By resisting, Black people have achieved triumphs, successes, and progress as seen in the end of chattel slavery, the dismantling of Jim and Jane Crow segregation in the South, increased political representation at all levels of government, desegregation of educational institutions, the passage of Civil Rights Act of 1964, the opening of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History in DC and increased and diverse representation of Black experiences in media. Black resistance strategies have served as a model for every other social movement in the country, thus, the legacy and importance of these actions cannot be understated.

Black History which is World History is hard to cover in a month. And the contributions of the Black community cannot be easily quantified as it precedes written history and permeates known history to the present day.

Recent history that is Black History is commonly unknown and culturally edited, making monumental accomplishments into 2-dimensional soundbites, snapshots, and slogans.

So here are some significant events in black history and world history that took place in an era of time currently known as Civil Rights.

The Supreme Court Declares Bus Segregation Unconstitutional (1956)

After African Americans boycotted the Montgomery, Alabama bus system for over a year, the local bus company had agreed to desegregate its buses because it had lost so much revenue. The city and state, however, insisted that bus drivers continue to enforce Jim Crow laws. A Federal District Court then ruled that segregation on the buses was illegal. The Supreme Court affirmed that decision, Browder v. Gayle, in November 1956, handing NAACP lawyers a major victory.

The 1960 Presidential Election:

The presidential election of 1960 was one of the closest in history. During the campaign, Republican Richard M. Nixon and Democrat John F. Kennedy mostly avoided civil rights issues, afraid to alienate Southern voters. In October of that year, civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. was arrested at a sit-in in Atlanta. Word reached the Kennedy campaign and two aides, Harris Wofford and Sargent Shriver, arranged for the candidate to make a sympathetic call to King's wife, Coretta Scott King. Meanwhile, Robert Kennedy called the judge in the case.

"It's time for all of us to take off our Nixon button," Martin Luther King, Sr. said after the Kennedy brothers' show of support.

The Desegregation of Interstate Travel (1960)

In the months following John F. Kennedy's inauguration, civil rights activists were disappointed that the president did not introduce any new legislation on the issue. However, the Supreme Court issued a ruling in December 1960 that interstate buses and bus terminals were required to integrate. This legal development inspired members of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) to ride Greyhound buses from Washington, D.C. to New Orleans, Louisiana. The black and white volunteers, known as Freedom Riders, would determine whether the law would be enforced in the land of Jim Crow. CORE director James Farmer recalled, "What we had to do was to make it more dangerous politically for the federal government not to enforce federal law than it would be for them to enforce federal law... This was not civil disobedience really, because we would be merely doing what the Supreme Court said we had a right to do."

The March on Washington (1963)

African American activist A. Philip Randolph had been fighting for equality since he founded a union, the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, in 1925. In 1941, he planned a march on Washington to demand jobs for African Americans in the booming wartime economy. That protest was called off after President Franklin D. Roosevelt agreed to ban discrimination by defense industries or the government. Two decades later, Randolph decided a march was required to speed up the rate of change in the nation. President John F. Kennedy asked that the march be called off, afraid that it would hurt his civil rights bill.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964

Support for a federal Civil Rights Act was one of the goals of the 1963 March on Washington. President John F. Kennedy had introduced the bill before his assassination. His successor, Lyndon B. Johnson, signed it into law on July 2, 1964. It achieved many of the aims of a Reconstruction-era law, the Civil Rights Act of 1875, which was passed but soon overturned.

The Voting Rights Act of 1965

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 had one major flaw. It did not address all the legal and illegal methods whites had used to systematically deny blacks the right to vote in state and local elections. As legislation to amend this omission wound its way through Congress, Martin Luther King, Jr. led a march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, in March 1965.

The Kerner Commission Report (1968)

Appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson, a commission chaired by Governor Otto Kerner of Illinois explored the reasons behind the Detroit riots of 1967. The commission presented a report in February 1968. "Our nation is moving toward two societies, one black, one white — separate and unequal," the report said. "What white Americans have never fully understood — but what the Negro can never forget — is that...white institutions created [the ghetto], white institutions maintain it, and white society condones it."

The National Black Political Convention (1972)

"Economic, cultural, and spiritual depression stalk Black America, and the price for survival often appears to be more than we are able to pay." This was the state of the union according to delegates to the first National Black Political Convention, March 10-12, 1972. The disparate group included elected officials and revolutionaries, integrationists and black nationalists, Baptists and Muslims (the widows of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X — Coretta Scott King and Betty Shabazz — both attended). They met in Gary, Indiana, a majority black city where they were welcomed by a black mayor, Richard Hatcher. The one group that was excluded was whites (for that reason, Roy Wilkins of the NAACP, an organization that supported integration, criticized the meeting). Participants were buoyed by the spirit of possibility, and themes of unity and self-determination. Delegates created a National Black Political Agenda with stated goals including the election of a proportionate number of black representatives to Congress, community control of schools, national health insurance, and the elimination of capital punishment. These are only a few of the examples Civil Rights has produced. Strides toward freedom were accomplished and on display on the world stage. We are currently in the Civil Rights Era of black history and world history. And we are currently striving for liberty for every person. So we stride on.

And this is only a fraction of the contributions black history has offered, which is world history.

To learn about some of the groups that have played a significant role in history click here.

As you can see, the black community took their momentum toward liberty and included any and all other communities denied liberties. Even to communities that benefited from their oppression. Black history is world history and far too vast to encapsulate in a month, or an article in a newsletter. I encourage you to find out for yourself.

Jason Floyd, South Eugene Regional Equity Manager

I love Black History Month! I love Black History Month because it creates conversation. I love Black History Month because now in this day students and adults are more into the history of where they come from, and the differences between society then vs now. I love Black History Month because I get to hear and see teachers and students speak about black people who changed the world.

As a kid growing up in a town where I was the only Black Kid we never celebrated Black History Month. To be honest I never celebrated it till I moved into the 4j School District as a Sophomore in High School at North Eugene. Learning the importance of this month throughout my years I realized that this month isn't just to take a step back and look at the past and remember those who fought to change the world for Black Women and Men. It's to take what they gave us and create conversation and keep this fight that Black people are human, that black people have every equal right as the white man. One of my biggest role models is Miss Ann Christianson. She has shown me what excellence can do for you in your life. Seeing her advocate for Black Students has taught me many things in life and with this job here in the district.

One thing that I hope whoever reads this understands is, don't let Black History Month be the only month you teach Black History. This isn't a checklist for you to talk about Black People for the year. It's an ongoing conversation especially when you have Black Students in your school! Malcolm X said, "Stumbling is not falling. There is no better teacher than adversity. Every defeat, every heartbreak, every loss, contains its own seed, its own lesson on how to improve your performance next time. Without education, you're not going anywhere in this world."

Spencer Wilson, BSU Program Coordinator

by Ikunaday Filipe

North Eugene High School Sophomore

Dr. King shows me who I can be

How to be more than just what they see.

Within me is a battlefield

I use my anger as a shield

The hatred cuts so deep

I feel this unspoken silence

The silence feels designated I begin shifting toward the violence

Dr. King says faith is taking the first step without seeing the full staircase

But with faith comes failure

So Why is support not a part of human nature

People are so focused on my skin

They refuse to see what is within me

The underestimation forces me to remain over dedicated

The world's demise is its hatred

So focused on our differences we split the world into nations

Dr. King says a riot is the language of the unheard.

I take it in and I focus on his words

Feeling invisible creates criminals

When you always feel ignored you close so many doors

People cried and people have died

We live in a world where suffering is a part of our daily lives and struggle is something we are forced to adapt to

I pray for those

lives that have been lost

All of these bodies but what lessons have we taught

Young children are still dying families are still crying

Suffocated by the hatred the lies.

Buried the constant screams and twisted dreams

I just want to live in a world where I can truly be free

And Dr. King says this well Dr. King says that

Well Dr. King is still fighting even in death

His dreams have not yet been met

He has risked his life to rid the borders of black and white

Yet in this world, we are still fighting for our rights

The tears we have shed fill pages throughout history

So much blood that has been lost when it will end

Seems like a never-ending mystery

I live in a world where I am not always accepted

Those with light skin are often protected

They have this fantasy in their minds

This shield over their eyes

That protects them from their lies

They will never understand what we go through

We work 10 times harder and still are not seen as equal

Living this life as if we are in a never-ending sequel

The depression is causing projection

Protests and riots we are trying to fight seen as monsters

Because we are declaring our human rights

Seen as animals for wanting to feel alive

We need our allies to stand up and fight

We need help to make this world right

But who will stand up

Without the need to be in the spotlight.

4J GSA high school student leaders came together to connect and make plans at the first GSA Leadership Summit. It was an engaging afternoon which included conversations about common challenges of LGBTQIA students in 4J schools and what the group can do together to improve inclusivity at school and advocate for improvements in equitable access to things like bathroom/ locker facilities. Also discussed as high priorities for the 4J LGBTQIA students were advocating for more affirming policies for name changes, as well as ideas for community-building events, to bring the 4J LGBTQIA student community together sometimes. Some dedicated advisors joined the students to support them and take notes to share. The GSA student leaders plan to meet again soon! 🏳️‍🌈

On Saturday, January 28th four high school GSA students hosted a table alongside other LGBTQIA organizations in Eugene at the new exhibit "Outliers and Outlaws: Stories from the Eugene Lesbian History Project" at the UO Museum of Natural and Cultural History. The students created a poster, information, and some rainbow swag for exhibit attendees to learn about GSAs in 4J. It was another engaging day, with many conversations about the LGBTQIA history and current resources in Eugene! 🏳️‍🌈

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