1 April
- 1950 Charles Drew Dies Pioneering blood-banking physician Charles Drew dies in a car accident in North Carolina at age 45.
2 April
- 1939 Marvin Gaye Is Born Singer and songwriter Marvin Gaye is born in Washington, D.C.
3 April
- 1968 King Delivers His 'Mountaintop' Speech Martin Luther King Jr. delivers 'I've Been to the Mountaintop' at Mason Temple in Memphis, supporting striking sanitation workers, the night before his assassination.
4 April
- 1928 Maya Angelou Is Born Writer and poet Maya Angelou is born Marguerite Annie Johnson in St. Louis, Missouri.
- 1968 The Assassination of Dr. King Martin Luther King Jr. is killed by a single rifle shot on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, where he had come to support striking sanitation workers.
5 April
- 1856 Booker T. Washington Is Born Booker Taliaferro Washington is born into slavery in Franklin County, Virginia.
6 April
- 1909 Matthew Henson Reaches the North Pole Explorer Matthew Henson, with Robert Peary's expedition, is among the first to reach the North Pole - and likely the first to stand at it.
7 April
- 1915 Billie Holiday Is Born Singer Billie Holiday is born Eleanora Fagan in Philadelphia.
8 April
- 1974 Hank Aaron Breaks the Home-Run Record Hank Aaron hits his 715th career home run, surpassing Babe Ruth's record amid a barrage of racist threats.
9 April
- 1898 Paul Robeson Is Born Singer, actor, and activist Paul Robeson is born in Princeton, New Jersey.
- 1939 Marian Anderson Sings at the Lincoln Memorial After being barred from Constitution Hall, contralto Marian Anderson performs for 75,000 on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.
10 April
- 1975 Lee Elder Breaks the Masters Color Barrier Lee Elder becomes the first Black golfer to compete in the Masters Tournament at Augusta National.
11 April
- 1968 The Fair Housing Act Is Signed President Lyndon Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1968, whose Fair Housing Act bars discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of housing, days after King's assassination.
12 April
- 1983 Harold Washington Is Elected Mayor of Chicago Harold Washington wins election as the first Black mayor of Chicago after a racially charged campaign.
13 April
- 1873 The Colfax Massacre A white militia attacks Black freedmen and state militia defending the Grant Parish courthouse in Colfax, Louisiana, killing as many as 150 in the deadliest single act of Reconstruction violence.
14 April
- 1775 The First American Abolition Society Is Founded Anthony Benezet and other Quakers found the first abolition society in America in Philadelphia, later led by Benjamin Franklin.
15 April
- 1947 Jackie Robinson Breaks Baseball's Color Barrier Jackie Robinson debuts at first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers, becoming the first Black player in the modern major leagues.
16 April
- 1963 King Writes 'Letter from Birmingham Jail' Jailed for defying an injunction against protests, Martin Luther King Jr. writes his open letter defending nonviolent direct action against the 'white moderate.'
17 April
- 1960 The SNCC Is Founded Student activists meeting at Shaw University form the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, with Ella Baker's guidance.
18 April
- 1980 Zimbabwe Wins Independence Zimbabwe achieves independence from white-minority rule, ending the state formerly known as Rhodesia.
19 April
- 1960 The Bombing of Z. Alexander Looby's Home A bomb destroys the Nashville home of Black attorney and councilman Z. Alexander Looby, who had defended sit-in students.
20 April
- 1971 Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Upholds Busing The Supreme Court unanimously upholds busing as a tool to desegregate public schools.
21 April
- 1966 Haile Selassie Visits Jamaica (Grounation Day) Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia visits Jamaica, an event of deep significance to the Rastafari movement, observed as Grounation Day.
22 April
- 1922 Charles Mingus Is Born Jazz bassist and composer Charles Mingus is born in Nogales, Arizona.
23 April
- 1856 Granville T. Woods Is Born Inventor Granville T. Woods is born in Columbus, Ohio.
24 April
- 1877 Federal Troops Withdraw from Louisiana The last federal troops are withdrawn from the South, leaving New Orleans and completing the collapse of Reconstruction.
25 April
- 1944 The United Negro College Fund Is Founded Frederick D. Patterson and others establish the United Negro College Fund to pool fundraising for Black colleges.
26 April
- 1886 Ma Rainey Is Born Gertrude 'Ma' Rainey, the 'Mother of the Blues,' is born in Columbus, Georgia.
27 April
- 1927 Coretta Scott King Is Born Coretta Scott King is born in Marion, Alabama.
28 April
- 1967 Muhammad Ali Refuses Induction Muhammad Ali refuses induction into the U.S. Army on religious grounds and is immediately stripped of his heavyweight title.
29 April
- 1899 Duke Ellington Is Born Composer and bandleader Edward 'Duke' Ellington is born in Washington, D.C.
- 1992 The Los Angeles Uprising The acquittal of officers who beat Rodney King ignites days of unrest in Los Angeles that leave more than 50 dead.
30 April
- 1983 Muddy Waters Dies Blues giant Muddy Waters dies near Chicago at age 70.