1950 – Reverend Sullivan becomes pastor of Zion Baptist Church in Philadelphia

1958 – Sullivan organizes a successful boycott of companies that refuse to hire African Americans; 300 businesses eventually agree to offer equal opportunities in their hiring

1963 – Sullivan is named by LIFE Magazine as one of the 100 Outstanding Young Adults in the United States

1964 – Sullivan establishes a skills training center in an abandoned jailhouse in North Philadelphia, which goes on to train 6,000 people in five years

1967 – President Lyndon Johnson visits the training facility and provides funding to start a network of training institutions which become known as OIC America

1970 – At the request of African community leaders, Sullivan brings his skills training model to Nigeria, Ghana and Ethiopia, establishing OIC International

1971 – Sullivan joins the General Motors’ Board of Directors, becoming the first African-American to serve as a board member for a major U.S. corporation

1977 – Sullivan develops the Sullivan Principles to promote responsible and egalitarian business practices for U.S. corporations operating in apartheid South Africa

1986 – The U.S. Congress passes the Anti-Apartheid Act and incorporates the Sullivan Principles into its legislation

1991 – Sullivan helps to organize the first conference between African-American leaders and African leaders in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire

1992 – Sullivan is awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest award given by the American government to a civilian

1999 – The ‘Global Sullivan Principles’ are established to promote human rights and equal opportunity in the workplace, and are endorsed by the United Nations