Equal Justice Initiative

Montgomery Square is now open. Visit and learn more: montgomerysquare.eji.org

On this day in 1866, the Texas legislature passed a law restricting when Black people could testify in court, limiting their testimony to cases that involved people of color.

On this day in 1989, Boston police officers harassed Black and interracial communities based on a false shooting charge leveled by a white businessman.

On this day in 1909, a white mob attempted to lynch a Black man near the U.S. Capitol, dispersing only after the police department promised to hand the man over to the mob the next day.

On this day in 1946, a Holmes County, Mississippi, court freed five white men charged with killing a Black man named Leon McAtee, even though one of the defendants had confessed to his own involvement in the murder and implicated the other four men.

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey has commuted the death sentence of Toforest Johnson to life imprisonment without parole, citing concerns about the reliability of the evidence against him. Mr. Johnson has long maintained his innocence.

On this day in 1835, a white mob angered by abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison's anti-slavery activism dragged him by a rope through the streets of Boston, threatening to kill him.

On this day in 1870, a Black politician named Wade Perrin was assassinated by a white mob one day after he was re-elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives.

On this day in 1960, 52 people, including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., were arrested in downtown Atlanta after refusing to leave their seats at segregated department store lunch counters.

On this day in 1933, a mob of at least 2,000 white men, women, and children in Princess Anne, Maryland, hanged and burned George Armwood to death. Four white men were ultimately tried for the lynching of George Armwood and acquitted by all-white juries.

On this day in 1871, rampant Klu Klux Klan violence forced President Grant to declare martial law in South Carolina. Many affluent Klan members fled to avoid arrest.

Listen to Bryan Stevenson on how we can use learning about our history of racial injustice to meet this moment and continue working towards creating an era of truth and justice in America.

On this day in 1968, Black Olympic medalists Tommie Smith and John Carlos faced death threats and expulsion for protesting racial inequality.

On this day in 1883, the Supreme Court struck down the Civil Rights Act of 1875 which forbade racial discrimination in access to public accommodations and facilities.

On this day in 1834, authorities in Wheeling, a city in present-day West Virginia, charged four people with unlawful assembly for convening a literacy class for Black residents.

On this day in 1920, members of the Black community in Roxboro, North Carolina, were terrorized through an ongoing letter campaign trying to force Black people to leave town. A white mob had lynched a Black man months earlier.

The Department of Defense announced plans to livestream the firing squad execution of Nidal Hasan. This announcement was met with bipartisan rebuke and condemned globally as an affront to human rights and a violation of international law.

On this day in 1995, police in Brentwood, Pennsylvania, killed an unarmed Black man named Jonny Gammage at a traffic stop. An officer responsible was acquitted by an all-white jury and, a year later, promoted to sergeant.

On this day in 1921, two Tarrant County Texas sheriffs shot David Bunn, a handcuffed Black man, as he fled from a white mob attempting to lynch him. The sheriffs faced no accountability for Mr. Bunn’s murder.

On this day in 1933, white ranchers shot three Mexican nationals who were among thousands participating in a strike over decreased pay. An all-white jury later acquitted the ranchers.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote a statement this week criticizing an Alabama trial judge's conduct during a capital trial.

On this day in 1893, a white mob lynched Bob Hudson, a Black man, in Weakley County, TN, after he defended his wife, who was targeted because she filed assault charges against a white man.

On this day in 1953, a Birmingham police commissioner banned an interracial All-Star baseball game organized by Jackie Robinson since it was a "mixed athletic event."

Through soil collections and deeply researched historical markers, our Community Remembrance Project honors lynching victims while building local knowledge and creating a physical landscape that more accurately reflects the truth about our history.

On this day in 1963, hundreds of Black Selma residents attempting to register to vote faced state and local officials using violence and intimidation tactics to deny them that right.

On this day in 2009, a Louisiana official withheld a marriage license from an interracial couple, claiming he did "not believe in mixing races in that way." He had denied marriage licenses to several interracial couples the previous two years.

On this day in 1920, a white mob lynched four innocent Black men named Fulton Smith, Ray Field, Ben Givens, and Sam Duncan in Macclenny, Florida. Days after, most of the Black community of Macclenny fled the area in fear of further violent attacks

On this day in 1949, members of the largest bridge association in the U.S. voted to exclude Black players from competitions.

A court in Tallahassee, Florida, found more than 100 Black students guilty of contempt of court after they were arrested for singing and clapping outside a “white-only” theater.

Montgomery Square, our newest Legacy Site, is on Montgomery Street, the very street where thousands of civil rights advocates marched the 54-mile journey from Selma to the Alabama Capitol to push for the right to vote in March 1965.

EJI Director Bryan Stevenson discusses our legacy of racial injustice with California Governor Gavin Newson. Watch now: www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvBC...

On this day in 1930, white neighbors attacked the Colorado home of seven Black women while they were inside. The women had recently integrated the area but were forced to flee and relocate after the attack.

On this day in 1939, a Sampson County, North Carolina, sheriff arrested two Black people for helping a 21-year-old Black man named Andrew Troublefield avoid being lynched by a white mob of 500 people.

Experience an unforgettable journey through American history at EJI's Legacy Sites. Plan your visit: legacysites.eji.org

On this day in 1919, enraged white mobs began a massacre of 200 or more innocent Black women, men, and children in Phillips County, Arkansas, after white men attempted to invade a Black farmer's union meeting.

On this day in 1915, Alabama passed a law forbidding public and private medical facilities from letting any "white female nurse" provide care to a Black man.

On this day in 1868, violence erupted in Opelousas, Louisiana, when white residents resentful of African Americans' new voting rights attacked and killed hundreds of people.

On this day in 1958, after violent resistance to integrating Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, white residents voted to close local public schools rather than comply with federal desegregation orders.

On this day in 1963, the Alabama Supreme Court upheld the contempt conviction of Mary Hamilton, a Black woman who refused to allow an Alabama district attorney to disrespect her in court.

On this day in 1913, the Baltimore City Council passed an ordinance requiring Black and white residents to live on separate blocks. The law was part of the first city-wide effort in the country to create legally segregated neighborhoods.

The power of history is in telling the truth. Being honest about our nation’s history is the first step towards recovery and reconciliation. The National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Alabama, is a sacred space for all.

On this day in 1964, a crowd of at least 7,500 white demonstrators marched in New York City to protest against racial integration in the city’s public school system.

On this day in 1955, an all-white jury in Mississippi acquitted the two white men who murdered 14-year-old Emmett Till.

On this day in 1906, mobs of angry white men gathered in the streets of Atlanta to attack and kill dozens of innocent Black men on sight.

At our Legacy Museum, visitors can see 800 jars of soil collected from lynching sites across the country. Part of our Community Remembrance Project, the jars provide a tangible way for communities and Museum visitors to confront the legacy of racial terror lynchings.

On this day in 2011, Georgia executed Troy Davis despite new evidence of his innocence. The evidence was so compelling that three of his jurors urged the government to stop the execution.