The US Supreme Court ruled that the death penalty was cruel and unusual punishment which violated the Eighth Amendment.

The Organization for Afro-American Unity was founded in New York by Malcolm X.

The US Supreme Court ordered the University of California Medical School at Davis to admit Allan P. Bakke in a “reverse discrimination” suit.

Fugitive slave laws were repealed by Congress.

Paul Laurence Dunbar was born in Dayton, OH

George Dixon became the first black person to hold a world title in boxing.

In Weber v. Kaiser Aluminum and Chemical Corporation, the US Supreme Court ruled that employers and unions can establish voluntary programs, including the use of quotas, to support minorities in employment.

US Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall announced his retirement.

Samuel Blanton Rosser became the first African American certified in pediatric surgery.

W.E.B. DuBois resigned from his position at the NAACP in a disagreement over policy and racial strategy.