African-American Heritage Timeline

Chronology of Mississippi's African-American Heritage

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.