Black History Knowledge
Black History Knowledge — July 17
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What happened on this day. These are the July 17 moments in Black history worth knowing, remembering, and passing on.
1862 — Second Confiscation Act expands the path toward emancipation
On July 17, 1862, Congress passed the Second Confiscation Act. The law declared that enslaved people connected to Confederate supporters who came under Union control could be “forever free,” helping turn the Civil War more directly toward emancipation.
1944 — Port Chicago explosion exposes racism in the Navy
On July 17, 1944, a massive explosion at the Port Chicago Naval Magazine in California killed 320 sailors and civilians, most of them Black sailors loading munitions under dangerous conditions. Afterward, Black sailors who refused to continue the unsafe work were punished, making Port Chicago a major case in the fight against military racism.
2014 — Eric Garner is killed by NYPD chokehold
On July 17, 2014, Eric Garner died on Staten Island after an NYPD officer placed him in a banned chokehold during an arrest. Video of Garner saying “I can’t breathe” helped fuel national protests against police violence and became one of the defining moments of the modern Black Lives Matter era.
