Black History Timeline(1955-2009)

1. Martin Luther King Jr Assanation (1968)

1.1. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated in Memphis TN. marking the end of the Civil Rights era.

2. Rosa Parks' Arrest (1955)

2.1. A seamstress and NAACP secretary, refuses to give up her seat to a white patron on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. She is arrested and tried sparking a much publicized and highly organized year-long boycott of the Montgomery buses.

3. March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom (1963)

3.1. During the March of over 200,000 people for Jobs and Freedom Dr. King Jr was making his famous "I Have A Dream" speech, which is on racial equality.

4. Oprah Winfrey (1986)

4.1. The first African-American woman to host a nationally syndicated talk show when "The Oprah Winfrey Show" debuts.

5. General Colin Pwell (1989)

5.1. First African-American to ever reach the highest military ranking in the U.S. Armed Forces.

6. Carol Mosley (1992)

6.1. First African-American woman elected to the United States Senate.

7. Toni Morrison (1993)

7.1. First African-American to win the highest literary honor in the world.

8. 2001

8.1. Colin Powell is appointed Secretary of State, the becoming the first African-American to ever hold that position. Condoleezza Rice takes the position of National Security Advisor for the Bush administration. This is the first time either of these posts is held by an African-American.

9. Condoleezza Rice (2005)

9.1. Is the first African-American woman to serve as Secretary of State.

10. Oprah Winfrey (2007)

10.1. opens the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa. It is a state of the art 28-building, independent school that focuses on developing girls to become future leaders of South Africa.

11. Barrack Obama (2008)

11.1. Becomes the first ever African-American to become president of the U.S.

12. Micheal Jackson (2009)

12.1. In June 2009, the pop icon dies at age 50 due to cardiac arrest.