This paper is a “cheat sheet” that lists some of the important people and dates that contributed to the recognition of African Americans and Black History Month. Without these achievements, the level of recognition would not be where it is today.

1619: First African American slaves arrived in Virginia.

1773: Phyllis Wheatley became first African American to have literary work published.

1787: Slavery is made illegal in the Northwest Territory.

1808:Congress banned the importation of slaves from Africa.

1831: William Lloyd Garrison began publishing a weekly paper that advocated the complete abolition of slavery.

1849: Harriet Tubman escaped from slavery and became a leader of the Underground Railroad.

1852: Harriet Beecher Stowe published “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.”

1868: 14th Amendment is ratified (this defined citizenship, which included slaves)

1870: 15th Amendment is passed, giving African Americans the right to vote.

1947: Jackie Robinson signed to the Brooklyn Dodgers, making him the first African American player of Major League Baseball.

1963: Martin Luther King Jr. gives “I have a Dream” speech.

1972: Tuskegee Syphilis study ends.

2008: Barack Obama becomes the first African American to be nominated as a major party nominee for president.

2009: Barack Obama becomes first African American president of the United States.