1 January
- 1804 Haiti Declares Independence Jean-Jacques Dessalines proclaims the independence of Haiti, establishing the first Black republic and the only nation born of a successful slave revolt.
- 1863 The Emancipation Proclamation Takes Effect President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation goes into effect, declaring that all enslaved people in Confederate-held territory 'shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free.'
2 January
- 1965 King Launches the Selma Voting-Rights Campaign Defying an anti-meeting injunction, Martin Luther King Jr. addresses a mass meeting at Brown Chapel AME Church, opening the Selma campaign for voting rights.
3 January
- 1969 Shirley Chisholm Is Sworn Into Congress Shirley Chisholm takes her seat in the U.S. House, becoming the first Black woman to serve in Congress.
4 January
- 1935 Floyd Patterson Is Born Boxer Floyd Patterson is born in Waco, North Carolina.
5 January
- 1911 Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Founded Kappa Alpha Psi, a historically Black intercollegiate fraternity, is founded at Indiana University in Bloomington.
- 1943 George Washington Carver Dies Agricultural scientist George Washington Carver dies at Tuskegee Institute.
6 January
- 1993 Dizzy Gillespie Dies Jazz trumpeter and bandleader Dizzy Gillespie dies in Englewood, New Jersey.
7 January
- 1891 Zora Neale Hurston Is Born Writer and anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston is born; she was raised in Eatonville, Florida, one of the first incorporated Black towns.
8 January
- 1811 The German Coast Uprising Enslaved laborers led by Charles Deslondes launch the largest slave revolt in U.S. history, marching toward New Orleans along the German Coast of Louisiana.
9 January
- 1914 Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Founded Phi Beta Sigma is founded at Howard University on the principles of brotherhood, scholarship, and service.
10 January
- 1957 The SCLC Is Founded Black ministers led by Martin Luther King Jr. convene in Atlanta to found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
11 January
- 1920 James Farmer Is Born Civil rights leader James Farmer is born in Marshall, Texas.
12 January
- 1944 Joe Frazier Is Born Boxer Joe Frazier is born in Beaufort, South Carolina.
13 January
- 1913 Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Founded Twenty-two collegiate women found Delta Sigma Theta at Howard University; weeks later its members march in the 1913 woman suffrage parade.
14 January
- 1963 'Segregation Forever' in Alabama Governor George Wallace declares 'segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever' at his Montgomery inauguration.
15 January
- 1908 Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Founded Alpha Kappa Alpha, the first historically Black sorority, is founded at Howard University.
- 1929 Martin Luther King Jr. Is Born Michael King Jr., later Martin Luther King Jr., is born in Atlanta, Georgia.
16 January
- 1920 Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Founded Zeta Phi Beta is founded at Howard University as a constitutionally bound sister organization to Phi Beta Sigma.
17 January
- 1942 Muhammad Ali Is Born Cassius Marcellus Clay, later Muhammad Ali, is born in Louisville, Kentucky.
18 January
- 1958 Willie O'Ree Breaks the NHL Color Barrier Willie O'Ree debuts for the Boston Bruins, becoming the first Black player in the National Hockey League.
19 January
- 1993 Reginald F. Lewis Dies Reginald F. Lewis, who built TLC Beatrice into the first Black-owned billion-dollar company, dies in New York at 50.
20 January
- 2009 Barack Obama Inaugurated as 44th President Barack Obama is sworn in as the first Black president of the United States before a record crowd at the U.S. Capitol.
- 2021 Kamala Harris Becomes Vice President Kamala Harris is sworn in as the first Black and first South Asian woman to serve as Vice President of the United States.
21 January
- 1906 Willa Brown Is Born Aviator Willa Brown is born in Glasgow, Kentucky.
22 January
- 1931 Sam Cooke Is Born Singer and songwriter Sam Cooke is born in Clarksdale, Mississippi.
23 January
- 1964 24th Amendment Abolishes the Poll Tax The 24th Amendment is ratified, barring poll taxes in federal elections.
24 January
- 1993 Thurgood Marshall Dies Thurgood Marshall, the first Black Supreme Court justice and architect of Brown v. Board, dies at 84.
25 January
- 1972 Shirley Chisholm Launches Her Presidential Campaign Representative Shirley Chisholm announces her candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination at Concord Baptist Church in Brooklyn.
26 January
- 1944 Angela Davis Is Born Scholar and activist Angela Davis is born in Birmingham, Alabama.
27 January
- 1972 Mahalia Jackson Dies Gospel legend Mahalia Jackson dies near Chicago at age 60.
28 January
- 1986 Ronald McNair Dies in the Challenger Disaster Physicist and astronaut Ronald McNair is killed with his crewmates when the Space Shuttle Challenger breaks apart shortly after launch.
29 January
- 1954 Oprah Winfrey Is Born Oprah Winfrey is born in Kosciusko, Mississippi.
30 January
- 1797 The First Black Petition to Congress Four free Black men freed in North Carolina petition the U.S. Congress against laws threatening to re-enslave them; the House votes not to receive it.
31 January
- 1865 House Passes the 13th Amendment The U.S. House of Representatives passes the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery, sending it to the states for ratification.
- 1919 Jackie Robinson Is Born Jack Roosevelt Robinson is born in Cairo, Georgia.