Nick's Place

Achievement Milestones

1871

National Association of Professional Base Ball Players founded (forerunner of National League)

1892

First Pro Football league founded in Pittsburgh, PA

1900

American League Founded

1904

Charles Follis, First Black Professional Football Player

1919

Fritz Pollard, first black professional football player.

1922

American Professional Football Association founded (forerunner of NFL)

1940

Hattie McDaniel, first black to receive an Oscar.

1945

Nat King Cole, first black with own network radio show.

1947

Jackie Robinson ended segregation in the big leagues

1949

First African-American drafted by an NFL club: George Taliaferro, halfback

First African-American draftee to play in the NFL: Wally Triplett, halfback (Penn State).

1954

Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., first black general in the U.S. Air Force.

1963

Sidney Poitier, first black to receive an Academy Award for best actor

General Social Movment Patterns

During WWII and during early fifties

Migration of Blacks north greatly accelerates over previous rates

One-third of blacks settled in ten northern cities

White workers/companies move to suburbs

Blacks forced to live in former white owned houses and use former white schools, which many of were run down and dilapidated.

But, by being crowed into gettos an awareness of political power begins to arise

Major Urban governments begin to be balanced by black political leaders.

White middle class uses several tactics (152) to continue separation

When blacks attempted to move into white neighborhoods they were opposed, and if they succeeded the white neighborhoods moved out.

Segregation in unions continues despite being illegal

Political/Judicial Milestones

1950s

Plessy vs. Ferguson Begins to fall (Separate but equal Supreme Court ruling)

Ku Klux Klan resurrected after a long term of dormancy

1950

Oklahoma State University, Supreme Court ruling, that if it admits blacks they cannot be segregated

Similarly Texas Law School forced to integrate, after makeshift “black” law school ruled inferior

1953

Mrs. Mary Church Terrell Brings Supreme Court case and wins because she was denied service in DC cafeteria, this leads to desegregation in restaurants and similar places.

1954

Five lawsuits go to Supreme Court dealing with separate but equal. Case joined by several groups including US Attorney General

South denounces ruling as an abuse of judicial power, a resistance starts, governors threatened to close public schools rather than integrate.

1957

Civil Rights Act Passed

1960

Additional legislation - protecting places of worship, election records are stored for 22 months for inspection upon demand by the attorney general

Early 1960s

Thirty states have anti-discrimination employment laws, but AFL-CIO declined to expel unions guilty of discriminations. The sponsor of this measure is censured from the union