On Tuesday, November 4th, 2008, Barack Obama was elected as the first Black President of the United States…
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.
2008
04
Nov
2005
10
Oct
Paris Riots
The Paris Riots occurred after an incident where three North African teens were electrocuted after being chased by police officers in Clichy-sous-Bois…
29
Aug
Hurricane Katrina
On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina devastated Louisiana and Southern Mississippi, leaving thousands of people homeless as almost a million homes were…
2001
11
Sep
1994
07
Apr
Rwandan Genocide
After the assassination of President Habyarimana on April 6, 1994, Hutu forces began murdering Tutsi and moderate Hutu military and political leaders…
1992
29
Apr
1989
01
Jan
Looking For Langston
Isaac Julien’s drama-documentary that led to his popularity and combined archival footage of Harlem…
1985
16
Dec
The Colour Purple
The Colour Purple, directed by Steven Spielberg, based on the Pulitzer Prize Winning novel by Alice Walker, is released to box office success…
1978
22
Apr
Bob Marley’s “One Love” Benefit Concert
After Jamaica declared independence from Britain, Jamaica experienced a civil war between the Jamaican Labour Party and the People’s National Party as both fought for control over Jamaica. At the same time…
1977
11
Aug
Police Murder Steve Biko
South Africa’s apartheid government began to see Biko as a threat, placing him under a banning order in 1973. He was arrested in 1977 and beaten to death by state security officers…
1970
15
Aug
FBI’s Most Wanted: Angela Davis
Angela Davis was placed on the FBI’s Most Wanted List for her involvement in purchasing weapons for fellow Black Panther activists…
1968
30
Mar
1968 University Protests
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…
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…
1963
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”.
1960
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…
01
Jan
The Year of Africa
Referred to as the Year of Africa due to a number of events, mainly the independence of 17 African nations and Africa’s emergence as a major force in the United Nations.
1950
30
Mar
Apartheid in South Africa
The South African government refuses to place South-West Africa under UN Trusteeship and passes multiple acts which officially divide South Africans into ‘White’, ‘Coloured’, ‘Asian’ or ‘Native’, formalizing apartheid…
1948
21
Jun
The Empire Windrush
The Empire Windrush’s docking at Port of Tilbury in 1948 marked the starting point of West Indian migration to Britain as a result of the British Nationalist Act of 1948 that granted citizenship to citizens of the…
1941
14
Aug
The Atlantic Charter
Developed between President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill, the Atlantic Charter was widely acclaimed due to…