Women and African American History: 1960-1969
1960
• Ruby Bridges integrated an all-white elementary school in New Orleans, Louisiana
• Ella Baker among others organized SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) at Shaw University
• Wilma Rudolph became the first American woman to win three Olympic gold meals, and was named Athlete of the Year by the United Press
1961
• CORE Freedom Rides began, with the aim of desegregating public buses -- many brave women and men participated
• (March 6) Executive Order by John F. Kennedy promoted "affirmative action" to abolish racial biases in hiring on projects where federal funds were involved
1962
• Meredith v. Fair case argued by Constance Baker Motley. The decision allowed James Meredith to be admitted to the University of Mississippi.
1963
• (September 15) Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, Addie Mae Collins, and Cynthia Weston, ages 11-14, killed in the bombing of 16th Street Church in Birmingham, Alabama
• Dinah Washington (Ruth Lee Jones) died (singer)
1964
• (April 6) Mrs. Frankie Muse Freeman becomes the first woman on the new U.S. Commission on Civil Rights
• (July 2) US Civil Rights Act of 1964 became law
• Fannie Lou Hamer testified for the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party before the Credentials Committee of the Democratic National Convention
1965
• Viola Liuzzo murdered by Ku Klux Klan members after participating in civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama
• affirmative action was required to eliminate racial bias in hiring on federally-funded projects, as defined by Executive Order 11246
• Patricia Harris became the first African American woman ambassador (Luxemburg)
• Mary Burnett Talbert died (activist: anti-lynching, civil rights)
• Dorothy Dandridge died (actress, singer, dancer)
• Lorraine Hansberry died (playwright, wrote Raisin in the Sun)
1966
• (August 14) Halle Berry born (actress)
• (August 30) Constance Baker Motley appointed a federal judge, the first African American woman to hold that office
1967
• (June 12) in Loving v. Virginia, Supreme Court ruled that laws prohibiting interracial marriage were unconstitutional, voiding statutes still on the books in 16 states
• (October 13) 1965 Executive Order 11246, requiring affirmative action to eliminate racial bias in hiring on federally-funded projects, was amended to include gender-based discrimination
• Aretha Franklin, "Queen of Soul," recorded her signature song, "Respect"
1968
• Shirley Chisholm was the first African American woman elected to the US House of Representatives
1969
• (Ocrober 29) Supreme Court ordered immediate desegregation of school districts
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