Black History Knowledge — June 29

What happened on this day. These are the June 29 moments in Black history worth knowing, remembering, and passing on.

1947 — President Truman addresses the NAACP at the Lincoln Memorial

On June 29, 1947, President Harry S. Truman became the first sitting American president to address the NAACP. Speaking at the Lincoln Memorial, he pledged support for civil rights at a time when the federal government was under pressure to respond more directly to anti-Black violence and discrimination.

1949 — The Anacostia Pool Riot exposes resistance to public integration

On June 29, 1949, racial conflict erupted at the newly desegregated Anacostia Pool in Washington, D.C. White residents harassed Black swimmers, violence followed, and the pool was closed for the rest of the summer rather than protected as an integrated public space.

1958 — Bethel Baptist Church is bombed in Birmingham

On June 29, 1958, a bomb exploded outside Bethel Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, where Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth was pastor. The church was a center of civil rights organizing, and the bombing showed how white supremacist violence targeted Black churches as movement headquarters.