| |African American Heritage Timeline | |
1719
The French bring the first African slaves to the area to help build
the Natchez settlement
1724
Jean Baptist de Bienville, a French gov- ernor, develops the Bienvil
le Code, or the Black Code, to govern slaves - it becomes the basis
for the more harsh slave code of Mississippi
1763
The British begin settlements in the area, bringing slave laborers
with them
1793
Most African slaves come to the area with masters from other states,
while others are purchased by plantation owners, as Indian lands are
opened for white settlement and farm development
1795
John Barclay, master mechanic slave, helps to build the state's first
cotton gin in Natchez
1806
Improvements in the cotton plant increase the demand for slaves in
Mississippi
1817
Mississippi joins the Union as the 20th state
1823
The state legislature severely restricts grounds for the freeing of
slaves
1824
Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield, America's first African-American concert
singer, is born in Natchez
1830
Oakland College is founded by Jeremiah Chamberlin. Purchased in 1871
by the state, it becomes the present-day campus of Alcorn State University;
Rose Hill Baptist Church, the state's oldest African-American Baptist
church, is founded in Natchez
1857
State legislature outlaws emancipation entirely
1862
After Union forces enter Mississippi, over 17,000 slaves join their
ranks
1863
President Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation on Jan. 1,
declaring all slaves held in rebelling territory are free
1864
Mississippi's first African Methodist Episcopal church, Bethel A.M.E.,
is established in Vicksburg; the Third U.S. Colored Cavalry plays
a vital role in defeat of Confederate forces at the Battle of Benton
Road
1865
The 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution abolishes slavery on Dec.
18
1866
The 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution extends citizenship to
African-Americans and provides for punishment of any state that denies
the right to vote to any of its adult male citizens; Rust College
is established in Holly Springs as Shaw College - the first private
liberal arts institution for freed slaves
1867
African-Americans vote for the first time in Mississippi
1868
Benjamin Montgomery is the first African- American to hold a political
position in Mississippi
1869
Tougaloo College is founded north of Jackson; John R. Lynch, a 21
-year-old freed slave, is appointed Justice of the Peace in Natchez
1870
The 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is passed, protecting
the right of African-Americans to vote; Hiram R. Revels of Natchez
is the first African- American to sit in either house of the U.S.
Congress - he is appointed to the U.S. Senate to fulfill the unexpired
term of Jefferson Davis; James D. Lynch is the first African-American
elected Mississippi Secretary of State; Robert Caldwell is the first
African-American man elected to the Mississippi State Senate
1871
The Meridian Riot Trials of Aaron Moore, William Clopton and Warren
Tyler are conducted on May 6, considered by some to be the beginning
of the end of the Reconstruction Era; Alcorn State University is created
on May 13 by the Mississippi legislature as the first land-grant school
for African-Americans in the U.S.
1872
John R. Lynch is the first African-American elected state Speaker
of the House
1873
John R. Lynch begins serving his first term in the U.S. House of Representatives
at age 25, then the youngest man ever elected; Thomas W. Stringer
founds the Stringer Grand Lodge in Vicksburg, the first and largest
African-Amencan Masonic Lodge in the state
1874
Thomas W. Cardoza is the first African- American elected State Superintendent
of Education; A.K. Davis is the first African-American elected lieutenant
governor
1875
Blanche K. Bruce is the first African- American elected to the U.S.
Senate; the Stringer Grand Lodge holds its first session at the Bethel
A.M.E. Church in Vicksburg; First Mississippi Plan is instituted by
the state government to deter African- American political participation
1877
Browning community is founded as one of Mississippi's oldest African-American
communities; the Natchez Seminary for Black Ministers is founded in
Natchez by the American Baptist Home Mission Society of New York
1883
The Natchez Seminary for Black Ministers moves to Jackson and is renamed
Jackson College, later becoming Jackson State University
1887
Mound Bayou, the largest U.S. African-American town, is established
by Isaiah Montgomery and former slaves of Joe and Jefferson Davis,
making it the first African-American town founded by African-Americans
1890
Campbell College is founded in Vicksburg, with the first industrial
arts curriculum for African-Americans in the state; Isaiah Montgomery
is the sole African-AmeHcan delegate from Mississippi at the Republican
national convention; Second Mississippi Plan is written into the revised
state constitution in order to circumvent the 15th Amendment and thus
constitutionally eliminate African-Americans from state politics
1894
Holy Family Catholic Church, the first African-American Catholic church
in the state, is built in Natchez; Smith Robertson opens as the first
public African-American school in Jackson, later becoming the Smith
Robertson Museum; the Wechsler School becomes the first brick public
school built for African- Americans in Mississippi with funds from
public school bonds
1901
Richmond Barthe'- (d. 1989), famed artist and sculptor, is born in
Bay St. Louis
1903
The Black and Tan Republican Party is excluded by law from the Democratic
primary election; the State Federation of Colored Women's Clubs is
founded; legendary bluesman W.C. Handy "hears" the blues
at a train station in Tutwiler for the first time
1907
Dr. L.T Miller opens the first sanitarium in the state for African-Americans
1908
The Farish Street District in Jackson grows to prominence; Richard
Wright, a renowned author of the African-American experience, is born
near Natchez (d. 1960)
1909
Piney Woods Country Life School is founded 21 miles southeast of Jackson
by Dr. Laurence Jones
1910
Howlin' Wolf, bluesman, is born in West Point on June 10
1911
Zachery Taylor Hubert becomes the first AfHcan-American president
of Jackson State University; Robert Johnson (d. Aug 16,1938), "The
King of the Delta Blues," is born in Hazlehurst on May 8
1915
Muddy Waters (d. Apr. 30,1983), bluesman, is born in Rolling Fork,
Apr. 4
1917
Fannie Lou Hamer (d. 1977), civil rights activist famous for saying,
"I am sick and tired of being sick and tired," is born in
Montgomery County
1918
Elmore James (d. May 24,1963), "King of the Slide Guitar"
and member of the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame, is born in Richland
on Jan. 27
1920
St. Augustine Church and Seminary, the oldest Roman Catholic Seminary
in the state training young African-American men for the priesthood,
is founded in Greenville, later moving to Bay St. Louis in 1923
1923
Gulfside United Methodist Assembly opens, at one time the only meeting
place open to African-Americans
1924
The Afro-American Sons and Daughters, a fraternal organization, is
started by T.J. Huddleston, Sr. in Yazoo City
1925
Medgar Wiley Evers (d. June 12,1963), a leader in Mississippi's Civil
Rights Movement and the state's NAACP Field Secretary from 1954 until
his assassination in 1963, is born in Decatur on July 2; B.B. King,
bluesman, is born in ltta Bena on Sept. 16
1927
Leontyne Price, opera star, is born in Laurel on Feb. 10
1928
Bo Didley, legendary bluesman, is born in McComb on Dec. 20; T. J.
Huddleston, Sr. builds and operates the first hospital in the state
owned and managed by African-Americans
1931
James Earl Jones, actor, is born in Tate Co. on Jan. 17; Ike Turner,
R&B star, is born in Clarksdale on Nov. 5
1938
Charley Pride, country singer, is born in Sledge on Mar. 18
1964
The Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, a non-racial alternative
party, is founded; Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. joins civil rights
efforts throughout the state; the 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
is ratified, abolishing the poll tax on Jan. 23; the Freedom Summer
Program takes place in which black and white college students, recruited
and organized by civil rights groups, come to Mississippi to lead
civil rights and voter registration efforts, fight illiteracy and
start "Freedom Schools" where African-American history and
culture will be taught; three voting rights activists - James Chaney,
an African-American, Michael Schwemer and Andrew Goodman - are murdered
on June 21 while investigating the burning of the Mt. Zion Methodist
Church in Philadelphia, provoking national outrage and leading to
the first successful federal prosecution of a civil rights case in
Mississippi; the Civil Rights Act is enacted on July 2, prohibiting
discrimination in public accommodations and employment discrimination
1965
The Voting Rights Act is enacted, enabling African-Americans to register
and vote without protracted litigation required by previous legislation
1967
State Rep. Robert G. Clark becomes the first African-American to serve
in the legislature since 1894
1977
First annual Delta Blues Festival is held in Clarksdale
1978
Mississippi Cultural Crossroads opens in Port Gibson
1979
First annual Farish Street Festival is held in Jackson
1984
Ruben Anderson from Jackson is elected as the first African-American
Mississippi Supreme Court justice; the Smith Robertson Museum and
Cultural Center, focusing on the history of Mississippi's African-Americans,
opens in Jackson
1985
Alyce Clark is the first African-American woman elected to the Mississippi
House of Representatives; the first permanent civil rights exhibit
in America opens at the Old Capitol Museum in Jackson
1986
Michael Espy, the state's first African- American congressman since
John R. Lynch, is elected to the U.S. House of Representatives
1991
The Natchez Museum of African- American History and Culture opens
1993
Michael Espy is appointed U.S. Secretary of Agriculture
1994
Steve "Air" McNair, a Mount Olive native and quarterback
for Alcorn State University, sets a new NCAA total offense record
on Oct. 22 for all divisions with 15,049 yards - he finishes the season
with 16,823 all-purpose yards and 40 NCAA records; Byron de la Beckwith
is convicted, after thirty-one years, of the assassination of Medgar
Wiley Evers.