1944: Many Southern black Americans move North in what is known as the "Great Migration" in an attempt to secure jobs.

1996: 915,900 immigrants enter the country, according to U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, and countless others sneak in illegally.

1944: In Smith v. Allwright, the Supreme Court rules that an American cannot be denied the right to vote because of his or her race. Southern states continue to prevent blacks from voting, however, using methods such as literacy tests and poll taxes.

1996: The Supreme Court holds that Congressional districts drawn specifically to ensure a racial majority are unconstitutional.

1943: A race riot occurs in Harlem on August 1.

1991: A jury acquits white Los Angeles policemen of the beating of black citizen Rodney King, triggering the worst violence and looting in U.S. history with over fifty deaths and fifty square miles of Los Angeles property devastated.