In Spring 1968, protests began to erupt at Columbia University in New York in retaliation of the university and institutions’ general support of the United States’ involvement in the Vietnam War and…
The Black Atlantic is a network of cultures spanning Africa, North and South America, the Caribbean and Europe forged, in the first instance, by the transatlantic slave trade. This timeline records some of the political, intellectual, aesthetic and activist work done in this transnational cultural formation since 1945.
1968
1965
30
Mar
The Black Arts Movement
In 1965, Amiri Baraka founds the Black Arts Repertory Theatre School in Harlem and sparked the Black Arts Movement in Harlem. Throughout his life, Baraka collaborated with artists across the Black Atlantic to bring Black artists together….
21
Feb
Assassination of Malcolm X
Malcolm X, a leader and minister in the Nation of Islam in Harlem was assassinated on February 21, 1965 at the Audubon Ballroom in Washington Heights. Often contrasted with…
1964
02
Jul
Civil Rights Act
President Johnson pushes the Civil Rights Act through Congress that prohibited discrimination in public places, gave the Justice Department permission to sue states that discriminated against women and minorities and promised equal opportunities…
1963
21
Dec
Sam Cooke Records “A Change is Gonna Come”
Inspired by Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind” and after his tourmates were arrested for trying to book a ‘whites only’ hotel, Cooke recorded and released the song which became a massive success in the Black community…
28
Aug
March on Washington
200,000 people congregated in Washington DC for the peaceful march advocating for civil and economic rights and freedoms of African-Americans where Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his legendary “I Have a Dream Speech”.
1961
15
Mar
Ray Charles Refuses to Play for Segregated Audience
When it was announced that Bell Auditorium in Augusta, Georgia, would be segregating Ray Charles’s show, Charles immediately cancelled his appearance. This came after a refusal to include Augusta in his tour for “What’d I Say”…
1960
23
Sep
Kwame Nkrumah Addresses the United Nations
Nkrumah’s address called for an end to white supremacy and discussed Africa’s role in the world and the future role of the world in Africa…
01
Feb
Greensboro Sit Ins
The Greensboro sit-ins were a series of nonviolent protests led by university students that occurred between February and July 1960 to challenge the segregation of local department stores with segregated lunch counters…