1 June
- 1921 Black Wall Street Burns The second day of the Tulsa Race Massacre sees Greenwood's businesses, homes, churches, and hospital destroyed by mob and aerial firebombing.
2 June
- 1863 Harriet Tubman Leads the Combahee River Raid Harriet Tubman guides a Union raid up South Carolina's Combahee River that frees more than 700 enslaved people.
3 June
- 1904 Charles Drew Is Born Physician Charles Richard Drew is born in Washington, D.C.
4 June
- 1972 Angela Davis Is Acquitted A California jury acquits scholar-activist Angela Davis of all charges after a closely watched trial.
5 June
- 1956 A Federal Court Strikes Down Bus Segregation A federal district court rules in Browder v. Gayle that bus segregation in Montgomery is unconstitutional.
6 June
- 1966 James Meredith Is Shot on the March Against Fear James Meredith is shot and wounded on the second day of his solo 'March Against Fear' through Mississippi.
7 June
- 1958 Prince Is Born Musician Prince Rogers Nelson is born in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
8 June
- 1953 The Supreme Court Strikes Down D.C. Segregation The Supreme Court rules that segregated restaurants in Washington, D.C., are illegal, a victory for Mary Church Terrell's long campaign.
9 June
- 2020 George Floyd Is Laid to Rest George Floyd is buried in Houston after memorials drew worldwide mourning and weeks of protest.
10 June
- 1964 The Senate Breaks the Civil Rights Filibuster The U.S. Senate votes to end a 57-day filibuster against the Civil Rights Act, clearing the way for passage.
11 June
- 1963 Stand in the Schoolhouse Door Governor George Wallace blocks two Black students from enrolling at the University of Alabama until confronted by federalized troops; that night President Kennedy delivers a landmark civil rights address.
12 June
- 1963 Medgar Evers Is Assassinated NAACP field secretary Medgar Evers is shot in the back in his driveway in Jackson, Mississippi, hours after President Kennedy's civil rights address.
- 1967 Loving v. Virginia Strikes Down Bans on Interracial Marriage The Supreme Court unanimously rules that laws prohibiting interracial marriage are unconstitutional.
13 June
- 1967 Thurgood Marshall Is Nominated to the Supreme Court President Lyndon Johnson nominates Thurgood Marshall to the Supreme Court, saying it is 'the right thing to do.'
14 June
- 1811 Harriet Beecher Stowe Is Born Author Harriet Beecher Stowe is born in Litchfield, Connecticut.
15 June
- 1921 Bessie Coleman Earns Her Pilot's License Denied training in the United States, Bessie Coleman earns an international pilot's license in France, becoming the first Black woman to do so.
16 June
- 1976 The Soweto Uprising South African police open fire on Black students protesting the imposition of Afrikaans in schools in Soweto, killing many, including children.
17 June
- 2015 The Charleston Church Massacre A white supremacist murders nine Black worshippers during Bible study at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston.
18 June
- 1939 Lou Brock Is Born Baseball Hall of Famer Lou Brock is born in El Dorado, Arkansas.
19 June
- 1865 Juneteenth Union Major General Gordon Granger issues General Order No. 3 in Galveston, Texas, announcing that 'all slaves are free,' two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation.
20 June
- 1943 The Detroit Race Riot of 1943 Wartime racial tensions erupt in Detroit, leaving 34 dead, most of them Black, after attacks and clashes spread through the city.
21 June
- 1964 Freedom Summer Murders in Mississippi Civil rights workers James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner are abducted and murdered by Klansmen near Philadelphia, Mississippi.
22 June
- 1937 Joe Louis Wins the Heavyweight Title Joe Louis defeats James Braddock to become world heavyweight champion, a title he would hold for nearly 12 years.
23 June
- 1940 Wilma Rudolph Is Born Track star Wilma Rudolph is born in Clarksville, Tennessee.
24 June
- 1964 Carl Rowan Named to Lead the USIA Journalist Carl Rowan is appointed director of the U.S. Information Agency, the highest-ranking Black official in the federal government at the time.
25 June
- 2009 Michael Jackson Dies Pop superstar Michael Jackson dies in Los Angeles at age 50, prompting worldwide mourning.
26 June
- 1938 James Weldon Johnson Dies Writer, diplomat, and NAACP leader James Weldon Johnson dies in a car accident at age 67.
27 June
- 1872 Paul Laurence Dunbar Is Born Poet Paul Laurence Dunbar is born in Dayton, Ohio, to formerly enslaved parents.
28 June
- 1971 Ali's Conviction Is Overturned The Supreme Court unanimously reverses Muhammad Ali's conviction for refusing military induction.
29 June
- 1941 Stokely Carmichael Is Born Activist Stokely Carmichael, later Kwame Ture, is born in Port of Spain, Trinidad.
30 June
- 1917 Lena Horne Is Born Singer and actress Lena Horne is born in Brooklyn, New York.