• The first African slaves arrived on North American soil in 1619 aboard a Dutch ship. In "Chronology on the History of Slavery," Eddie Becker wrote that court records indicated that by 1640 at least one African was declared a slave and ordered "to serve his said master or his assigns for the time of his natural life here or elsewhere." African American history begins here.
  
  

Slavery

• Shackles similar to those used on the Middle Passage.maltreatment - slavery image by iMAGINE from Fotolia.com
  
  Slavery led to a new social system where color of skin determined whether a person would live enslaved or as a free citizen for life. According to Eddie Becker's research, the journey of slaves from Africa to America, known as the Middle Passage, caused between 1,000,000 and 2,000,000 deaths. Slave ships were packed tightly, enabling the transportation of more slaves but leading to the death of many due to disease and horrific conditions. On arrival in America, slave auctions saw slaves sold to the highest bidder. Becker estimated that 12,000,000 Africans were sold into slavery in America, the Caribbean and Europe.
  
  

13th Amendment

• The underlying reason for the American Civil War was slavery. President Lincoln delivered an inauguration speech in 1861 urging compromise on the issue. The Civil War began and saw 200,000 black men fight for the Union. In 1863, Lincoln issued an Emancipation Proclamation, which sadly didn't have the validity to abolish slavery. In 1865 the 13th Amendment to abolish slavery was ratified, marking a momentous moment in African American history.
  
  

Reconstruction and Jim Crow Laws

• During the time of Reconstruction (1865-1877), Southerners adopted Jim Crow laws, which were strict anti-black laws. Research conducted by The Ferris State University Museum of Racist Memorabilia found that during this time, theologians and Christian ministers preached that whites were the chosen, supreme race and that blacks were destined to be servants. In the educational system and through the media, African Americans were portrayed as being inferior. The inception of the Ku Klux Klan further terrorized black Americans, with regular lynchings being commonplace. The Jim Crow laws existed until the mid-1960s.
  
  

The Great Migration and Segregation

• Chicago's black population rose by 148 percent during the 1920s.chicago 1 image by Blu-Mu from Fotolia.com
  
  "Digital History Online Textbook" states that before the first World War, nine out of 10 black Americans lived in the southern states, with three-quarters living on farms. Cities such as Detroit, Chicago and Cleveland saw black populations rise massively during the 1910s and 1920s, with 1.5 million black Americans migrating north. The mass exodus from the south during this time caused housing problems, resulting in the creation of all-black neighborhoods, such as Harlem in upper Manhattan, and a new type of segregation between African Americans and whites.
  
  

Civil Rights Act of 1964

• A plaque embracing Martin Luther King's principles.eglise baptiste de martin luther king image by JLG from Fotolia.com
  
  In 1954, desegregation in schools became law. Rosa Parks' act of bravery and defiance on a bus, which led to a 381-day bus boycott in Montgomery, gave rise to a new demand of equality led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In the late 1950s, only 49 southern school districts had desegregated, and still many black Americans in the South found themselves unable to vote or serve on juries. The Civil Rights Movement, headed by Dr. King, allowed black Americans to voice their concerns through protests and marches, resulting in the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which put an end to segregation in public places and paved the way for a more equal society for the first time in African American history.