1900's to Present
1900 - By 1900 the illiteracy rate of African Americans fell to 43% (from 81% in 1870).
1909 - The N.A.A.C.P (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) was founded.
1910 to 1940 - African American children born from 1910 – 1940 narrowed the gap between the years of schooling between themselves and white children
1921 - The Knox Institute and Industrial School in Athens, Ga. earned the distinction of being the “first high school for Negroes ever accredited by the Accrediting Commission of the University of Georgia.”
1924 - The Jeruel Academy in Athens, Ga. consolidated with three other institutions to become the Union Baptist Institute.
1929 – The Depression occurred.
1935 to 1950 - Substantial increases in African American-to-white per pupil spending occurred in the South. Racial equality in the distribution of school resources improved nationwide.
1940 - By 1940 the illiteracy rate of African Americans had significantly decreased and the gap between the illiteracy rates of African Americans and white Americans had narrowed appreciably. Additionally, African American and white school attendance rates converged, until by 1940 the African American attendance rate was only seven percentage points behind that of white student
1940 - 25% of U.S. population and 8 % of the African American population, age 25 and over, had at least a high school diploma, according to the U.S. Census.
1950 - African American and white children who were Southern born had the same level of educational attainment (years of schooling).
1950 - Thurgood Marshall successfully argued Sweatt v. Painter before the U. S. Supreme Court, a case that challenged the "separate but equal" doctrine of racial segregation.
1954 – Brown v. Board of Education overturned Plessey v. Ferguson. "Separate" was found not to be "equal."
1956 - Athens city and Clarke county school systems merge.
1956 - The Jeruel Academy/Union Baptist Institute in Athens, Ga. was dissolved and the buildings demolished following desegregation and the consolidation of the local public school system.
1957 – U.S. Commission on Civil Rights established.
1961 - Charlayne Hunter and Hamilton Holmes are the first African-Americans to attend the University of Georgia.
1963 - Clarke County public school system is integrated by four black girls - Wilucia Green, Margie Green, Agnes Green, and Bonnie Hampton
1964 –Federal Civil Rights Act. No program receiving federal funds may discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin or sex. Created the U.S. Department of Justice Community Relations Service. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights established to enforce civil rights in education.
1965 – Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).
1967 - 51.1% of U.S. population and 30% of the African American population, age 25 and over, had at least a high school diploma, according to the U.S. Census.
1969 – Supreme Court ordered schools to desegregate.
1972 – Title IX of Amendments to Elementary and Secondary Education Act outlawed sex discrimination.
1974 - Charles Mack becomes the first African-American elected to Athens City Council.
1975 - Court ordered desegregation plan for Jefferson County Public Schools (Louisville, KY) led to forced busing.
1960 to 1980 - Racial differences in grade completion narrowed; however, small but non-trivial differences existed.
1980 - Less than a school year differentiated the years of schooling attained by African Americans and white Americans born after 1980.
1984 - Michael Thurmond, an Athens native, becomes the first African-American elected to the Georgia Assembly from Athens since Reconstruction. He represents a majority white district.
1994 - Improving America’s Schools Act (ISA) amended and reauthorized the ESEA of 1965.
1996 - Proposal 209 passed in California: specifically, the State shall not discriminate against, or grant preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in the operation of public employment, public education, or public contracting. A similar proposal passed in Michigan in 2006 (i.e., Proposal 2).
1900 - By 1900 the illiteracy rate of African Americans fell to 43% (from 81% in 1870).
1909 - The N.A.A.C.P (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) was founded.
1910 to 1940 - African American children born from 1910 – 1940 narrowed the gap between the years of schooling between themselves and white children
1921 - The Knox Institute and Industrial School in Athens, Ga. earned the distinction of being the “first high school for Negroes ever accredited by the Accrediting Commission of the University of Georgia.”
1924 - The Jeruel Academy in Athens, Ga. consolidated with three other institutions to become the Union Baptist Institute.
1929 – The Depression occurred.
1935 to 1950 - Substantial increases in African American-to-white per pupil spending occurred in the South. Racial equality in the distribution of school resources improved nationwide.
1940 - By 1940 the illiteracy rate of African Americans had significantly decreased and the gap between the illiteracy rates of African Americans and white Americans had narrowed appreciably. Additionally, African American and white school attendance rates converged, until by 1940 the African American attendance rate was only seven percentage points behind that of white student
1940 - 25% of U.S. population and 8 % of the African American population, age 25 and over, had at least a high school diploma, according to the U.S. Census.
1950 - African American and white children who were Southern born had the same level of educational attainment (years of schooling).
1950 - Thurgood Marshall successfully argued Sweatt v. Painter before the U. S. Supreme Court, a case that challenged the "separate but equal" doctrine of racial segregation.
1954 – Brown v. Board of Education overturned Plessey v. Ferguson. "Separate" was found not to be "equal."
1956 - Athens city and Clarke county school systems merge.
1956 - The Jeruel Academy/Union Baptist Institute in Athens, Ga. was dissolved and the buildings demolished following desegregation and the consolidation of the local public school system.
1957 – U.S. Commission on Civil Rights established.
1961 - Charlayne Hunter and Hamilton Holmes are the first African-Americans to attend the University of Georgia.
1963 - Clarke County public school system is integrated by four black girls - Wilucia Green, Margie Green, Agnes Green, and Bonnie Hampton
1964 –Federal Civil Rights Act. No program receiving federal funds may discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin or sex. Created the U.S. Department of Justice Community Relations Service. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights established to enforce civil rights in education.
1965 – Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).
1967 - 51.1% of U.S. population and 30% of the African American population, age 25 and over, had at least a high school diploma, according to the U.S. Census.
1969 – Supreme Court ordered schools to desegregate.
1972 – Title IX of Amendments to Elementary and Secondary Education Act outlawed sex discrimination.
1974 - Charles Mack becomes the first African-American elected to Athens City Council.
1975 - Court ordered desegregation plan for Jefferson County Public Schools (Louisville, KY) led to forced busing.
1960 to 1980 - Racial differences in grade completion narrowed; however, small but non-trivial differences existed.
1980 - Less than a school year differentiated the years of schooling attained by African Americans and white Americans born after 1980.
1984 - Michael Thurmond, an Athens native, becomes the first African-American elected to the Georgia Assembly from Athens since Reconstruction. He represents a majority white district.
1994 - Improving America’s Schools Act (ISA) amended and reauthorized the ESEA of 1965.
1996 - Proposal 209 passed in California: specifically, the State shall not discriminate against, or grant preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in the operation of public employment, public education, or public contracting. A similar proposal passed in Michigan in 2006 (i.e., Proposal 2).