Boston Masons, led by Prince Hall, established first Black interstate organization, creating lodges in Philadelphia and Providence, Rhode Island.

Dawson was born in Augusta, Georgia on January 30, 1926.

United States population: 5,308,483. Black population 1,002,037 (18.9 per cent).

Born: 1827

Died: January 30, 1900

Birthplace: Norfolk, Virginia

John P. Parker was born in Norfolk, Virginia , the

son of a white father and a slave mother. He was

sold to a slave agent from Richmond, Virginia at

age eight.

Parker worker for two years at a foundry and the

New Orleans docks as a stevedore and purchased his

freedom from his earnings. The price of freedom

for John P.Parker in 1845 was $1800.

In 1845, Parker obtained a pass to travel north to

Indiana, where he was lured by the work offered in

foundries near New Albany or Jefferson, Indiana.

Near Cincinnati, Parker began his career as a

conductor on the Underground Railroad. Helping

a local Negro barber, Parker was able to remove

two young girls from Kentucky to freedom in

Indiana and Ohio.

He devoted his life to forays in Kentucky, to

scouting on both sides of the Ohio River, to

taking care of the helpless slaves who had found

their way to Ohio and could not get across, to

actual fighting for them and against their

pursuing masters.

Parker before the Emanicipation Proclamation, took

an active role in removing an estimated 1000

slaves from bondage. Unlike other abolitionists

Parker remained separate from organized church

groups, which he viewed as an enemy of the people.

Repeatedly on Time magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people in the world, Oprah Winfrey is a television host, media mogul – in television, radio, film, and print – and philanthropist.  Forbes magazine included her in its 2003 list of America’s billionaires, the first African American woman to become one.

The “Oprah Winfrey Show” is in its 22nd season, and is syndicated to 214 United States stations, and 139 countries. Launched in April 2000, O, The Oprah Magazine, has a current circulation of 2.3 million monthly readers, and is considered one of the most successful magazine launches in publishing history. In 2004, a companion publication, O at Home, made its debut.  

Ms. Winfrey has garnered numerous honors and awards in recognition of her many contributions and achievements. After receiving more than 40 Emmy awards, she removed herself from further consideration. In 1998 she received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. She has been honored by the National Book Foundation.  In 2005 Winfrey was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), and two years later she was awarded the 2007 Humanitarian Award from the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity.    

Born Oprah Gail Winfrey on January 30, 1954 in Kosciusko, Mississippi, she was first raised by her impoverished grandmother on a farm. At age six she went to live with her mother Vernita in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  There she was sexually abused by male relatives and friends of her mother.  In 1993 Winfrey testified before a Senate Judiciary Committee in favor of a National Child Protection Act which President Bill Clinton signed into law as the “Oprah Bill” in of that year.  At age 13 Winfrey went to live with her father Vernon in Nashville, Tennessee. Under his strict supervision, she was required to read a book a week, contributing to her lifelong love of books and reading.

In 1971 Winfrey entered Tennessee State University, and began working

William Wells Brown, novelist and dramatist,

publishes first Black drama, Leap to

Freedom

Richard Theodore Greener becomes the first African American to graduate from Harvard University

Sharon Pratt Dixon, first woman Mayor of Washington, D.C., born

Leroy Satchel Paige, major league baseball

player, named all-time outstanding player by

National Baseball Congress

Inventor Granville T. Woods dies in New York City on January 30, 1910.

Sharon Pratt Dixon was born on January 30, 1944 in Washington, D.C. to parents Carlisle Pratt and Mildred (Petticord) Pratt.  Carlisle was a Washington, D.C. Superior Court Judge.  Mildred Pratt died of breast cancer when Sharon was four years old.  Pratt’s father played a major role in her life by instilling certain values and encouraging her commitment to public service.  Sharon Pratt attended public schools in Washington, D.C. and graduated with honors from Roosevelt High School in 1961. 

Although she initially wanting to pursue an acting career, her father persuaded Pratt to attend Howard University where in 1965 she received a B.A. degree in Political Science.  She then enrolled in Howard University’s School of Law.  While in law school, she married Arrington Dixon in 1966 who later became a Washington, D.C. city councilmember.  In 1968 Dixon earned her law degree and gave birth to their first daughter, Aimee Arrington Dixon.  A second daughter, Drew Arrington Dixon, was born in 1970. 

After she completed law school Dixon initially worked in private practice from 1971- 1976 where she was an associate in her father’s law firm, Pratt and Queen.  Dixon focused on the rights of children in custodial cases, provided legal representation for juveniles, and became a leader in the emerging area of family rights law.  In 1972, Dixon was named a Professor of Law at the Antioch School of Law in Washington, D.C., a post she held for four years.

In 1976, Dixon began working for Potomac Electric Power Company (PEPCO), the utility company for the Washington, D.C. area.  Eventually becoming Vice President of Public Policy, Dixon was both the first woman and the first African American to hold this position.  During her term, she created new programs to improve low-income D.C. residents and senior citizens.  She also created new employment opportunities for Washington, D.C. residents by launching satellite branches of PEPCO.

Dixon was actively involved in the Democratic Party.  In 1977 she was elected as the Democratic

Franklin Thomas named president of the Ford

Foundation

When he died on January 30, 1910 in New York City he had become an admired and well respected inventor, having sold a number of his devices to such giants as Westinghouse, General Electric and American Engineering – more importantly the world knew him as the Black Thomas Edison.

Home of Martin Luther King Jr. Montgomery bus boycott leader bombed.

Harlem Globetrotters formed

Congress refused to accept the first recorded petitions from American Blacks.

Sojourner Truth born a slave in Hurley, New York.

U.S. Rep. Floyd Flake, D-New York, was born in Los Angeles, California. A businessman and minister, Flake established the Allen Christian School and Allen Home Care Agency.