Events in history help complete the understanding of African American history. This month-by-month outline of historic dates relevant to South Carolina African American history offers readers a perspective that compliments the biographical data on African American leaders. This timeline view helps complete the picture of the African American impact on South Carolina history.
| January | February |
| March | April |
| May | June |
| July | August |
| September | October |
| November | December |
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September |
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1 | General Daniel "Chappie" James, Jr. named Commander-in-Chief of North American Air Defense Command in 1975. |
16 | Claude A. Barnett, founder of the Associated Negro Press, was born in 1889. |
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2 | Frank Robinson, professional baseball player, named MVP of the American League, 1966. |
17 | United States Constitution signed in 1787. |
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3 |
Charles Houston, NAACP leader, was born in 1895. |
18 | Booker T. Washington delivered "Atlanta Compromise" address in 1895. |
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4 | Louis Latimer, inventor and engineer, was born in 1848. |
19 |
Atlanta University was founded in 1865. |
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5 | George Washington Murray was elected to Congress from South Carolina in 1895. |
20 |
First episode of "The Cosby Show" aired in 1984. |
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6 |
The National Black Convention met in Cleveland in 1848. |
21 |
F.W. Leslie, inventor, patented the envelope seal in 1891. |
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7 | Integration began in Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, M.D., public schools in 1954. |
22 | Ralph Bunch awarded Nobel Peace Prize in 1950. |
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8 |
Althea Gibson became the first African- American athlete to win a U.S. national tennis championship in 1957. |
23 | John Coltrane, innovative and famed jazz musician, was born in 1926. |
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9 |
Carter G. Woodson founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History in 1915. |
24 |
Nine African-American students integrated Little Rock high school in 1957. |
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10 |
Mordecai Johnson, first Black president of Howard University, died in 1976. |
25 | Barbara W. Hancock became the first African-American woman named a White House fellow, 1974. |
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11 | "Duke" Ellington won Spingarn Medal for his musicial achievements in 1959. |
26 | Bessie Smith, blues singer, died in 1937. |
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12 | Jackie Robinson, first Black baseball player in the major leagues, was named National League Rookie of the Year, 1947. |
27 | Memphis Blues published in 1912. |
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13 | Alain L. Locke, philospher and first Black Rhodes Scholar, was born in 1886. |
28 | Appeal to the Colored Citizens of the World published in 1929. |
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14 | U.S. Cabinent member, Constance Baker Motley was born in 1921. |
29 | Hugh Mulzac, first African-American captain of a U.S. merchant ship, launched with the Booker T. Washington in 1942. |
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15 | JDr. Mae Jemison first African-American female astronaut in space in 1992. |
30 | Johnny Mathis, singer, was born in 1935. |