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Inclusion is respect. Inclusion is feeling and being valued.
Inclusion Milestones
What’s happening in the real world when a book is published
and the book’s fictional setting both inform literary inclusion and exclusion.
2026
Inclusion Milestones are events reflecting progress toward inclusion of traditionally marginalized Americans.
2025
• Protests against divisive Trump policies gain nationwide traction.
• Costco elevates commitment to DEI; revenues, loyalty increase.
• 20 state attorneys general sue to protect DEI.
2024
• Biden gives first government apology to Native Americans.
• AI shows limitations/potential to address bias, improve health.
• Barbie takes on patriarchy.
2023
• Tina Turner, first black artist and first woman on a Rolling Stone cover, remembered as inspiration to domestic abuse survivors.
2023
• Lighthouse Programme identifies DEI success factors: root cause understanding; success definition; accountable, invested leaders; specific context solution; tracking/course correction.
2022
• Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson appointed to Supreme Court
• U.S. support of Ukrainians includes ban of Russian oil
• Politico outs conservative decision to overturn Roe v. Wade
2021
• Police support conviction of George Floyd's murderer
• Most diverse U.S. Cabinet
• NASA Headquarters Building renamed after agency's first Black female engineer
2020
• Kamala Harris elected VP
• Black Lives Matter protests, largest U.S. movement
• Supreme Court prohibits LBGTQ workplace discrimination
2019
• Billy Porter first openly gay Black man to win Emmy for drama series lead actor
• Teen activist Greta Thunberg arrives in NYC after emissions-free voyage across the Atlantic
2018
• "Crazy Rich Asians" highest earning rom com in a decade
• Jared Polis first openly gay man elected governor
• First transgender person signs contract to join U.S. military
2017
• DC residents first to choose X as gender marker for driver's licenses and ID cards
• Danica Roem first openly transgender candidate elected to state legislature (Virginia)
2016
• Barbie doll introduces three new body types
• Obama signs bill to ban term “Oriental”
• Pentagon lifts transgender ban
2015
• Boy Scouts removes openly gay leader/employee restriction
• Sarah Thomas first woman NFL referee
• Supreme Court rules states cannot ban same-sex marriage
2014
• Mo'ne Davis first Little League World Series girl shutout pitcher
• America’s first marijuana stores open in Colorado
• First ALS Ice Bucket Challenge
2013
• Mary Barra first female CEO of major auto manufacturer
• U.S. military lift ban against women serving in combat
• Supreme Court rules same-sex couples entitled to benefits
2012
• Katy Perry first woman with 5 consecutive #1 Billboard singles from one album
• Obama first sitting president to publicly support LGBTQ marriage
2011
• "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" ends ban on gay men and lesbians from serving openly in military.
• Trevor Bayne becomes youngest Daytona 500 winner
2010
• Kathryn Bigelow first woman Best Director Oscar winner
• Legislation for Indians and Black farmer reparation
• 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act
2009
• Stephen Hawking throws party for time travelers
• Hate Crime Prevention Act
• Rosa's Law replaces term “mental retardation" with “intellectual disability”
2008
• Barack Obama first U.S. Black president
• California Supreme Court rules marriage defined as opposite-sex couples unconstitutional
2007
• Nancy Pelosi first female Speaker of the House
• Nola Ochs graduates from college at age 95
• Hate Crime Act definitions expanded
2006
• Nine-year old Jordan Romero climbs Mt Kilimanjaro
• New Jersey rules for rights and benefits of marriage to gay and lesbian couples
2005
• Greek-born Arianna Huffington launches Huff Post
• Condoleezza Rice first Black woman U.S. Secretary of State.
• America supports victims of Hurrican Katrina
2004
• 19-year old Mark Zuckerberg co-founds Facebook
• Massachusetts first state to legalize same-sex marriage
• Bush proposes legal status for immigrants with jobs
2003
• Scientists from around the world sequence human genome
• "Finding Nemo," which deals with memory loss, becomes Pixar's biggest success to date
2002
• Halle Berry first Black woman to win Best Actress Oscar
• No Child Left Behind passed to reform educational outcomes
• Godless Americans March on Washington
2001
• Colin Powell first Black Secretary of State
• America mourns 9-11
• Virginia first to formally express regret for eugenics legislation
2000
• Sacagawea on dollar coin
• Kathleen A McGrath first woman to command a U.S. Navy warship
• Closest Presidential election in U.S. history
1999
• Mace first woman Citadel grad
• Maurice Ashley world's first Black chess grandmaster
• Unjustified segregation of persons with disabilities ruled discrimination by Supremes
1998
• Coretta Scott King asks for to help extinguish homophobia
• Nez Pierce tribe returned to Oregon after 121 years of exile
• Assistive Tech Act supports individuals with disabilities
1997
• Tiger Woods first Black and youngest Masters champion
• Madeleine Albright first female secretary of state
• Ellen DeGeneres comes out on “Time” cover
1996
• Telecomm Act mandates closed captioning and computer & telephone accessibility
• Hawaii first state to require gay and lesbian couples same privileges as other couples
1995
• “Superman” Reeves paralyzed; later creates spinal cord injury research legacy
• Million Man March
• Internet goes mainstream
• Mississippi approves slavery abolition
1994
• Future Chobani CEO Ulukaya moves to U.S. with $3,000 and no English
• Violence Against Women Act
• Darnell Martin first Black woman to direct major movie
1993
• RBG joins the Supreme Court
• Joycelyn Elders first African American surgeon general
• National Home of Your Own for people with developmental disabilities
1992
• LA Riots follow acquittal of four white LAPD officers in Rodney King beating
• Carol Moseley Braun is first African American woman senator
1991
• Naomi Campbell on Time cover
• World Wide Web debuts
• Autism is special ed category
• 92-year old Dr. Paul Spangler finishes NYC marathon
1990
• Wang opens bridal boutique
• ADA provides disability access
• Temple Grandin, autistic hero, invents humane cattle restraints
• Native American Languages Act protects native languages
1989
• Opening of Chinese-American I.M. Pei's Louvre Pyramid
• Colin Powell first Black Joint Chiefs of Staff chair
• Ros-Lehtinen first Hispanic woman elected to Congress
1988
• Shawna Robinson first woman to win NASCAR-sanctioned race
• Accessible housing units required in all new government assisted housing projects
1987
• Aretha Franklin first woman inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
• Congress passes McKinney Homeless Assistance Act
1986
• Oprah launches talk show
• Ann Bancroft first woman to trek North Pole
• Modern Museum of Art displays Racing Wheelchair
1985
• Live Aid Ethiopian famine relief concerts
• Gwendolyn Brooks first Black U.S. Poet Laureate
• Penny Harrington first female police chief of a major U.S. city
1984
• Jesse Jackson first Black man to run for president
• Geraldine Ferraro first major party woman VP nominee
• Joan Benoit wins the first women's Olympic marathon
1983
• Sally Ride first woman, Guion Bluford first African American in space
• Discrimination suit overturns eviction of doc treating HIV patients
1982
• MJ drops “Thriller”
• Wisconsin outlaws sex orientation discrimination
• The National Coalition for the Homeless is founded
• Viet Nam War Memorial, designed by Maya Lin
1981
• Sandra Day O’Connor sworn in as first female Supreme Court justice
• IBM Personal Computer intro, tech created in part by Black inventor Mark Dean
1980
• First rainbow flag
• Johnsons establish BET
• Sioux refuse Black Hills reparation
• Make-A-Wish created
• Census adds Asian American
1979
• Google’s Sergey Brin emigrates to escape persecution
• Susan B. Anthony first woman honored on U.S. coin
• First National March on D.C. for Lesbian and Gay Rights
1978
• Supreme Court denies quotas, upholds college racial diversity
• American Indian Religious Freedom Act and Indian Child Welfare Acts passed
1977
• Janet Guthrie first woman to race in Indianapolis 500
• Andrew Young America's first Black US ambassador to UN
• PC intros: Apple, Radio Shack, Commodore
1976
• 89-year old Arthur Rubinstein performs at Carnegie Hall
• “Linda the Librarian,” who is deaf, debuts on Sesame Street
• Jobs age 21 and Gates age 20 co-found Apple and Microsoft™
1975
• Women get right to open credit card in their own name
• Free education for children with disabilities mandated
• Transfer from Indian Affairs to tribal governments begins
1974
• Beverly Johnson first Black woman on “Vogue” cover
• Kathy Kozachenko first openly LGBTQ elected to public office
• Repeals of last “Ugly Law” to avoid public view of a disability
1973
• Billie Jean King beats Bobby Riggs in straight sets
• Roe v Wade protects legal right to abortion
• Homosexuality removed from mental disorder list
1972
• Title IX passes: equal athletic funding, opportunities
• Katharine Graham first female Fortune 500 CEO
• Ms. Magazine launch
• Chamberlin scores 100 points
1971
• Charley Pride wins County Music Entertainer of the Year
• WGBH Boston provides Closed Captioning
• PARC requires education of people with handicaps
1970
• Betty Friedan leads Women's Strike for Equality march
• Senate votes to return 48,000 acres to Taos Indians
• Urban Mass Transit Act requires wheel chair lifts
1969
• Jimi Hendrix headlines at Woodstock
• Stonewall Inn raid protests ignite gay civil rights movement
• Anti Vietnam war protests
1968
• Architectural Barriers Act requires accessible buildings
• Indian Civil Rights Act requires land expansion consent
• Berkley student Yuji Ichioka coins term Asian American
1967
• Thurgood Marshall first Black Supreme Court justice
• Federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act
• National Theatre of the Deaf created
1966
• Special Olympics launch
• Edward Brooke first popularly-elected Black senator
• Dr. Harry Benjamin prescribes gender transition hormones
• NOW founded
1965
• Prior’s first Ed Sullivan show
• Selma to Montgomery March
• Supreme Court ends state and local contraception laws
• Medicare and Medicaid for disabilities and low-income
1964
• Conscientious Objector Ali becomes heavyweight champ
• Title VII bans discrimination
• Takemoto Mink is first Asian American woman in Congress
• LBJ declares War on Poverty
1963
• Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech
• Equal Pay Act prohibits sex-based wage discrimination
• Community Mental Health Act alters mental health services
1962
• Andy Warhol mocks ads and supermarkets via soup cans
• Ed Roberts, paralyzed, wins fight to attend UC Berkley
• Bob Dylan writes protest anthem “Blowin’ in the Wind”
1961
• Motown signs Stevie Wonder
• Ernie Davis first Black Heisman Trophy winner
• Illinois repeals sodomy laws; first to decriminalize homosexuality
1960
• Greensboro Four stage civil rights movement sit-in prompts Woolworth to serve first Black customer at Greensboro counter
• FDA approves first commercial birth control pill
1959
• Berry Gordy founds Motown
• U.S. Census Bureau begins to track poverty by race
• Hiram Fong first Asian American senator
1958
• Bobby Fischer, age 15, international grandmaster
• Monument Valley first Navajo Tribal Park
• "Rehabilitation Gazette" launches, focuses on rights
1957
• Althea Gibson first Black tennis player to win Wimbledon
• Royal Ice Cream sit in to protest segregation.
• Johnny Cash, plays first prison concert; calls attention to reform
1956
• Elvis Presley becomes phenom
• Billie Holiday’s “Lady Sings the Blues at Carnie Hall”
• Dalip Singh Saunda first Asian elected to Congress
• First electric wheelchair
1955
• Rosa Parks refuses to give her bus seat to a white man
• Helen Keller’s doc wins Oscar
• Child Welfare League: first professional adoption conference
1954
• Brown v Board of Education upends racial school segregation
• Access to free public education for children with disabilities
• McCarthy censured by Senate for Communist witch hunt
1953
• Suffering Marilyn Monroe stars in “Some Like It Hot”
• Kinsey's “Sexual Behavior in the Human Female” published
• George Washington Carver national monument dedicated
1952
• Ellison’s “Invisible Man” reveals how it feels to be a Black man people refuse to see
• Social Security Act provides funds for social service programs for older persons
1951
• Janet Collins first Black prima ballerina
• "We Charge Genocide" paper about U.S. submitted to U.N.
• 22nd Amendment limits Presidents to two terms
1950
• Ralph Bunche: first Black American Nobel Peace Prize win
• Einstein warns nuclear war leads to mutual destruction
• Mattachine Society, one of first gay rights groups, formed
1949
• Truman declares right of all Americans to a "fair deal"
• Congress raises min wage, extends old-age benefits, creates Federal Housing Act to provide suitable homes for all Americans
1948
• Kinsey's "Sexual Behavior in the Human Male" published
• Executive Order: “equality of treatment in the military"
• Native American right to vote
• First computer program
1947
• Robinson breaks color barrier; plays in first TV world series.
• Freedom Riders challenge Jim Crow laws
• Hollywood Ten defy congressional communist hunters
1946
• Paralyzed Vets of America founded by service members
• Washington, first Black NFL player, signs with Rams
• Mother Cabrini first U.S. citizen canonized as saint
1945
• World War II ends; concentration camps liberated
• Wheelchair basketball begins
• Pap smear to detect cervical cancer perfected
1944
• GI Rights Bill gets resources for vets to attend college, buy homes and farms
• Supremes require States to make primary election voting accessible to all races
1943
• First mainframe computer weighs 5 tons, fills entire room
• Chinese immigrant exclusion law repealed
• Olympian POW Zamperini begins post-crash survival story
1942
• Rosie the Riveter celebrates women working in factories
• Nakashima learns traditional Japanese furniture making in Idaho internment camp
1941
• Pearl Harbor attack sparks US World War II involvement
• Lindbergh's antisemitism publicly condemned
• Exec Order 8802 bans racial employment discrimination
1940
• McDaniel wins "Gone with the Wind" Oscar yet is seated at segrated table
• Woody Guthrie writes "This Land is Your Land"
1939
• Chrysler meets many striking worker demands; solidifies UAW position, contributes to broad labor gains
• Marian Anderson sings on Lincoln Memorial steps
1938
• Wages & Hours Act creates minimum wage, prohibits child labor, mandates OT pay
• March of Dimes founded
• Benny Goodman plays swing jazz at Carnegie Hall
1937
• Intro of automatic washer
• "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" first feature-length animated cartoon with sound
• Senate vote avoids Supreme Court packing
1936
• Jesse Owens wins four golds
• Public Works Admin launches large-scale mass transit assistance
• Edward VII abdicates; marries American Mrs. Wallis Simpson
1935
• Wagner Act guarantees rights to organize trade unions, collectively bargain, and strike
• Canned beer available
• Alcoholics Anonymous founded
1934
• FHA, amortized mortgages make home ownership more attainable
• FCC organized to regulate telephone, telegraph and radio
1933
• TVA, Public Works Admin, and Relief & Construction Act create public works jobs to address flooding, electricity, forests and build dams, bridges, schools, and hospitals.
1932
• Dept. of Labor gets power to determine minimum wage
• Amelia Earhart solos Atlantic
• Unemployed veterans protest for payment denied by Senate
1931
• Teenage girl Jackie Mitchell strikes out Ruth & Gehrig
• Al Capone sentenced for tax evasion
• Frozen veggies available
1930
• Salvatierra fights in Texas to end segregation of children of Mexican descent
• Supremes end prohibition
• Department of Veteran Affairs founded
1929
• National City Bank provides $25 million credit to stop market slide
• German Shepherd Buddy first guide dog
• First frozen veggies available
1928
• Virginia sterilization law challenged; Supremes ruling to affirm still not overturned
• Bootleggers' income taxed
• 78 recordings of Louis Armstrong's West End Blues
1927
• Fur & Leather Workers strike leads to 40-hour work week.
• U.S. 40 first coast‐to‐coast highway
• DeFord Bailey first Black Grand Ole Opry performer
1926
• Gertrude Ederle first woman to swim the English Channel
• Richard Byrd almost flies over the North Pole
• Amateur Bobby Jones wins British Open
1925
• Scopes teaches evolution knowing he'll be indicted
• Act of Congress recognizes Native Americans as citizens
• Hubble documents Milky Way is one of many galaxies
1924
• IBM and MGM founded
• Statue of Liberty designated National Monument
• Nellie Tayloe Ross first woman elected governor
1923
• Time magazine founded
• Immigrant Zworykin files electronic TV patent
• First successful heart value surgery
1922
• 1st presidential radio address
• 1st female senator serves one day until man is available
• Douglass home landmarked
• Lincoln Memorial dedicated
• 1st public NYC Bat Mitzvah
1921
• First Black women conferred doctorates: Sadie Alexander, Georgiana Simpson, Eva Dykes
• National Amateur & Athletic Fed founded to put girls, boys on "equal footing"
1920
• 19th Amendment ratified; women get right to vote
• Edith Wilson effectively secret female president after Woodrow Wilson's stroke
• Negro Nat'l League opens
1919
• Johnson organizes peaceful protests against racial violence
• Laborers strike to protest working conditions
• Felix the Cat first cartoon character
1918
• Influenza pandemic prompts masking, social distancing, hospital isolation
• Armistice agreement ends WWI fighting
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