African-Americans in the Twentieth Century

Arts

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Civil Rights

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AFRICAN-AMERICANS IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY

*1940*
	Native Son by Richard Wright (1908-1960) was published and became the first African-American novel to become a Book of the Month Selection.
	Benjamin O. Davis (1877-1970) became the first African-American United States military general with the rank of Brigadier General on October 16, 1940.

*1941*
	Dorie Miller (1919-1943), United States Navyman, was awarded the Navy Cross for heroism during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
	The controversial decision to establish a training school for African-American pilots at the Tuskegee Institute took place on January 16, 1940.
	Booker T. Washington became the first African-American honored on a United States postage stamp.
	President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered an end to discrimination in all defense industries with Executive Order 8802 which opened more jobs for African-Americans on June 13, 1941.
	Dr. Charles R. Drew (1904-1950), professor of surgery at Howard University in Washington, DC, established the method used in America and Great Britain for blood banks.

*1942*
	The Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), a nonviolent protest group under the leadership of James Farmer (1920-1999) was established in Chicago.
	William L. Dawson (1886-1970) was elected to the United States House of Representatives from Chicago. He was called the "Dean of Black Congressmen," having served in office for twenty-seven years.
	Frederick McKinley Jones (1892-1961), a self-taught engineer, invented and patented the refrigeration system used in automobiles, trucks, and railroad trains.
	John H. Johnson (1918- ) published The Negro Digest for the first time on November 1, 1940. This success later led to the publishing of Ebony Magazine and Jet.

*1943*
	CORE staged its first sit-in protest against segregated restaurants at Jack Spratt's Coffee Shop, May 14, 1943.
	Famed Tuskegee Scientist, Dr. George Washington Carver, died on January 5, 1943.
	Paul Robeson (1898-1976) starred in the role of Othello on Broadway and set a record at 296 performances for a Shakespeare play.
	Two American Navy Destroyer ships, the USS Mason and the submariner chase PC1264, were allowed to be staffed with African-American navymen.
	The Ninety-Ninth Pursuit Squadron flew in active combat, becoming the first African-American Army Corp unit on a mission, June 2, 1943.

*1944*
	Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. (1908-1972) was elected as the United States Representative from the Harlem district.
	The United States Supreme Court ruled that white-only primaries, which excluded African-Americans from voting, were unconstitutional.
	African-American soldiers fought side by side with white American troops for the first time in major European campaigns at the Battle of the Bulge. African-Americans participated in record numbers in all branches of the armed services. Over three million registered to serve and preserve democracy around the world.

*1945*
	Nat "King" Cole (1919-1965), the smooth singer/pianist, became the first African-American to have his own radio show. Eleven years later, on November 11, 1956, he hosted his own television variety show, becoming the first of his race to do so.
	Richard Wright (1908-1960) published his well-received autobiographical novel, Black Boy.
	Chester Himes (1909-1984) published his novel, If He Hollers Let Him Go.
	John H. Johnson (1918- ) published his most successful and widely circulated magazine, Ebony, in November 1945 for the first time.
	Jackie Robinson (1919-1972) was on his way to the majors when he was picked by manager Branch Rickey to play with the Montreal Royals on August 28, 1945 a step toward his playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers.
	Todd Duncan (1903- ) became the first African-American to sing a leading role with an American opera company when he appeared in New York City's production of Il Pagliacci in 1945.

*1946*
	President Harry S. Truman appointed a National Committee on Civil Rights to study and investigate racial injustices in the United States.
	In the case of Morgan vs. Virginia, the United States Supreme Court ruled that segregation in interstate bus travel was unconstitutional.
	The American Nurses Association admitted African-American nurses in the national chapter for the first time.

*1947*
	The Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) tested the 1946 U.S. Supreme Court decision outlawing interstate bus segregation. The first "Freedom Riders" traveled through the South with a starting date of April 9, 1947.
	Jackie Robinson (1919-1972) became the first African-American to play in the major leagues for the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 10, 1947.
	Dr. John Hope Franklin (1915- ) published his first edition of From Slavery to Freedom.

*1948*
	President Harry S. Truman signed his Executive Order 9981, calling for an end to segregation and discrimination in the United States Armed Forces and all other areas of federal employment, on July 26, 1948.
	President Truman proposed to Congress a bill that would outlaw lynching and to create a Federal Commission of Civil Rights on February 2, 1948.
	Dr. Ralph J. Bunche (1904-1971) became chief assistant to the United Nations mediator in the Palestine crisis that ended the Arab-Israeli War in 1949. In 1950, he became the first African-American to win the Nobel Peace Prize in connection with the Arab-Israeli cease-fire.
	Alice Coachman (1923- ) became the first African-American woman to win an Olympic gold medal. She was also the only American woman to win the gold that year in London. She won for the high jump.

*1949*
	Representative William L. Dawson (1886-1970) became the first African-American to chair a Congressional standing committee: the House Expenditures Committee.
	WERD-AM became the first African-American owned and operated radio station in the United States under the ownership of Jesse Blanton, Sr. in Atlanta, Georgia.
	New Jersey became the first state to go on record as opposing discrimination in all public accommodations.
	Wesley A. Brown (1927- ) became the first African-American to graduate from the United States Navel Academy at Annapolis, Maryland.
	Jackie Robinson (1919-1972) of the Brooklyn Dodgers was named the National League's Most Valuable Player.

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

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