African American Rights

African Americans in Early Wisconsin - In the early 1800’s African Americans established permanent residence in Wisconsin. African Americans contributed to Wisconsin in many ways and established many communities.

American Federation of Labor - Samuel Gompers led the A.F.L., which was even more successful than the Knights of Labor.  By 1890, this reform organization had over 500,000 members.

Americanization Colonization Society - In 1817, a minister named Robert Finley started the American Colonization Society.  This organization tried to reform the terrible “peculiar institution” known as slavery.  The colony of Liberia was set up in Africa as a place for slaves to live.  Eventually 12,000 blacks did move there.  

Amistad Case - In 1849 African slaves revolted aboard their ship the Amistad. They ended up off the coast of Long Island. The slaves were taken prisoner and a trial was held. Former President John Quincy Adams argued for their freedom.

Bacon's Rebellion - In 1676, Nathaniel Bacon, a wealthy frontier farmer in Massachusetts led farmers, slaves, former indentured servants, and freed slaves in an attack against some friendly American Indians.  Eventually, this group then even attacked and burned Jamestown.  This rebellion not only showed how much colonists distrusted their colonial government, but it also made it difficult for future relations with Native Americans.

Bannecker, Benjamin - a free black reformer who was truly ahead of his time.  He was an accomplished astronomer, a mathematician, a writer, and a social scientist.  His autobiography is one of the first great works of American literature.

Black Art - Amiri Baraka founded the black arts repertory Theatere School in Harlem with the hopes of bringing music, poetry, art and performance to the street corners of the city.

Black Panthers - The Black Panthers was a political party made up of black militants.  They fought (sometimes quite violently) black rights, encountering oppositional forces.

“Bleeding” Kansas - In the 1850’s, Kansas was literally a state of violence.  Some citizens of Kansas were proslavery, and some were antislavery.

Brown vs. Board of Education - This U.S. Supreme Court Case finally made the “separate, but equal” clause illegal.  This encounter also signified the vast unrest that the nation felt regarding race.

Coleman, Bessie – The first African American pilot in the United States.  Confronted by restrictions of race and gender in her own country, she saved her earnings as a manicurist is Chicago, studied French and went to France to be trained as a pilot, earning her International Pilots License in 1922.

Desegregating Central High School - Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas was one of the first face-to-face meetings, between supporters of segregation and supporters of integration.  President Eisenhower had to intervene and post soldiers at this high school in order to protect the black students attending Central High School.  On other side, was Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus, who objected to integration.

Douglass, Fredrick - A black American, who was one of the most eminent human rights leaders of the 19^th century. He was highly active in the abolition movement. He became the first black citizen to hold high rank in the U.S. government.

Dred Scott Decision - Dred Scot was a slave, whose master took him to free states.  After his owner died, Dred sued in court for this right to be free.  In court they declared that Scott had never been free, due to the fact that slaves were personal property; thus, the Missouri Compromise of 1820 was unconstitutional.

Du Bois and Ida Wells-Barnett - Du Bois wanted immediate political equality and economic opportunity for blacks.  Du Bois was the first Blackman to receive a doctoral degree from Harvard University.  He would become a professor at Atlanta University.  Ida Wells-Barnett was newspaperwoman from Tennessee.  She tried to reform and stop the lynchings and other acts of violence against blacks.

Eckford, Elizabeth - In 1957, Elizabeth Eckford, who was only 15 years old, was a civil rights pioneer because she was one of the Little Rock Nine.   As one of the first to integrate the all white Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, Eckford encountered opposition from many students, school officials and community members.  She went on to have a distinguished career in the U.S. Army.

Fugitive Slave Act - By the 1850's, Wisconsin had become known for its support for the abolition of slavery and its opposition to the 1850 Federal Fugitive Slave Act. A significant example of this can be seen in the story of runaway slave Joshua Glover. 

Halyard, Wilbur and Ardie Halyard - This young couple moved to Wisconsin in 1920.  Here they worked on reforming the rights of blacks in Wisconsin.  They organized the Columbia Savings and Loan Association, which lent money to African-Americans interested in buying homes.  Wilbur refused to accept a salary for many years.  Ardie led the Milwaukee and Wisconsin chapters of the National Advancement of Colored People (N.A.A.C.P.).

Hanna, Hilton - one of Wisconsin’s most outspoken advocates for social reform.  This African-American is a world traveler, educator, and union   leader who spoke out against racism.

Harlem Renaissance - Beginning in the 1920s, writers explored black American culture.  The Harlem section of New York City became the center of a literary and artistic movement known as the Harlem Renaissance

John Brown's Revolt - a very aggressive abolitionist.  His attempted revolution began in Harper’s Ferry, Virginia.  When it was done people were dead, and no, the slaves around the nation did not jump up and overthrow their owners.  Found guilty in his trial, John Brown was sentenced to hang; however, he began an important revolution.

Jones, Vivian Malone - Ms. Jones was the first African-American to graduate from the University of Alabama.  Her admission to the University of Alabama led to then-Gov. Wallace's defiance of allowing African-American students access to the school.

Lord Dunmore's Proclamation - On November 7, 1775, the royal governor of Virginia issued a proclamation, which promised freedom to any slave who fought for the British.  This was a reaction to the early battles of the Revolutionary War.  The British tried to raise more soldiers to fight for their cause.  

Martin Luther King, Jr. - Martin Luther King, Jr. is probably the most well known black rights activist in the country.  He was against the segregation that had still occurred since the end of the civil war during the 1950's-1960's.  He ended up speaking in Washington D.C. and being a minister, preaching for black rights.  He was assassinated on April 4, 1968.  

Milton House (The Underground Railroad in Wisconsin) - This house was constructed by Underground Railroad conductor and Wisconsin pioneer Joseph Goodrich.  Joseph Goodrich believed in the rights of humans and got involved in the Underground Railroad to help achieve those rights.

Milwaukee NAACP Youth League - held a series of daily marches for open housing in 1967. Their main target was what they saw as the bastion of housing discrimination - the South Side of Milwaukee.

Mississippi Civil Rights Movement 1955-1970 - This movement sought legal enforcement of equality for black Americans that were guaranteed by the US constitution. The movement became a struggle of all Americans as women and men, blacks and whites all joined the movement.   

Muhammad Ali - Ali won the Olympic Gold Medal for boxing in 1960 in Rome months after his 18th birthday, but was far more than just a boxer.  Although Cassius returned home to a parade, Louisville was still, in 1960 part of the segregated South. Even with a medal around his neck, Cassius was refused service at a local restaurant. Malcolm X and young Cassius Clay (Ali's birth name) met and bonded on a deep level. Malcolm brought Cassius into the Nation of Islam in 1967, as the Vietnam War was escalating, Ali was called up for induction into the Armed Services. Ali refused induction on the grounds of religious beliefs. He was, in fact, a practicing Muslim minister. This refusal led to the now-famous Ali quote, "I ain’t got no quarrel with them Vietcong…"

MUSIC (Milwaukee United School Integration Committee) - In the 1960’s, this group fought for the rights of students to have integrated schools.  MUSIC organized a series of boycotts of segregated schools, one of which lasted 35 days in the years 1964-1966.  

NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) - In 1909-1910, 60 famous Americans formed the NAACP.  The purpose of  this reform organization was to help secure legal equality throughout the U.S.  This organization is still a force in America.

Nat Turner's Rebellion - In August of 1831, Nat Turner led a group of slaves in a plan to kill all of the plantation families in their county.  Almost 60 whites were killed in this rebellion.  This slave rebellion was put down, and Nat Turner was executed on November 11, 1831.

Plessy vs. Ferguson - in 1896 was a landmark Supreme Court Decision, which stated that segregation was legal, more importantly; “separate-but-equal” laws were legal.  This interaction between hostile factions or persons would set precedence for racial discrimination for a long time.  

Sally Hemings - Members of Sally Hemings, an African American, take a stand for their rightful heritage in the Thomas Jefferson family.

Underground Railroad - a network of people who arranged transportation and hiding places for fugitives, or escaped slaves.  This was a reform movement in slavery.

Washington, Booker T. - One of the most important black reformers of the mid to late 19^th Century was Booker T. Washington.  He wanted blacks to become skillful farmers, mechanics, and industrial workers.  He started the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama in the year 1881. There he could put his ideas into practice.