1930
Benjamin Oliver Davis, Sr., becomes the first black colonel in the U.S. Army. He later oversees race relations and the morale of black soldiers in World War II and becomes the first black general in 1940.
1931
Nine black youths accused of raping two white women on a freight train go on trial for their lives in Scottsboro, Ala. The case becomes a cause célèbre among Northern liberal and radical groups.
1931
Walter White begins his tenure as executive secretary of the NAACP, his principal objective being the abolition of lynching. By the time of his death in 1955, lynchings would become a rarity.
1932
In Tuskegee, Ala., the U.S. Public Health Service begins examining the course of untreated syphilis in black men, not telling them of their syphilis or their participation in the 40-year study.
1934
Wallace D. Fard, founder of the Nation of Islam movement, disappears, leading to the rise of Elijah Muhammad.
1936
Track-and-field athlete Jesse Owens wins four gold medals in the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin. His victories derail Adolf Hitler's intended use of the games as a show of Aryan supremacy.
1936
Delta blues musician Robert Johnson makes his legendary and influential recordings in Texas, including "Me and the Devil Blues," "Hellhound on My Trail," and "Love in Vain."
1937
Writer and folklorist Zora Neale Hurston publishes her second novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, which receives considerable acclaim and criticism within the black community.
1938
In a knockout in the first round of their rematch, heavyweight champion Joe Louis wreaks vengeance on Max Schmeling of Germany, the only boxer to have knocked out Louis in his prime.
1938
Assisted by saxophonist Lester Young, her romantic companion during these years, jazz vocalist Billie Holiday makes several of her finest recordings.
1939
Count Basie leads his legendary Kansas City band, including saxophonist Lester Young, trumpeter Buck Clayton, guitarist Freddie Green, bassist Walter Page, and drummer Jo Jones.
1939
Singer Marian Anderson performs at the Lincoln Memorial before an audience of 75,000 after the Daughters of the American Revolution refused to allow her to sing at Constitution Hall.
1939
The NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund is organized. Charles Hamilton Houston spearheads the effort to consolidate some of the nation's best legal talents in the fight against legally sanctioned bias.
1940
Author Richard Wright publishes his masterpiece, Native Son. The stark, tragic realism of this novel immediately places Wright in the front ranks of contemporary American writers.
1940
Painter Jacob Lawrence begins work on his 60-panel "Migration" series, which depicts the journey of African-Americans from the South to the urban North.
1940
Duke Ellington leads his greatest band, including bassist Jimmy Blanton, saxophonist Ben Webster, trumpeter Cootie Williams, and composer-arranger Billy Strayhorn.
1941
Bayard Rustin, chief organizer of the 1963 March on Washington, organizes the New York branch of the Congress on Racial Equality.
1941
Following considerable protest, the War Department forms the all-black 99th Pursuit Squadron of the U.S. Army Air Corps, later known as the Tuskegee Airmen, commanded by Benjamin Oliver Davis, Jr.
1942
Charles Richard Drew, developer and director of blood plasma programs during World War II, resigns as the armed forces begin to accept the blood of blacks but resolve to racially segregate the supply.
1942
The interracial Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) is founded in New York City. Its direct-action tactics achieve national prominence during the Freedom Rides of 1961.
1942
Bebop is born out of the musical experiments of jazz musicians in Harlem, including saxophonist Charlie Parker, trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, and pianist Thelonious Monk.
1943
Dancer Bill "Bojangles" Robinson appears with singer Lena Horne in the wartime all-black musical film Stormy Weather.
1945
Ebony magazine is founded by John H. Johnson of Chicago. Modeled after Life but intended for the black middle class, the magazine is an instant success.
1945
Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., pastor of the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem, is elected to the U.S. House of Representatives as a Democrat from Harlem, serving 11 successive terms.
1946
Saxophonist Charlie Parker, though plagued by drug abuse, produces many of the finest recordings of his career, including "Now's the Time," "KoKo," "Yardbird Suite," and "Ornithology."
1947
Jackie Robinson joins the Brooklyn Dodgers, becoming the first black baseball player in the major leagues.
1947
Historian John Hope Franklin gains international attention with the publication of From Slavery to Freedom, an enduring survey of African-American history.
1948
Satchel Paige, legendary baseball pitcher of the Negro leagues, finally enters the majors after the "gentlemen's agreement" prohibiting the signing of black players is relaxed.
1949
Not satisfied with Billboard magazine's label of "race records" for its black music chart, Jerry Wexler, a white reporter at the magazine, introduces the designation "rhythm and blues."
1950
Ralph Bunche is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work as United Nations mediator in the Arab-Israeli dispute in Palestine.
1950
Gwendolyn Brooks is awarded the Pulitzer Prize for poetry for Annie Allen (1949), becoming the first African-American writer to win the award.
1950
After refusing to disavow his membership in the Communist Party, Paul Robeson--singer, actor, and activist--has his passport withdrawn by the U.S. State Department.
1952
Ralph Ellison publishes his masterpiece, Invisible Man, which receives the National Book Award in 1953.