Fifty Years of Black History
The ’60s
1960 — February 1, 1960, four students at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College in Greensboro, North Carolina, begin a sit-in at Woolworth’s Drug Store. Why?
1962 — October 1, James Meredith becomes the first black student to enroll at the University of Mississippi, escorted by U.S. marshals by order of President John F. Kennedy. Who attempted to block his entrance?
1963 — Sidney Poitier wins Best Actor for “Lilies of the Field.” Check out his other films. August 28, The March on Washington becomes the largest civil rights demonstration in American history, a moment defined by Dr. King’s historic “I Have a Dream” speech. (Listen; read it)
1965 — February 21, Malcolm X is assassinated in Harlem by members of the Nation of Islam. Who was his wife?
1968 — April 4, Martin Luther King, Jr. is assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. Where did he die?