GovInfo provides free public access to official publications from all three branches of the Federal Government.
Search U.S. Government Publishing Office’s Catalog of U.S. Government Publications for catalog records. Many records link to the full text.
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Read about featured U.S. Government events that impacted the civil rights of Blacks and African Americans since 1783, and learn about notable individuals in American history. For historical context and research, the U.S. Census Bureau discusses the use of the term "Negro" in the 2010 Census.
Several U.S. Government agencies have historical information on Blacks and African Americans.
Click on the tabs in this box to learn more about these resources.
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Library of Congress Dive into an extensive collection of materials related to Black and African American history and culture, including
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National Museum of African American History & Culture Experience virtually two exhibits on the legacy of slavery in the United States: |
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National Park Service Visit historically significant places and resources, including on the |
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U.S. Census Bureau
Read some of the agency's publications on historic population trends for Blacks and African Americans, including |
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U.S. Department of Labor Test your trivia knowledge on Black and African American labor. |
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U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) Explore a range of historical documents, from Congressional records to information on the slave trade in the United States.
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U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Learn about the compiled list of African American patent holders. |
Click on the side arrows to see brief biographies of notable Blacks and African Americans, including Marian Anderson, Alice Ball, Patricia Bath, Benjamin Banneker, James Beckwourth, Guion Bluford, Gwendolyn Brooks, Ralph Bunche, Frederick Douglass, Charles Drew, Annie Easley, Shirley Ann Jackson, Mae Jemison, Katherine Johnson, Thurgood Marshall, Martin Luther King, Jr., John Willis Menard, Barack Obama, Pío Pico, Phillip Reid, Hiram Revels, Paul Robeson, and Harriet Tubman.
First known African American scientist, mathematician, and astronomer.
African American rancher, fur trapper, and discoverer of Beckwourth Pass in the Sierra Nevada.
Afro-Latino rancher and entrepreneur who was the last governor of California under Mexican rule (1845 to 1846).
Abolitionist and a leader of the African-American civil rights in the 19th century.
African American sculptor who created the Statue of Freedom that is atop the U.S. Capitol.
American abolitionist who helped guide escaped slaves to freedom along the Underground Railroad.
First African American U.S. Senator in 1870, and later president of Alcorn College.
Though the first African American elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1868, opposition prevented him from taking the seat.
Chemist who discovered the treatment for leprosy and first African American to receive a master's degree from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.
A renowned contralto, she was the first African American to sing at the Metropolitan Opera in 1955, a recipient of the 1963 Presidential Medal of Freedom, and first African American to receive the Congressional Gold Medal in 1977.
Concert artist, football player, lawyer, and African American activist.
Pioneering diplomat and first African American to receive a Nobel Peace Prize in 1950.
African American surgeon and innovator of "bloodmobiles" who protested against racial segregation of blood donations.
Civil Rights lawyer and first African American to serve as a U.S. Supreme Court Justice.
First African American to receive a Pulitzer Prize in 1950 (for poetry).
NASA research mathematician "whose calculations helped but American astronauts into space, and ultimately, on the Moon."
Civil Rights leader of the 1950s and 1960s who advocated for "non-violence and civil disobedience."
NASA computer engineer and mathematician whose research included "alternative energy, battery storage, and the Centaur launch vehicle" for rocket propulsion.
Ophthalmologist who "discovered and invented a new device and technique for cataract surgery" (laserphaco) in 1986.
First African American astronaut to go into space in 1983.
First African American woman to earn a doctorate at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in any field (Theoretical Elementary Particle Physics) and a 2016 recipient of the National Medal of Science.
First African American woman astronaut to go into space in 1992.
First African-American President of the United States (2009 to 2017).
Click on the side arrows to view the timeline.
| Date | Event | Date | Event |
|---|---|---|---|
| September 3, 1783 | Treaty of Paris | January 31, 1865 | Thirteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution |
| September 17, 1787 | Signing of the U.S. Constitution |
Mid-1860s to 1960s |
Jim Crow Laws |
| February 12, 1793 | Fugitive Slave Law | April 9, 1866 | Civil Rights Act of 1866 |
| March 6, 1820 | Missouri Compromise of 1820 | June 8, 1868 | Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution |
| March 9, 1841 | United States v. The Amistad | February 3, 1870 | Fifteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution |
| March 1, 1842 | Prigg v. Pennsylvania | May 31, 1870 | Civil Rights Act of 1870 |
| September 18, 1850 | Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 | April 20, 1871 | Civil Rights Act of 1871 |
| December 1851 | Strader v. Graham | March 1, 1875 | Civil Rights Act of 1875 |
| March 6, 1857 | Dred Scott v. Sandford | March 1, 1879 | Strauder v. West Virginia |
| March 7, 1859 | Ableman v. Booth | October 15, 1883 | Civil Rights Cases [United States v. Stanley; United States v. Ryan; United States v. Nichols; United States v. Singleton; Robinson et ux. v. Memphis & Charleston R.R. Co.] |
| January 1, 1863 | Emancipation Proclamation | May 18, 1896 | Plessy v. Ferguson |
"... There shall be a firm and perpetual Peace between his Britanic Majesty and the said States, and between the Subjects of the one and the Citizens of the other, wherefore all Hostilities both by Sea and Land shall from henceforth cease: All prisoners on both Sides shall be set at Liberty, and his Britanic Majesty shall with all convenient speed, and without causing any Destruction, or carrying away any Negroes or other Property of the American inhabitants, withdraw all his Armies, Garrisons & Fleets from the said United States, and from every Post, Place and Harbour within the same..."^
While recognized as independent of Great Britain, the treaty also allowed the United States to continue its colonial practice of slavery as a new nation.
"The Migration or Importation of such Persons as any of the States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the Year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a Tax or duty may be imposed on such Importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each Person."^
This section of the U.S. Constitution states that the U.S. Congress is prohibited from banning the "importation" of enslaved people prior to January 1, 1808.^
"An Act respecting fugitives from justice, and persona escaping from the service of their masters."^
This act "charges the individual states with the responsibility of returning fugitive slaves."*
"An Act to authorize the people of the Missouri territory to form a Constitution and State Government, and for the admission of such State into the Union on an equal footing with the original States, and to prohibit slavery in certain territories."^
This act is an "effort to preserve the balance of power in Congress between slave and free states."*
"Supposing the African negroes on board the Amistad not to be slaves, but kidnapped, and free negroes, the treaty with Spain cannot be obligatory upon them; and the United States are bound to respect their rights, as much as those of Spanish subjects."^
The U.S. Supreme Court rules that the captured Africans are not slaves according to a treaty with Spain and orders their release.
"... we are of opinion that the act of Pennsylvania upon which this indictment is founded, is unconstitutional and void. It purports to punish as a public offence against the state, the very art of seizing and removing a slave by his master, which the Constitution of the United States was designed to justify and uphold."^
Referring to the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793, the U.S. Supreme Court rules that "the owner of an enslaved person had the same right to seize and repossess him in another state as the local laws of his own state granted to him."*
"An Act to amend, and supplementary to, the Act entitled, 'An Act respecting Fugitives from Justice, and Persons escaping from, the Service of their Masters,' approved February twelfth, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-three."^
This act provides "far more tools to enslavers to recapture freedom seekers with the full backing and support of the federal government."*
"Every State has an undoubted right to determine the status, or domestic and social condition, of the persons domiciled within its territory; except in so far as the powers of the States in this respect are restrained, or duties and obligations imposed upon them, by the Constitution of the United States."^
Citing the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 's clause that "neither slavery nor involuntary servitude" is allowed in the defined territory, the U.S. Supreme Courts rules that it does not apply for states that were established after 1787.* In this case, the three enslaved men from Kentucky who traveled to Ohio are not considered free people.
"It is the judgment of this court, that it appears by the record before us that the plaintiff in error is not a citizen of Missouri, in the sense in which that word is used in the Constitution; and that the Circuit Court of the United States, for that reason, had no jurisdiction in the case, and could give no judgment in it."^
The U.S. Supreme Court rules that "enslaved people were not citizens of the United States and, therefore, could not expect any protection from the federal government or the courts."*
"... the act of Congress commonly called the fugitive slave law is, in all of its provisions, fully authorized by the Constitution of the United States."^
Concerning the matter of habeas corpus, the U.S. Supreme Court rules that the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 is constitutional.
"That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free; and the Executive Government of the United States, including the military and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom."^
Though this proclamation "applied only to states that had seceded from the United States, leaving slavery untouched in the loyal border states," it did accept "black men into the Union Army and Navy."^
"Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction."^
This amendment abolishes slavery in the United States.
Starting after the Civil War, "southern state legislatures began enacting Black Codes to restrict freedmen's rights and maintain the plantation system."* These later became known Jim Crow laws, which were a "formal, codified system of racial apartheid."**
"Marking the first time Congress legislated upon civil rights," this act grants all citizens "full and equal benefit of all laws and proceedings for the security of person and property."*
"Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."^
Ratified on this date, this Amendment "extends liberties and rights granted by the Bill of Rights to formerly enslaved people" and "equal protection under the laws" for all citizens.*
For more information:
"The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude."^
This amendment grants the right to vote to African American men.
"An Act to enforce the Right of Citizens of the United States to vote in the several States of this Union, and for other Purposes."^
The purpose of this law is to authorize the President to "counteract such use of violence and intimidation" against formerly enslaved persons after the passage of the 15th Amendment.* It is also known as the Enforcement Act of 1870 or the First Ku Klux Klan Act.
Also known as the Second Ku Klux Klan Act, this act "placed all elections in both the North and South under federal control."* It also "mobilizes the U.S. military wherever vigilante groups committed violence against African Americans."**
"An act to protect all citizens in their civil and legal rights."^
This act prohibits "discrimination in inns, theaters, and other places of public accommodation," and is the "last Federal civil rights act passed until 1957."*
"Where, as here, the State statute secures to every white man the right of trial by jury selected from, and without discrimination against, his race, and at the same time permits or requires such discrimination against the colored man because of his race, the latter is not equally protected by law with the former."^
U.S. Supreme Court rules that a statute of West Virginia violated the Fourteenth Amendment in that "only white men could serve on the jury in that state."*
"On the whole we are of opinion, that no countenance of authority for the passage of the law in question can be found in either the Thirteenth or Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution; and no other ground of authority for its passage being suggested, it must necessarily be declared void, at least so far as its operation in the several States is concerned."^
Looking at five cases, the U.S. Supreme Court rules that the Civil Rights Act of 1875 is unconstitutional because "it did not protect against the private acts of individuals," allowing state laws to have segregated public accommodations.*
"The statute of Louisiana, acts of 1890, No. 111, requiring railway companies carrying passengers in their coaches in that State, to provide equal, but separate, accommodations for the white and colored races... not in conflict with the provisions either of the Thirteenth Amendment or of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States."^
The U.S. Supreme Court rules that state can have racial segregation laws as long as they follow the "separate but equal" doctrine.*
Click on the side arrows to view the timeline.
| Date | Event | Date | Event |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 28, 1906 | Hodges v. United States | July 2, 1964 | Civil Rights Act of 1964 |
| June 21, 1915 | Guinn v. United States | August 6, 1965 | Voting Rights Act of 1965 |
| November 5, 1917 | Buchanan v. Warley | June 13, 1966 | Miranda v. Arizona |
| March 7, 1927 | Nixon v. Herndon | June 12, 1967 | Loving v. Virginia |
| May 2, 1932 | Nixon v. Condon | April 11, 1968 | Fair Housing Act |
| December 12, 1938 | State of Missouri ex. rel. Gaines v. Canada, University of Missouri | June 17, 1968 | Jones v. Alfred H. Mayer Co. |
| April 3, 1944 | Smith v. Allwright | June 9, 1969 | Brandenburg v. Ohio |
| May 3, 1948 | Shelley v. Kraemer | April 20, 1971 | Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education |
| July 26, 1948 | Executive Order 9981 | June 28, 1978 | Regents of the University of California v. Blake |
| May 17, 1954 | Brown v. Board of Education | August 27, 1984 | Martin Luther King Jr. Day becomes a Federal holiday |
| September 9, 1957 | Civil Rights Act of 1957 | February 11, 1986 | Black History Month is established |
| May 6, 1960 | Civil Rights Act of 1960 | March 22, 1988 | Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987 |
"The Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments operate solely on state action and not on individual action. Unless the Thirteenth Amendment vests jurisdiction in the National Government, the remedy for wrongs committed by individuals on persons of African descent is through state action and state tribunals, subject to supervision of this court by writ of error in proper cases."^
Although a "group of White men threatened African Americans who worked at a lumber mill," the U.S. Supreme Court rules that the U.S. Congress has no authorization to intervene in "private interference with an individual's freedom to contract.*
"The Fifteenth Amendment does not, in a general sense, take from the States the power over suffrage possessed by the States from the beginning, but it does restrict the power of the United States or the States to abridge or deny the right of a citizen of the United States to vote on account of race, color or previous condition of servitude."^
The U.S. Supreme Court rules that the "Grandfather Cause" in Oklahoma's Voter Registration Act of 1910 violates the Fifteenth Amendment, because it required voters to pass a reading and writing test.^
"A city ordinance which forbids colored persons to occupy houses in blocks where the greater number of houses are occupied by white persons, in practical effect prevents the sale of lots in such blocks to colored persons, and is unconstitutional."^
The U.S. Supreme Court rules that Louisville's ordinance violates the Fourteenth Amendment's due process clause because it unfairly restricted property rights through racial segregation.^
"When the negro, by virtue of the Fifteenth Amendment, acquired immunity from discrimination in voting on account of his race and color, he thereby acquired the right and privilege as a free man to exercise, to the same extent as a white man, his untrammeled choice in the selection of parties or candidates."^
The case is considered the "single largest early-20th century western civil rights campaign," in which the U.S. Supreme Court rules that the Texas Democratic Party cannot prohibit African Americans from voting in the primary election.* This is the first of two U.S. Supreme Court cases that Lawrence A. Nixon challenges Texas state laws on voting rights.
"This is not the first time that he [Lawrence A. Nixon] has found it necessary to invoke the jurisdiction of the federal courts in vindication of privileges secured to him by the Federal Constitution."^
In Lawrence A. Nixon's second case challenging a Texas state law on voting rights, the U.S. Supreme Court rules that the law violates the Fourteenth Amendment because it has delegated state power to the Democratic Party's Executive Committee, which excluded Blacks from participating in primary elections.^
"It was as an individual that he was entitled to the equal protection of the laws, and the State was bound to furnish him within its borders facilities for legal education substantially equal to those which the State there afforded for persons of the white race, whether or not other negroes sought the same opportunity."^
The U.S. Supreme Court rules in "favor of Lloyd Gaines, a Black student who had been refused admission to the University of Missouri Law School."*
"The Fourteenth Amendment forbids a State from making or enforcing any law which abridges the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States and the Fifteenth Amendment specifically interdicts any denial or abridgement by a State of the right of citizens to vote on account of color... When, as here, primaries become a part of the machinery for choosing officials, state and federal, the same tests to determine the character of discrimination or abridgment should be applied to the primary as are applied to the general election."^
The U.S. Supreme Court rules that the Texas state law violates the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments concerning the exclusion of Blacks from voting in primarily elections.
"Private agreements to exclude persons of designated race or color from the use or occupancy of real estate for residential purposes do not violate the Fourteenth Amendment; but it is violative of the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment for state courts to enforce them... Equal protection of the laws is not achieved through indiscriminate imposition of inequalities."^
The U.S. Supreme Court rules that states cannot enforce racial covenants in property records, violating the Fourteenth Amendment.*
"It is hereby declared to be the policy of the President that there shall be equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed services without regard to race, color, religion or national origin. This policy shall be put into effect as rapidly as possible, having due regard to the time required to effectuate any necessary changes without impairing efficiency or morale."^
President Harry S. Truman issues "this executive order abolishing segregation in the armed forces and ordering full integration of all branches."*
"We conclude that in the field of public education the doctrine of 'separate but equal' has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal."^
In this landmark U.S. Supreme Court case with an unanimous ruling, the "separate but equal" practice of public schools violates the Fourteenth Amendment.*
For more information:
"To provide means of further securing and protecting the civil rights of persons within the jurisdiction of the United States."^
Signed into law by President Dwight Eisenhower, this act is the "first civil rights legislation since Reconstruction."* The legislation, however, is a compromised, "watered-down" measure passed by the U.S. Congress.**
"To enforce constitutional rights... Whoever, by threats or force, willfully prevents, obstructs, impedes, or interferes with, or willfully attempts to prevent, obstruct, impede, or interfere with, the due exercise of rights or the performance of duties under any order, judgment, or decree of a court of the United States, shall be fined not more than $1,000 or imprisoned not more than one year, or both."^
This act amends the Civil Rights Act of 1957, including making it a crime to obstruct court orders that enforce civil rights of citizens.^
"To enforce the constitutional right to vote, to confer jurisdiction upon the district courts of the United States to provide injunctive relief against discrimination in public accommodations, to authorize the Attorney General to institute suites to protect constitutional rights in public facilities and public education, to extend the Commission on Civil Rights, to prevent discrimination in federally assisted programs, to establish a Commission on Equal Employment Opportunity, and for other purposes."^
President Lyndon Johnson signs this act into law, which includes outlawing discrimination to public accommodations, public facilities, public education, and federally assisted programs.
For additional information:
"To enforce the fifteenth amendment to the Constitution of the United States, and for other purposes... No voting qualifications or prerequisite to voting, or standing, practice, or procedure shall be imposed or applied by any State or political subdivision to deny or abridge the right of any citizen of the United States to vote on account of race or color."
This act, signed by President Lyndon Johnson, outlaws discriminatory voting practices by expanding the 15th Amendment.
"In dealing with custodial interrogation, we will not presume that a defendant has been effectively apprised of his rights and that his privilege against self-incrimination has been adequately safeguarded on a record that does not show that any warnings have been given or that any effective alternative has been employed."^
The U.S. Supreme Court rules that an "arrested individual is entitled to rights against self-incrimination and to an attorney under the 5th and 6th Amendments."*
For more information:
"There can be no doubt that restricting the freedom to marry solely because of racial classifications violates the central meaning of the Equal Protection Clause."^
The U.S. Supreme Court rules that state bans on interracial marriage violate the Fourteenth Amendement.*
"It is the policy of the United States to provide, within constitutional limitations, for fair housing throughout: the United States.^
This act "prohibits discrimination by direct providers of housing, such as landlords and real estate companies as well as other entities, such as municipalities, banks or other lending institutions and homeowners insurance companies whose discriminatory practices make housing unavailable."*
"At the very least, the freedom that Congress is empowered to secure under the Thirteenth Amendment includes the freedom to buy whatever a white man can buy, the right to live wherever a white man can live. If Congress cannot say that being a free man means at least this much, then the Thirteenth Amendment made a promise the Nation cannot keep."^
Overturning Hodges v. United States, the U.S. Supreme Court rules that the U.S. Congress has the power to prohibit "racial discrimination, private as well as public, in the sale or rental of property."^
"Freedoms of speech and press do not permit a State to forbid advocacy of the use of force or of law violation except where such advocacy is directed to inciting or producing imminent lawless action and is likely to incite or produce such action."^
The U.S. Supreme Court rules that a speech that advocates for "imminent lawless action" is not protected under the First Amendment.*
"Four problem areas exist on the issue of student assignment: (1) Racial quotas... (2) One-race schools... (3) Attendance zones... (4) Transportation... Bus transportation has been an integral part of the public education system for years, and was perhaps the single most important factor in the transition from the one-room schoolhouse to the consolidated school."^
The U.S. Supreme Court rules that school authorities must "eliminate invidious racial distinctions," mentioning transportation as one method to achieve desegregation of school systems.
"We have held that in 'order to justify the use of a suspect classification, a State must show that its purpose or interest is both constitutionally permissible and substantial, and that its use of the classification is "necessary . . . to the accomplishment' of its purpose or the safeguarding of its interest"'... Preferring members of any one group for no reason other than race or ethnic origin is discrimination for its own sake. This the Constitution forbids."^
The U.S. Supreme Court rules that a college applicant's race could be considered, but not the sole reason for admission into a program.
"To establish a commission to assist in the first observance of the Federal legal holiday honoring Martin Luther King, Jr... to encourage appropriate ceremonies and activities throughout the United States relating to the first observance of the Federal legal holiday honoring Martin Luther King, Jr., which occurs on January 20,1986."^
President Ronald Reagan signs the law that creates Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a Federal holiday, which starts its first observances in 1986.
"To provide for the designation of the month of February, 1986, as "National Black (Afro-American) History Month".^
The U.S. Congress passes a joint resolution to create the annual cultural heritage month.*
"To restore the broad scope of coverage and to clarify the application of title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, and title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964."^
In response to the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Grove City College v. Bell on the "definition of a program or activity," the U.S. Congress overrode a presidential veto to "restore the definition to include all the operations of a recipient [ex. an institution], as long as any part of the recipient's operations receives federal funds."*
Click on the side arrows to view the timeline.
| Date | Event | Date | Event |
|---|---|---|---|
| June 23, 2003 | Gratz v. Bollinger | June 17, 2021 | Juneteenth becomes a Federal holiday |
| June 25, 2013 | Shelby County v. Holder | March 29, 2022 | Emmett Till Anti-Lynching Act |
| April 22, 2014 | Schuette v. BAMN | June 29, 2023 | Students for Fair Admission v Harvard and Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. University of North Carolina et al. |
| December 21, 2018 | First Step Act of 2018 |
"We conclude, therefore, that because the University's use of race in its current freshman admissions policy is not narrowly tailored to achieve respondents' asserted compelling interest in diversity, the admissions policy violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment."^
U.S. Supreme Court rules that the University of Michigan's Office of Undergraduate Admissions' ranking system violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.^
"Section 4[b] of the Voting Rights Act is unconstitutional; its formula can no longer be used as a basis for subjecting jurisdictions to preclearance."^
The U.S. Supreme Court rules that coverage formulas under Section 4(b) of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 cannot be determined under Section 5 because these are considered unconstitutional. Instead Section 4(b) coverage formulas can procedure under separate court orders under Section 3(c).* This ruling removes the consideration of places that have had historical practices of voter discrimination.
"This case is not about how the debate about racial preferences should be resolved. It is about who may resolve it. There is no authority in the Constitution of the United States or in this Court’s precedents for the Judiciary to set aside Michigan laws that commit this policy determination to the voters."^
The U.S. Supreme Court rules that the Michigan voters' approved Proposal 2 in its state constitution is allowed. It "prohibits the use of race-based preferences as part of the admissions process for state universities."^
"To reauthorize and amend the Marine Debris Act to promote international action to reduce marine debris, and for other purposes... The Attorney General shall— '(1) conduct a review of the existing prisoner risk and needs assessment systems in operation on the date of enactment of this subchapter; '(2) develop recommendations regarding evidence-based recidivism reduction programs and productive activities in accordance with section 3633..."^
This Act concerns what the U.S. Congress "might do to reduce the size of the federal prison population while also creating mechanisms to maintain public safety."*
"To amend title 5, United States Code, to designate Juneteenth National Independence Day as a legal public holiday."^
The Federal holiday centers on General Order No. 3, in which it "announced to the people of Texas that the Emancipation Proclamation's freeing of enslaved people in the Confederate states was in effect" on June 19, 1865, ten weeks after the end of the American Civil War.
"To amend section 249 of title 18, United States Code, to specify lynching as a hate crime act."^
This act makes it a Federal hate crime to commit lynching. After several decades of failed attempts to pass legislation through the U.S. Congress, this act "outlaws lynching."*
"For the reasons provided above, the Harvard and UNC admissions programs cannot be reconciled with the guarantees of the Equal Protection Clause. Both programs lack sufficiently focused and measurable objectives warranting the use of race, unavoidably employ race in a negative manner, involve racial stereotyping, and lack meaningful end points. We have never permitted admissions programs to work in that way, and we will not do so today. At the same time, as all parties agree, nothing in this opinion should be construed as prohibiting universities from considering an applicant’s discussion of how race affected his or her life, be it through discrimination, inspiration, or otherwise."^
In a 6-to-2 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court upends the "precedent permitting limited use of race in higher education admissions."*
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