*1900s*	*1910s*	*1920s*	*1930s*	*1940s*
*1950s*	*1960s*	*1970s*	*1980s*	*1990s*

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