Category: Things Ain't What They Used to Be
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Description: 2020 has been particularly difficult for Americans as many of us were confined to our home. The killing of George Floyd by the police on May 25, 2020, forced many non-white and white Americans to evaluate race relations in the United States of America. I wanted to look at the ongoing killing of black people by police and white mobs, starting with 1619 when the first English settlers brought 20 black slaves to the new country. Some of the research is reflected in this quilt.
A LITTLE BIT OF THE HISTORY OF BLACK PEOPLE IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: THE STRUGGLE FOR EQUALITY AND JUSTICE
January 20, 2021 – Kamila Harris is sworn in as the first female and Black/Asian Vice President of the United States of America.
May 25, 2020 - George Floyd a 46-year-old Black man was murdered in Minneapolis, Minnesota by police officers during an arrest after a store clerk suspected him of using a counterfeit $20 bill.
March 13, 2020 – Breonna Taylor a 26-year-old African American was fatally shot in her Louisville, Kentucky apartment by white plainclothes police officers as part of an investigation into drug operation. The city of Louisville agreed to pay the Taylor family $12 million and reform police practices.
June 17, 2015 – The Charleston Church Massacre – Dylan Roof, a white supremacist killed nine black people at a prayer meeting at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charles, North Carolina.
April 2015 – Baltimore, Maryland Protests and Riots
2013 - The Black Lives Matter Movement was founded by Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi.
January 20, 2009 – Barack Obama a Black American is sworn in as the 44th President of the United States of America. He was elected for a second term and is sworn in on January 20, 2013.
April 30, 1992 – West Las Vegas Riot
April 19, 1989 – Central Park Five - Yusef Salaam (16), Anthony McCray (16), Kharey Wise (18) Kevin Richardson (16) and Raymond Santana (15), New York City youths were arrested for rape. In 2003, they were declared innocent by the court and were released. They sued the City of New York and received a settlement of $41 million.
1986 - Howard Beach Incident
1985 - The MOVE Bombing
1969 1971 – Camden, New Jersey Riots
April 4, 1968 - Martin Luther King Jr - At 6:05 pm at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee Martin Luther King Jr. was shot to death while standing on a balcony outside of his second-floor room.
February 21, 1965 – Malcolm X, African American civil rights leader, was assassinated at the Audubon Ballroom in New York City. He was only 39 years old.
1942 – 1945 – The Double V Campaign – Challenged the discrimination practices in the military and U. S private industries. Declared the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement and continued the movement for racial justice.
1938 – Berry Lawson was reported asleep in a chair in the Mt. Fuji Hotel in Seattle, Washington. He was spotted by three Seattle Police officers, who attempted to arrest him for loitering. An altercation ensued, and 90 minutes later Lawson was pronounced dead at City Emergency Hospital with a fractured skull.
1932 – 1972 – The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment
1931 – 1937 – The Scottsboro Boys Trial and Defense Campaign
August 7, 1930 – Marion, Indiana Lynching – A mob of ten to fifteen thousand whites abducted three young Black men (Thomas Shipp, Abram Smith, and James Cameron) from the jail in Marion, Indiana. Sixteen-year-old James Cameron survived after being beaten by the mob, but Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith were lynched. The iconic photograph by Lawrence Beitler of this incident was the inspiration for the poem and song “Strange Fruit” by Abel Meeropol and sung by BILLIE HOLIDAY.
May 31, 1921 – Tulsa, Oklahoma Race Massacre
June 1920 - A mob of 5,000 white people pulled three Black men (Elmer Clayton, Issaac McGhie and Elmer Jackson) accused of rape out of jail and lynched them. The picture of the lynching became a postcard keepsake. The three men were later proved innocent of the rape.
1919 – The Elaine, Arkansas Riot
1919 – The Omaha Courthouse Lynching
1917 – East St. Louis Race Riot
July 29, 1910 - The Slocum, Texas Massacre
October 10, 1891 – Joe Coe (official name was George Smith), African American father of two was accused and jailed for the raping of Lizzie Yates a five-year-old white girl. Even though he was able to provide his whereabouts with witnesses, a mob of over one thousand people hung him from a streetcar cable in Omaha, Nebraska. Years later Lizzie admitted that she was not attacked by Joe Coe.
1868 – The Camilla Massacre in Mitchell County, Georgia
1856 – Bridget “Biddy” Mason sued for and won freedom for herself and her family.
1619 – English settlers brought 20 African slaves to the United States.