1978

The Supreme Court's fractured ruling in Regents of the University of California v. Bakke upholds the principle of affirmative action in university admissions while striking down rigid racial quotas, setting the legal framework for decades.

The Supreme Court's ruling in Regents of the University of California v. Bakke upholds the principle of affirmative action in university admissions while striking down rigid racial quotas, setting the legal framework for decades.

Funkadelic releases One Nation Under a Groove, which crosses over to mainstream pop success while delivering a politically conscious funk anthem. The title track reaches number one on the R&B chart.

Sylvester, an openly gay Black artist, releases You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real), which becomes an international dance hit and one of the defining songs of the disco era, pioneering the visibility of Black queer artistry.

Chic, led by Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards, releases Le Freak, which becomes the best-selling single in Atlantic Records history up to that point and defines sophisticated funk-disco.

Funkadelic releases One Nation Under a Groove, which crosses over to mainstream pop success while delivering a politically conscious funk anthem. The title track reaches number one on the R&B chart.

Ernest Nathan Morial is elected as the first Black mayor of New Orleans, a city with deep roots in both African American and Creole culture, his election marking a turning point in Southern urban politics.

Ernest Nathan Morial is elected as the first Black mayor of New Orleans, a city with deep roots in both African American and Creole culture, his election marking a turning point in Southern urban politics.

The Wiz, starring Diana Ross and Michael Jackson with music by Quincy Jones, marks the largest-budgeted film with an all-Black principal cast to that point.

The Wiz, based on the 1975 Broadway musical, is released starring Diana Ross and Michael Jackson with music by Quincy Jones. Despite mixed reviews, it marks the largest-budgeted film with an all-Black principal cast to that point.

The Commodores release Three Times a Lady, written by Lionel Richie, which reaches number one on the pop charts and marks the band's transition from funk to ballads, demonstrating Lionel Richie's songwriting gifts.

NASA selects its first class of diverse astronaut candidates in 1978 including Guion Bluford and Ronald McNair among Black men, and while no Black woman is selected, the class signals NASA's expanding diversity in the Space Shuttle era.

The U.S. Postal Service issues its first Black Heritage commemorative stamp honoring Harriet Tubman, inaugurating an annual series that in subsequent years honors Black Americans including Martin Luther King Jr., Benjamin Banneker, and others — a formal recognition of Black history in national iconography.