1980
Syria concentrates forces in central Lebanon's Bekaa (al-Biqa) Valley and later moves in Soviet-made surface-to-air (SAM-6) missiles. When the Phalangists (Christians) occupy the hills around Zahle near the strategic Beirut-Damascus highway, Syria launches a major offensive against them. Israeli jets attack the Syrians and also bomb areas of Beirut in retaliation for PLO rocket attacks from Lebanon into northern Israel.
1980 January 18
A survey conducted by Data Black, a major black commercial
polling organization, indicates widespread dissatisfaction with President
Carter's efforts among blacks.
1980 February 6
The Congressional Black Caucus attacks President Carter's
fiscal 1981 budget proposals, criticizing increases in military spending that
lead to cuts for social programs. Caucus members promise to initiate legislation
to reduce military spending increases and pronounce the budget "an
unmitigated disaster for the poor, the unemployed and minorities."
1980 February 6
Georgia State Senator Julian Bond suffers a political
setback in a bid for a largely ceremonial post of majority whip. He is defeated
in a Democratic caucus by Senator Loyce Turner of Valdosta by a vote of 27 to
21.
1980 February 6
The American Bar Association votes to defer action on a
measure requiring law schools to adopt affirmative action plans for the
admission of minority students. The measure would amend the Standards for the
Approval of Law Schools and would require schools seeking to obtain or maintain
accreditation to demonstrate "concrete action" in expanding
opportunities for racial minorities and women in the study and entry into the
law profession.
1980 March 3
The "National Conference for a Black Agenda" meets
with limited success. A special "presidential forum" in which the
presidential candidates were to discuss issues of importance to black Americans,
is canceled when Senator Edward Kennedy, Representative John Anderson, and
Governor Jerry Brown decide not to attend. However, 1,000 national black leaders
conduct in-depth discussions on strategies and goals pertaining to maximizing
black political clout, employment, housing, and affirmative action. The
conference is sponsored by organizations such as the NAACP, the National Urban
League, PUSH-groups that had already endorsed President Carter-so that
candidates saw no purpose in speaking.
1980 March 17
A study released by the Radio and Television News Directors
Association indicates that women are making greater employment advances than
minorities in the broadcasting industry. Only 71% of all television stations
employed minorities, while 94% of those stations employed women, according to
the survey conducted in 1979. In radio, only 20% of the country's stations
employ minorities, a figure unchanged in 9 years.
1980 April 17
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) accepts mainland China as a member, and the Republic of China (ROC) is forced to pull out of the organization.
1980 April 18
The former Rhodesia becomes independent Zimbabwe under President Canaan Banana.
1980 April 22
The U.S. Supreme Court, in a 6-3 decision, overturns a lower
court ruling that an at-large city electoral system in Mobile, Alabama is
unconstitutional because it dilutes the voting strength of blacks.
1980 April 23
In an unprecedented decision , the Supreme Court votes 6 to
3 that intentional discrimination must be proven to declare a local election
system unconstitutional. Mobile, Alabama's, at-large voting system was found
constitutional, overturning the rulings of two lower courts. Not one black had
been elected city commissioner or to the county school board in the city 's
history, although blacks comprise 35.4% of its population. Justices William
Brennan, Byron White, and Thurgood Marshall wrote dissenting opinions.
1980 April 30
Amoco Oil Co., a division of Standard Oil of Indiana,
agrees to pay a record civil penalty of $200,000 to settle charges of
discrimination against blacks, Hispanics, and women, in the issuance of credit
cards. The company 's use of zip codes to determine which applicants obtained
credit fostered the discrimination charges, and Amoco agreed to reconsider, upon
request, applicants rejected over the past three years. The action could result
in 30,000 to 50,000 new card holders. The civil penalty is the largest ever
levied under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act.
1980 May 11
Early primary results reveal that the black community is
supporting President Carter's second-term bid despite criticism of his record by
national black leaders, according to reports. The "resounding"
victories won by Carter in the southern primaries are interpreted as blacks
lacking faith in their ability to enact a "Great Society-style social
renewal" agenda as proposed by Senator Edward M. Kennedy.
1980 May 14
J. B. Stoner, a white supremacist, is convicted for the 1958
bombing of a black church in Birmingham, Alabama.
1980 May 18
The black Liberty City area and predominantly black Coconut
Grove section of Miami erupt into riotous violence, ending with 9 dead and 163
injured, following the acquittal of four white Dade County police officers in
the beating death of a black man. In the night-long unrest, stores are looted,
property burned, and whites fatally beaten. During the violence, blacks are
heard screaming the name "McDuffie" (Arthur), the black insurance
executive beaten to death following a high-speed chase with Dade County police
officers for a traffic violation. Dade County officials impose an 8 P.M. to 6
P.M. curfew; 350 National Guard troops set up headquarters in an armory, with
450 more enroute from Orlando.
1980 May 18
Mount St. Helens volcano in Washington state explodes, leaving an estimated 57 people dead or missing.
1980 May 29
Vernon E. Jordan Jr., President of the National Urban League,
is shot and seriously wounded by an unknown assailant in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Stating that the shooting evidenced "an element of premeditation,"
William H. Webster, Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, says, "the
shooting was not accidental, and was in furtherance of an apparent conspiracy to
deprive Vernon Jordan of his civil rights." The shooting occurred just
outside Jordan's motel room.
1980 June 1
Cable News Network (CNN) makes its debut and is soon dismissed by "media critics" as the "Chicken Noodle Network." It is the brainchild of Atlanta entrepreneur Ted Turner.
1980 June 4
Representative Charles C. Diggs Jr. (D. Mich.) abruptly
resigns his House seat after the Supreme Court refuses to review his case
presented to the U.S. Court of Appeals, which was denied. Diggs, a senior black
Congressman, ends a 26-year career marred by formal House censure, resignation
of committee and subcommittee chairmanships, and conviction on charges of mail
fraud and the diversion of $60,000 in payroll kickbacks. He agrees to pay
$40,000 and will leave Congress with a "clear conscience."
1980 June 9
Comedian Richard Pryor suffers near fatal burns at his San Fernando Valley, California, home when a volatile mixture of "free-base" cocaine explodes in his face.
1980 June 14
Based on a recent ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court, the
Justice Department drops a voting rights discrimination suit against
Hattiesburg, Mississippi because of their inability to prove intentional
discrimination. The high court ruled in Mobile, Alabama that it must be proven
that "at large" voting systems were intentionally established and
excluded black voters. The Justice Department contended that "at large"
elections for three members of the Hattiesburg City Commission diluted black
voting strength in violation of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Fourteenth
and Fifteenth Amendments.
1980 June 25
The nomination of Alabama State Senator U. W. Clemon is
unanimously approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee. Ranking Republican
committee member Senator Strom Thurmond endorses Clemon and says although he
does not condone his (Clemon's) late filing of tax returns, there was "no
indication whatsoever of fraud." If confirmed by the Senate, Clemon would
be the thirty-second black appointed to a federal judgeship by President Carter.
At the start of his administration, only 19 blacks sat on the bench.
1980 June 27
President Carter signs legislation reviving U.S. draft registration.
1980 July 1
Presidential candidate Ronald Reagan declines an invitation to
address the NAACP national convention. Executive Director Benjamin Hooks then
criticizes the candidate for "writing off' black votes. Reagan soon
responds by accepting an invitation to speak at the National Urban League
convention.
1980 July 2
The U.S. Supreme Court decides that Congress' award of federal
funds on the basis of race was to redress racial discrimination.
