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Maulana Karenga, an African-American activist, creates Kwanzaa, a celebration held annually between Christmas and New Year's Day, to "restore and reaffirm African heritage and culture." It is based on seven principals that reinforce family, community and culture among African Americans.
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Rev. Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., pastor of the Abyssinian Baptist church, the largest congregation in New York City, says that nonviolence is no longer the most effective civil rights strategy.
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Martin Luther King Jr. is shot while standing on a hotel balcony in Memphis, Tennessee. He dies later at a hospital. Conspiracy theories about his assassination abound. His death provokes riots in 14 cities, and national mourning.
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The Roman catholic church in the US declares war on racism.
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Civil-rights leader James Forman reads The Black Manifesto at Riverside Church in NYC. Forman demands $500 million in reparations from American churches for their role in perpetuating slavery. While Forman receives some funds, including $15,000 from the mostly white Washington Square United Methodist Church in Newark, NJ, his success lies primarily in initiating a national debate about the responsibility of churches for their past positions on slavery.
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Sister M. Martin de Porres Grey organizes 155 women from 79 national and international congregations to form the National Black Sisters' Conference (NBSC). The NBSC speaks out about racism and sexism found in society and the church.
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James H. Cone, a professor at Union Theological Seminary, publishes his seminal Black Theology and Black Power. The book links Jesus' struggle against human oppression with the African-American struggle against racial oppression in America.
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Nana Adefunmi and a few families create Oyotunji Village in Sheldon, South Carolina. They want to institutionalize a Yoruba way of life and fully break from Santeria by establishing a community for people deeply committed to Yoruba.
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Upon the death of Elijah Muhammad, his son, W.D. Muhammad, takes over Nation of Islam leadership. He changes the structure to adhere more closely to orthodox Islam and renames the organization The World Community of Al-Islam. Louis Farrakhan is the organization's international spokesperson until 1977, when he breaks with W.D. Muhammad to revive the Nation of Islam and continue the traditions of Elijah Muhammad.
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Alex Haley's Roots, an epic that follows seven generations of a family from Africa to Arkansas, breaks the TV ratings record established by Gone With the Wind when 130 million Americans tune in to the mini-series.
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The seven largest black Christian denominations organize the Congress of National Black Churches.
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Rev. Jesse Jackson becomes the first black candidate to run for president of the United States. He wins 3.5 million primary votes. He runs again in 1988, and is endorsed by more than 90% of black clergy, and wins 6.1 million votes.
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Thomas Dorsey, the "Father of Gospel Music," dies at age 93 in Chicago, IL
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Pope John Paul II apologizes for the Catholic Church's historical support of African slave trade.
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In Washington, D.C., between 400,000 and 1 million black men join the Million Man March organized by the Nation of Islam's Louis Farrakhan.
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The Interfaith Pilgrimage of the Middle Passage sets out from Massachusetts to trace the historical route of the slave trade between Africa and America. The pilgrimage brings together participants of different faiths, genders, and races on a journey of healing.
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