1955: Racial tensions run high as the civil rights movement makes real changes in American society. Rosa Parks refuses to go to the back of a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. Two Afncan-American leaders, Lamar D. Smith and George W. Lee, are killed

1996: Dozens of African-American churches, mostly in the South, burn down during the spring and summer months. Though the cause of some of the blazes is unknown, arson is suspected in many cases.

1950: According to crime statistics, approximately 7,000 murders were committed in the United States during the year.

1994: According to crime statistics, approximately 23,305 murders were committed during the year. Of these, 15,456 involved firearms.

1955: The U.S. census bureau reveals that the American population increased by 2.8 million, the largest 1-year advance on record. The generation born in the years between 1945 and 1960 are dubbed "The Baby Boomers."

1990s: The first Baby Boomers are turning 50, and the...