African-Americans in the Twentieth Century

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AFRICAN-AMERICANS IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY

*1910*
	The United States Census Bureau issued its population and demographic statistics. African-Americans made up 10% of the United States population (9,827,763). 89% of African-Americans still lived in the South, and most were farmers as their major occupation.
	Statistics showed migration of immigrants to the United States between 1870-1910 as nineteen million new American residents. Competition for available work created racial hostility among blacks and newly settled whites. Racial tension was at an all time high in the year 1910.
	The Crisis magazine began its publication on November 1, 1910 with W.E.B. DuBois as editor. It became the leading publication opposing discrimination and segregation of blacks and supported rights for all people regardless of color.
	1910 was the beginning of the "Great Migration," whereby large numbers (estimated up to two million) of African-Americans left the South and migrated westward and northward looking for a better life surrounded by peace and void of racial strife.
	Pennsylvania Station was opened, and the Long Island Railroad could now get through to Manhattan via the newly opened East River tunnels.

*1911*
	The National Urban League was founded in October of 1911 to assist southern black migrants in their adjustment to urban life and to find jobs in the flourishing factories and industries of the northeast.
	Samuel J. Battle was hired as the first African-American police officer in New York City on June 28, 1911.
	Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity was founded at Indiana University on January 5, 1911.
	Omega Psi Phi fraternity was founded at Howard University on October 28, 1911. The official incorporation took place in 1914.
	Scott Joplin finished his folk opera, Treemonisha, which later was fully staged in 1915.
	Andrew "Rube" Foster, known as "Father of Black Baseball," organized the Chicago American Giants baseball team.

*1912*
	Carter G. Woodson (1875-1950), the "Father of Black History Week," later called Black History Month, received his Ph.D. from Harvard in history.
	James Weldon Johnson published his The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man, a psychological novel of the new Negro movement.
	The sinking of the Titanic ocean liner happened when it hit an iceberg whereby the lives of 1,595 passengers were lost on April 15, 1912.
	W.C. Handy (1873-1958), the noted songwriter and bandleader, published his "Memphis Blues," the first composition written on the American blues.

*1913*
	Harriet Tubman (1821?-1913), the hero of the Underground Railroad and later with the Black Suffrage movement, died on March 10, 1913.
	Delta Sigma Theta sorority was founded at Howard University on January 13, 1913 to promote academic excellence; to provide scholarships; to provide support to the underserved; to educate and stimulate participation in the establishment of positive public policy; and to highlight issues and provide solutions for problems in the community.
	Famed Dr. Daniel Hale Williams (1856-1931), pioneer in open-heart surgery and the founder of Provident Hospital and Training School for Nurses in Chicago, Illinois, became the first African-American accepted as a charter member of the American College of Surgeons.
	Grand Central Station in New York City officially opened, February 1913. It was the world's largest train station.
	The formal organization for African-American dentists was set up: the Tri-State Dental Association, in 1913. This organization later became the National Dental Association.

*1914*
	Garrett Morgan (1875-1963), African-American scientist and inventor, won first prize for his patented safety hood and smoke protector at the Second International Exposition of Sanitation and Safety. We know of this invention as the gas mask. Morgan was also credited with the invention of the three-way automatic traffic signal, which was later sold to General Electric.
	Eugene J. Bullard, hero of World War I, became an early-trained African-American pilot. His fame was established when he fought the Germans out of France due to America's exclusion of blacks as war pilots.
	The Spingarn Medal was instituted by Joel E. Spingarn, former board chairman of the NAACP, to be given annually to an African-American man or woman for outstanding achievement in sixteen fields of endeavor, including arts, sciences, military, public service, education, sports, etc.
	Phi Beta Sigma fraternity was founded at Howard University on January 9, 1914.
	World War I (1914-1918) broke out in central Europe.

*1915*
	The racist film, *Birth of a Nation*, was released under protest from the NAACP. D.W. Griffith's film propagandized racist, negative stereotypes of African-Americans and endorsed the legitimization of the Ku Klux Klan.
	The famed educator and founder of the Tuskegee Institution, Booker T. Washington (1856-1915), died November 14, 1915.
	The British ship, the Lusitania, was sunk by a German submarine on May 7, 1915. One hundred twenty-four Americans perished.
	The Ku Klux Klan resurfaced after a long period since Reconstruction on December 4, 1915 in Fulton County, Georgia.
	Dr. Ernest Everett Just (1883-1941) received the first Spingarn Medal honoring him for his distinguished work in cell biology.
	African-American scholars and historians founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History in Chicago, Illinois with Dr. Carter G. Woodson at the helm.

*1916*
	Marcus Garvey (1887-1940), a Jamaican Black Nationalist, established his Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA). Garvey wanted to see Africans and Americans of African descent binding together, using the combined strength of black institutions and businesses as an anchor. He was an advocate of the "Back to Africa Movement."
	The first issue of the Journal of Negro History was published on January 1, 1916 with Dr. Carter G. Woodson as its publisher.
	Garrett Morgan utilized his valuable invention, the gas mask, when twelve men were trapped in a gaseous tunnel at the Cleveland, Ohio Waterworks and were all rescued.
	Paul Robeson (1898-1976), Rutgers University star player sophomore guard and tackler, was not allowed to play while competing against Washington and Lee University due to their exclusion of schools with black players. Robeson later became a twice All-American in football and achieved fame as an activist, singer, and actor.
	Dr. Albert Einstein published his papers dealing with the Theory of Relativity and set the pace for new explorations and discovery in our universe.

*1917*
	President Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921) asked Congress to declare war on Germany, April 6, 1917.
	World War I (1914-1918) saw restrictive use of African-American combat troops. In France, they fought with valor against the Germans. The American 369th Infantry served with outstanding distinction, and 107 African-American soldiers received the French Croix De Guerre of Honor for bravery in the war. They were called by the Germans as "Hell Fighters," but the black troopers called themselves "Black Rattlers."
	Race relations were not good in 1917, therefore W.E.B. DuBois organized a march of over 10,000 to protest the continued lynchings and discrimination (see separate story on lynchings of African-Americans in the United States on view in the case). This 1917 march down New York City's Fifth Avenue was called: Why We March, held on July 28.
	Before World War I (1914-1918) ended, over 300,000 African-Americans served with the U.S. Armed Forces. Over 1,400 were commissioned as officers.

*1918*
	Oscar Micheaux (1884-1951), the original standard bearer for filmmaking and production, organized his Oscar Micheaux Corporation which made over thirty full-length black films during his career.
	The NAACP released its profound pamphlet entitled "Thirty Years of Lynching in the United States, 1889-1918." (see Lynching in case)
	The National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses, under the leadership of Adah Bell Samuels Thoms, protested the exclusion by the American Red Cross and the United States Surgeon General's Office of black nurses from the Army Nurse Corps. The first class of "an experiment" opened the door the first eighteen black nurses in December of 1918.
	The first full recognition of the African-Americans' honors for bravery in World War I (1914-1918) was to Henry Johnson of Albany, New York and Needham Roberts of Trenton, New Jersey. Both served in the all black 369th Infantry and were awarded the Croix de Guerre by the French for exceptional valor when attacked by the Germans on May 14, 1918.

*1919*
	1919 saw the rise in race riots. Twenty-five major race riots occurred in 1919. James Weldon Johnson, songwriter, said this season should be called the "Red Summer of Hate."
	Activist William Monroe Trotter argued unsuccessfully that among the Paris Peace Conference treaty agreements ending World War I (1914-1918), a clause should be included barring racial discrimination.
	The 18th Amendment passes making it illegal to produce, sell, or drink alcoholic beverages.
	Madame C.J. Walker, the first African-American woman millionaire, died May 25, 1919.
	The Associated Negro Press (ANP) was established by Claude A. Barnett. The need for a news service dealing with events from the African-American press was realized by March 2, 1919.

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

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