North Carolina Enters the Union
On November 21, 1789, North Carolina was admitted as the 12th state of the union. It had been the first state to reject the Constitution, but finally ratified after the Bill of Rights was created.
Civil Rights
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America’s First Female Governor Elected
On November 4, 1924, Wyoming once again lived up to its nickname, “The Equality State,” when voters elected Nellie Tayloe Ross as the first female governor in American history. Her election was another milestone in Wyoming’s long record of advancing women’s rights and political equality.
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Birth of Dr. Allison Davis
Dr. William Boyd Allison Davis, born on October 14, 1902, in Washington, DC, was a scholar who devoted his life to breaking down the barriers of race, class, and inequality in education. At a time when few African Americans were given a platform in the nation’s top universities, Davis used his voice and intellect to challenge the systems that defined how—and for whom—education worked in America. His pioneering research changed the way educators and policymakers viewed learning, fairness, and opportunity.
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Birth of Fannie Lou Hamer
Fannie Lou Hamer was born on October 6, 1917, in Montgomery County, Mississippi. The youngest of 20 children in a family of sharecroppers, Hamer grew up in poverty but would later rise to become one of the most important voices of the civil rights movement. With her powerful speeches, unshakable courage, and belief in equality, she helped transform the struggle for voting rights in the United States.
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The Little Rock Nine Enter High School Under Federal Protection
After being initially denied entrance to their school, the Little Rock Nine were escorted in by federal troops on September 25, 1957 — a turning point in the Civil Rights Movement and a dramatic test of federal authority over states.
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The First Juneteenth
On June 19, 1865, slaves in Galveston, Texas, were finally informed of their freedom by the Emancipation Proclamation (issued two years prior). The day the last American slaves were freed has become a federal holiday observed across the country.
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JFK Proposes Civil Rights Act of 1964
On June 11, 1963, President John F. Kennedy delivered a television and radio address calling for the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
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Brown v. Board of Education
On May 17, 1954, the US Supreme Court ordered the desegregation of schools as a result of the case of Brown v. Board of Education.
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Birth of Harry Truman
President Harry S. Truman was born in Lamar, Missouri on May 8, 1884. America’s 33rd president, he led America through the final months of WWII and the early years of the Cold War.
