Gloria Naylor wins the National Book Award for a First Novel for her book The Women of Brewster Place.

Louis Gossett, Jr. wins an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his performance in An Officer and a Gentleman. He is only the third African American to win an Oscar.

After a racially tense campaign, former African American Congressman Harold Washington wins the Chicago's mayoral race against Republican opponent Bernard Epton. Washington benefits from a high black turnout on Election Day and garners some support from middle-class white neighborhoods.

Alice Walker is awarded the Pulitzer Prize for drama for her novel The Color Purple.

About one hundred black students at the University of Mississippi protest against the use of the Confederate flag as a symbol of the university. The students are spurred on by white students demonstrating the night before who waved the flag while singing Dixie and shouting racial slurs. The university chancellor announces the next day that the flag will no longer be used as a university symbol, but he does not prohibit individuals from waving the flag on their own.

Reverend Jesse Jackson becomes the first African American to address a joint session of the United States Senate and House of Representatives this century.

The U.S. Census Bureau reports the traditional migration of blacks from the South to the urban centers of the North and West ended in the 1970s.

Chicago Mayor Harold Washington appoints Fred Rice as superintendent of the Chicago Police Department. He is the first African American ever to hold this position.

Guion S. Bluford, Jr., becomes the first African American in space, four years after beginning his astronaut training. Before retiring, he will return to space several more times.

Vanessa Williams became the first Black woman to be named "Miss America" on this date in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Williams' crown was taken away when nude photos of her appeared in an adult publication. Williams has gone on to become a successful singer and film actress.

President Ronald Reagan signs a bill designating January 15th an official federal holiday for slain Civil Rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Wilson Goode became the first Black mayor of Philadelphia on this date.

William Granville, Jr. opened the first Granville Academy that prepares young people for business on this date in Trenton, New Jersey.