The Unhidden Minute

The Black Panther Party was a revolutionary organization founded in 1966 by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale in Oakland, California. Born out of the Civil Rights Movement , the Black Panthers aimed to combat racial injustice, police brutality, and systemic oppression faced by Black Americans. The Black Panthers advocated for Black empowerment, self-defense, and community organizing. They established...

Huey P. Newton (1942–1989) was a pivotal figure in the Black Panther Party (BPP), an organization founded in 1966 to combat police brutality and promote Black empowerment. Born in Monroe, Louisiana, Newton co-founded the Black Panthers in Oakland, California, alongside Bobby Seale . As the Black Panther’s Minister of Defense, Newton advocated armed self-defense against police violence and oppressi...

Julian Bond was a prominent civil rights activist, politician, and leader in the American Civil Rights Movement . Born in 1940 in Nashville, Tennessee, Bond emerged as a key figure in the fight against racial segregation and discrimination. As a co-founder of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee or SNCC, Bond played a vital role in organizing sit-ins and voter registration drives througho...

Stokely Carmichael , later known as Kwame Ture, was a prominent figure in the American Civil Rights Movement and a leader in the fight against racial injustice. Born in Trinidad in 1941, Carmichael immigrated to the United States as a child and became involved in activism while studying at Howard University. As a leader of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee or SNCC, Carmichael advocated...

The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) was a prominent organization in the American Civil Rights Movement , formed in April 1960. Composed mainly of young students, SNCC played a crucial role in organizing and leading grassroots campaigns against racial segregation and discrimination. Embracing nonviolent resistance and direct-action tactics, SNCC members conducted sit-ins, voter reg...

In the 1960s, the Woolworth’s lunch counter sit-ins were pivotal protests in the Civil Rights Movement against racial segregation in public spaces. Beginning on February 1, 1960, in Greensboro, North Carolina, four African American college students— Ezell Blair Jr., David Richmond , Franklin McCain , and Joseph McNeil —sat at the "whites only" lunch counter at Woolworth's and refused to leave unti...

Joan Trumpauer Mulholland is an American civil rights activist known for her courageous service during the Civil Rights Movement . Born in 1941, Mulholland became involved in the movement as a student at Tougaloo College in Mississippi, where she participated in sit-ins and protests against segregation. Mulholland gained national attention for her bravery, including participating in the Freedom Ri...

At the height of the Civil Rights Movement, a series of bus journeys were undertaken by activists to challenge segregation in interstate transportation in the Southern United States. Known as the Freedom Rides , these bus trips were conducted by the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), Interracial groups of riders boarded buses bound for Sout...

John Lewis (1940–2020) was a leading figure in the American Civil Rights Movement and a respected politician. Born to sharecroppers in Alabama, Lewis became a prominent activist in the struggle for racial equality and social justice. As a young man, he played a pivotal role in organizing nonviolent protests and participating in historic events such as the Freedom Rides and the March on Washington...

On March 7, 1965, during a peaceful voting rights march from Selma to Montgomery a violent event unfolded that became known as Bloody Sunday . Led by civil rights leaders, including John Lewis and Hosea Williams , demonstrators aimed to demand the right to vote for Black Americans, who faced discriminatory barriers to voter registration. The March was prompted by the death of Jamie Lee Jackson in...

On July 9, 1964, Dr. Charles Madison Crenchaw became the first Black person to climb to summit of Mount McKinley, the highest peak in North America, now formally called Denali. Born in Little Rock, Arkansas, Crenchaw was a member of the Tuskegee Airmen during World War II. As a flight engineer, he maintained the aircraft that flew bomber escort missions over Germany. In civilian life he received a...

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a landmark piece of legislation in the United States that aimed to address racial discrimination and segregation. Signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on July 2, 1964, the act prohibited discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin in public accommodations, employment, and federally funded programs. The act effectively dismantled...

Located on Amelia Island in northeastern Florida, American Beach holds significant historical and cultural importance as one of the few oceanfront resort communities in the United States that Black Americans could visit during the era of segregation. Established in 1935 by Florida's first Black millionaire, Abraham Lincoln Lewis , American Beach served as a haven for Black families seeking refuge...

On June 18, 1964, a group of Black civil rights activists were attacked while swimming in the pool at the Monson Motor Lodge in St. Augustine Florida. While peacefully protesting racial segregation, the group was assaulted by the hotel’s owner James Brock who attempted to drive them out by pouring acid into the water. Though there were no fatalities, several people sustained injuries, highlighting...

Andrew Young , born in 1932, is a distinguished Black American civil rights leader, politician, and diplomat. He emerged as a prominent figure in the Civil Rights Movement, working closely with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr . as a key strategist and organizer. Young played a crucial role in the passage of civil rights legislation, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 196...

The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom was a historic event that took place on August 28, 1963, in Washington, D.C. Organized by civil rights and labor leaders, including A. Philip Randolph and Bayard Rustin , the march aimed to advocate for civil and economic rights for Black Americans. Timed to occur on the eight-year anniversary of the murder of Emmett Till , the march attracted approxima...

Dorothy Irene. Height (1912–2010) was an outspoken Black American civil rights and women's rights activist of 1960s. As president of the National Council of Negro Women for over 40 years, Height was a leading voice for gender and racial equality. Height worked alongside prominent civil rights leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr. and John Lewis , advocating for voting rights, desegregation, and e...

Bayard Rustin (1912–1987) was a key figure in the Civil Rights Movement , known for his commitment to nonviolent protest and organizational skills. He was a close advisor to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and played a central role in organizing the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom . Despite his significant contributions, Rustin faced discrimination within the movement due to his homosexua...

A. Philip Randolph (1889–1979) was a prominent Black American labor leader and civil rights activist who played a pivotal role in advancing racial equality and workers' rights in the United States. Born in Florida, Randolph became a vocal advocate for the rights of Black workers, founding the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters in 1925, the first predominantly Black labor union. Randolph was a key...

Daisy Bates (1914–1999) was a courageous Black American civil rights activist and journalist who played a pivotal role in the struggle for racial equality in the United States. As a key figure in the Little Rock Crisis of 1957, Bates, along with her husband L.C. Bates, provided crucial support to the " Little Rock Nine ," the group of Black students who integrated Central High School in Little Roc...

At the height of the Civil Rights Movement a series of horrific events were perpetrated against Black Americans across the South. The 16th Street Baptist Church bombing, a devastating act of racial violence, occurred on September 15, 1963, in Birmingham, Alabama. A bomb planted by white supremacists exploded beneath the church steps, killing four young Black American girls attending Sunday school:...

Medgar Evers (1925–1963) was a civil rights activist from Mississippi who played a significant role in the fight against racial segregation and discrimination. He served as the first field secretary for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People , the NAACP in Mississippi and worked tirelessly to organize voter registration drives and boycotts to combat racial injustice. Evers...

The Little Rock Nine were a group of Black American students who bravely enrolled in Little Rock Central High School in 1957. Their enrollment came after the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision by the Supreme Court, which declared segregation in public schools unconstitutional. Led by Arkansas civil rights activists Daisy Bates and supported by the National Association for the Advancemen...

Ruby Bridges , born in 1954, was a pivotal figure in the Civil Rights Movement, known for her courage and resilience as the first Black American child to desegregate an all-white elementary school in the South. In 1960, at the age of six, Bridges became the center of national attention when she integrated William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans, Louisiana. Though the Brown V. Board of Educ...

Rosa Parks , born in 1913, was a courageous Black American civil rights activist whose defiant act of resistance sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott and became a defining moment in the Civil Rights Movement . On December 1, 1955, Parks refused to give up her seat to a white passenger on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama, as required by Jim Crow laws. Inspired by the kidnap, torture and murder...