Blacks in America 1619 The first 20 Africans are brought to work as "servants" in Jamestown, Virginia. During the next hundred years thousands more are brought as slaves to work on the tobacco and cotton fields in the South. 1808 Congress passes a law making it illegal to import slaves, but it is generally ignored. 26667pbd54gqu8k 1820 Slavery is declared legal in the South, but illegal in all states north of Missouri. 1861 Abraham Lincoln becomes President of the United States. the number of slaves in bq667p6254gqqu the USA has reached 4 million. Eleven southern "slave" states leave the Union, afraid that Abraham Lincoln will abolish slavery, which is the basis of their economy. The Civil War breaks out. 1865 The North defeats the South. Slaves are freed throughout the nation. 1868 Blacks offically become American citizens. But it is made difficult if not impossible for blacks to vote in the South. 1896 The Supreme Court says any state can have facilities for blacks and whites, as long as they are "separate, but equal". In some southern states there are separate schools for blacks and whites, separate theathres, restaurants, hotels, taxis, and seats on buses. From 1919 on Thousands of blacks move to the cities in the North, looking for work. 1954 The Supreme Court changes its 1896 decision and orders every state to desegregate its schools. Some areas in the South don´t accept this. 1963 Dr Martin Luther King leads 250,000 people to Washington, D.C. in the largest protest march in US history so far. His speech marks a climax of the Civil Rights movement. Civil Roghts leaders meet President Kennedy in the white house. 1964 Congree passes a Civil Rights law, which makes discrimmination illegal in hotels, restaurants and important fields of employment. 1965 Congess ends voting discrimmination, so that all blacks are finally able to vote. 1968 Martin Luther King in assassinated. Riots break out in major American cities. 1973 For the first time, a black becomes mayor of a large city. Thomas Bradley is elected mayor of Los Angeles. 1987 Yvonne Miller becomes Virginia´s first black female senator. 1988 Jesse Jackson is the first black with a serious chance of being chosen as a candidate for President. 1990 Douglas Wilder, grandson of slaves , becomes Governor of Virginia. he is the first black governor in US history.
