Black History Month 2024
1964 1965 1966
35 John F. Kennedy | 36 Lyndon B. Johnson | 37 Richard M. Nixon
Redemption Jim Crow Black Power
First Selma March Began
- 1965
- February
- Civil Rights
- non-violence
- police
- killed by police
- death
- killed
- march
- Selma
- Alabama
- Lyndon B. Johnson
Selma, Alabama - Reverend C.T. Vivian led the first Selma march. It was to end at the courthouse in Marion, Alabama. The march protested the arrest of James Orange. He was a member of the Dallas County Voters League (DCVL).
In Marion, Alabama state troopers attacked the marchers. Jimmie Lee Jackson was shot by white police. Jackson was shot as he tried to protect his mother and grandfather from the police.
Jackson was denied medical care in Marion. He was moved twenty (20) miles to the Good Samaritan Hospital in Selma. On February 26th, Jackson died, in the hospital.
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Deacons for Defense
Bogalusa, Louisiana - The first chapter, of the Deacons for Self Defense was formed. The Deacons for Self-Defense was started in November, 1964, in Jonesboro, Louisiana. However, the first chapter started on this day.
This was not the first armed Black American self-defense group, in the United States. But, it was one of the most prominent of the Black Rights period. Twenty (20) other chapters came later, in Mississippi and Alabama.
The goal of the group was to protect Black Rights activists and their families. The Ku Klux Klan and white vigilantes were the worst threats. Police workers were just as bad, but had state power behind them.
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Malcolm X Killed
Harlem, New York - On Sunday, Malcolm X (or el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz) was assassinated. It took place in Manhattan's Audubon Ballroom (66th Street & Broadway). He was there to speak to the Organization for Afro-American Unity.
Malcolm X stood on the stage, faced the audience, and greeted those in attendance. After the greeting, someone in the 400-person audience yelled, 'Get your hand outta my pocket!'
Malcolm X, with his bodyguards, attempted to restore peace to the event. As Malcolm X stood on stage, a man, with a sawed-off shotgun, rushed the stage. The gunman shot Malcolm X one time in the chest. This killed Malcolm X.
With Malcolm X on his back, two other men charged the stage. Each fired a semi-automatic handgun at the body of Malcolm X. At 3:30 p.m., Columbia Presbyterian Hospital pronounced the death of Malcolm X.
Malcolm X was shot 21 times to the chest, left shoulder, arms and legs. This included ten buckshot wounds from the initial shotgun blast. The man who shot first was never identified, nor prosecuted.
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Moynihan Report Released
Washington, D. C. - The Moynihan Report ('The Report') was released. It was written by Daniel Patrick Moynihan. He studied the plight of Black Americans, in the United States.
Moynihan was Assistant Secretary of Labor for Policy, Planning and Research. He served from 1963 to 1965. This period covered the John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson eras.
His work during this period, was used by President Johnson, in his War on Poverty. At the same time, it was used as a pretext to send Black American youth to the Vietnam War. At the time it was released, there was major unrest in the South, over Black American voting rights.
The Report stated the Black American family was at fault, for its poverty. It made family failure the cause of Black American dysfunction. It blamed single mothers and absent fathers as the root cause.
In 1971, 'Blame the Victim' was published. It showed the Moynihan Report to be self-serving and simple-minded. The Report ignored racism and bigotry as causes. It instead relied on the 'cultural deprivation' fallacy. 'Blame The Victim' also called this, Savage Discovery.
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Second Selma March
Selma, Alabama - White state troopers and sheriff workers attacked hundreds of Black Civil Rights marchers. The march was to go 54 miles. The route went from Selma to Montgomery, the Alabama state capital.
The march was a protest of a death from the first Selma march. His name was Jimmie Lee Jackson, a young Black American man. The other goal, of the march, was to get Black Americans able to vote.
Over five hundred (500) marched toward the Edmund Pettus Bridge. There Alabama state troopers and sheriff workers waited. Once the marchers reached the other side of the bridge, the Alabama state troopers told them to stop and disperse.
The marchers walked off the bridge and the Alabama troopers and sheriff workers attacked. They used tear gas, batons, kicked, and beat the unarmed marchers. The march was stopped. It never made it out of Selma.
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Third Selma March
Selma, Alabama - A third Selma march began. It was to end in Montgomery, the state capitol.. It began at Brown Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church. Thousands began the march.
Unlike the earlier Selma marches, the march itself was peaceful. It had the support of President Johnson and military protection. More than 20,000 took part.
After the march, Viola Liuzzo was killed, by the KKK. She came from Detroit to join the march. As she and a Black American teenager drove marchers back to Selma, the KKK shot, into the car.
Liuzzo was killed by the gunfire. Le Roy Moton, who was in the car with her, was unharmed. He was nineteen (19) years of age. This helped push whites to pass the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
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Origin of the Black Panther
Lowndes County, Alabama - The Lowndes County Freedom Organization (LCFO) was formed. It used the black panther for its voter drives. This was an early step toward the Black Power movement, in the United States.
Some call the LCFO the first Black Panther Party since it used the black panther image. The Black Panther comic book character appeared later, July 1, 1966. The Oakland, California Black Panther Party was founded October 15, 1966.
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