Civil Rights
Movements, leaders, victories and the continuing fight for equality.
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Movements, leaders, victories and the continuing fight for equality.
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Wilmington, North Carolina once had a thriving Black middle class and an elected interracial government. In 1898 white supremacists used violence to overthrow that government, kill Black residents and drive many others from the city.
MORE →Reflects the personal views, recollections, and perspective of the author, Mike Davis.
This is a personal recollection on the Move fire on May 13, 1985
Shirley Anita Chisholm ( CHIZ-əm; née St. Hill; November 30, 1924 – January 1, 2005) was an American politician who, in 1968, became the first black woman to be elected to the United States Congress. Chisholm represented New York's 12th congressional district, a district centered in Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn for seven terms from 1969 to 1983. In 1972, she became the first black candidate for a major-party nomination for President of the United States and the first woman to run for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination. Throughout her career, she was known for taking "a resolute stand against economic, social, and political injustices", as well as being a strong supporter of black civil rights and women's rights. Born in Brooklyn, New York City, she spent ages five through nine in Barbados, and she always considered herself a Barbadian American. She excelled at school and earned her degrees in Brooklyn and at Columbia University. She started working in early-childhood education, and she became involved in local Democratic Party politics in the 1950s. In 1964, overcoming resistance because she was a woman, she was elected to the New York State Assembly. Four years later, she was elected to Congress, where she led the expansion of food and nutrition programs for the poor and rose to party leadership. She retired from Congress in 1983 and taught at Mount Holyoke College while continuing her political organizing. Although nominated for the ambassadorship to Jamaica in 1993, health issues caused her to withdraw. Chisholm was posthumously awarded both the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal.
In 1968 Shirley Chisholm became the first Black woman elected to Congress, and in 1972 she was the first Black major party ...
Shirley Chisholm State Park is a 407-acre (1.65 km2) state park in southeastern Brooklyn, New York City. It is bound by Belt Parkway and Spring Creek Park to the north and Jamaica Bay to the south, situated atop the former Pennsylvania Avenue and Fountain Avenue Landfills. The first sections of the park opened in 2019.
This item is a photograph of President William J. Clinton greeting Shirley Chisholm, Ambassador-Designate to Jamaica, in the Oval Office of the White House. The image was photographed by Robert McNeely.
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Shirley is a 2024 American biographical drama film written and directed by John Ridley. The film stars Regina King in the title role, alongside Lance Reddick, Lucas Hedges, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Christina Jackson, Michael Cherrie, André Holland, and Terrence Howard. It depicts the 1972 presidential run of Shirley Chisholm, who was the first Black woman to be elected to the United States Congress. Shirley had a limited theatrical release in the United States on March 15, 2024, before its streaming debut on Netflix on March 22, 2024.
Uzoamaka Nwanneka "Uzo" Aduba ( ; born February 10, 1981) is an American actress. Her accolades include three Emmy Awards and five Screen Actors Guild Awards, in addition to nominations for three Golden Globe Awards and one Tony Award. She is one of only two actors to win an Emmy Award in both the comedy and drama categories for the same role, the other being Ed Asner. Aduba has appeared in films including American Pastoral (2016), My Little Pony: The Movie (2017), Candy Jar (2018), Steven Universe: The Movie (2019), Miss Virginia (2019), National Champions (2021), and Lightyear (2022). She gained wide recognition for her role as Suzanne "Crazy Eyes" Warren on the Netflix original series Orange Is the New Black (2013–2019). Her performance won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series in 2014, an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 2015, and two SAG Awards for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series in 2014 and 2015. In 2020, Aduba played Shirley Chisholm in the Hulu miniseries Mrs. America, for which she won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie and the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Movie/Miniseries. In 2021, she starred in Lynn Nottage's play Clyde's on Broadway for which she was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play. Aduba starred in the 2025 Netflix series The Residence, earning a nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series at the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards.
Before the 1921 destruction of Tulsa’s Greenwood District, Black residents had created a remarkable center of business and community life. The district included stores, professional offices, entertainment venues and homes owned by Black citizens. Understanding Greenwood means learning what was built—not only what was burned.
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