Did You Know That In...

Anti-Slavery Law

The congressional confiscation bill freed slaves who were forced to fight against the United States government, or to work in support of the rebellion.

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Aug

6

1861

Isaac Murphy later considered one of the greatest jockeys in US history rides

Isaac Murphy later considered one of the greatest jockeys in US history rides his first race in Louisville, KY.

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Jan

0

1875

Pan-African Congress Meeting

Pan-African Congress, organized by W.E.B. Du Bois, met a Grand Hotel, Paris. There were fifty-seven delegates sixteen from the United States and fourteen from Africa form sixteen countries and colonies. Blaise Diagne of Senegal was elected president and Du Bois was named secretary.

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Feb

19

1919

About Us

BlackPast.org, an online reference center makes availablea wealth of materials on African American history in one centrallocation on the Internet. These materials include an onlineencyclopedia of over 4,000 entries, the complete transcript of more than 300speeches by African Americans, other people

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Source: Black Past

Wilberforce University (1856- )

Wilberforce University was established near Xenia, Ohio in 1856 as a joint venture between the Methodist Episcopal Church and the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Named after 18th century abolitionist William Wilberforce, it was the first private, historically black university in the United

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Source: Black Past

First black doctor in US

James Derham was the first black doctor in the United States.

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Jan

0

2000

Anthony Burns, celebrated fugitive slave, arrested

Anthony Burns, celebrated fugitive slave, arrested by United States Deputy marshals in Boston. Two thousand United States troops escorted him through the streets of Boston when he was returned to the South on June 3.

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Source: Blackfacts.com

May

24

1854

Rollins, Ida Gray Nelson (1867-1953)

Ida Gray Nelson Rollins, the first African American Woman dentist, was born in Clarksville, Tennessee, on March 4, 1867. She became an orphan when her mother, Jennie Gray, died in her early teens. Rollins’ white father, whose name is not known, played no role in her childhood or education. After

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Source: Black Past

Samuel L. Gravely is born

Samuel Gravely was appointed captain of the Navy Destroyer Escort, U.S.S. Falgout, the first African American to command a United States warship. He later received the rand of Rear Admiral, a first for an African American navyman.

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Jun

4

1922

Bullard, Eugene James ["Jacques"] (1895-1961)

Eugene James (Jacques) Bullard, the first African American combat aviator, was known as the “black swallow of death” for his courage during missions. He led a colorful life, much of it in

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Source: Black Past

Oct

9

1895

Michelle Obama

Born: 1/17/1964 Chicago, IllinoisMichelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama is an American lawyer and writer. She is married to the 44th and current President of the United States, Barack Obama, and is the first African-American First Lady of the United StatesBusiness / Schooling: Awards / Achievements:

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Michael Jordan

Born: 2/17/1963 Brooklyn, New YorkMichael Jeffrey Jordan, also known by his initials, MJ, is an American former professional basketball player. He is also a businessman, and principal owner and chairman of the Charlotte Hornets.Business / Schooling: Awards / Achievements:

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Joe Louis

Born: 5/13/1914 La Fayette, AlabamaDied: 4/12/1981 Paradise, NevadaJoseph Louis Barrow, best known as Joe Louis, was an American professional boxer. He held the world heavyweight championship from 1937 to 1949, and is considered to be one of the greatest heavyweights of all timeAwards

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Miller, Heather

Heather earned a PhD in comparative women’s history, Latin American history, and the history of sexuality at the Ohio State University in 2002, where she completed her dissertation, “The Teeming Brothel: Sex Acts, Desires, and Sexual Identities in the United States, 1870–1990.” She has

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Source: Black Past

Xavier University, the first Black Catholic college in the US, opens in New Orle

Xavier University, the first Black Catholic college in the US, opens in New Orleans

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Sep

27

1915

Joycelyn Elders

Born: 8/13/1933 Schaal, ArkansasMinnie Joycelyn Elders is an American pediatrician and public health administrator. She was a vice admiral in the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and the first African American appointed as Surgeon General of the United States.Business / Schooling: Awards

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Otis Boykin

Otis F. Boykin was born on August 29, 1920 in Dallas, Texas. After graduating high school, he attended Fisk College in Nashville, Tennessee. He graduated in 1941 and took a job as a laboratory assistant with the Majestic Radio and TV Corporation in Chicago, Illinois. He undertook various tasks but

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Source: Black History Resources

Marcus Garvey

Born: 8/17/1887 Saint Anns Bay, JamaicaDied: 6/10/1940 London, United KingdomMarcus Garvey was a Jamaican political leader, publisher, journalist, entrepreneur, and orator who was a staunch proponent of the Black Nationalism and Pan-Africanism movements, to which end he founded the Universal Negro

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Booker T. Washington

Born: 4/5/856 Hales FordDied: /4/95 Tuskegee, Alabama, U.S.Booker T. Washington was an African-American educator, author, orator, and advisor to presidents of the United States. Between 890 and 95, Washington was the dominant leader in the African-American community. Washington was from the last

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Ethiopia defeats Italy at Battle of Adowa

The Battle of Adwa and the Victory of Adwa Centenary Medal

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Mar

2

1896

Adams, R. Miller

R. Miller Adams focuses his efforts on the private equity component of Triad Capital Partners. Miller started his career practicing law in a downtown Seattle firm focusing on business, sports, and entertainment law and early stage technology companies. He then spent a decade as a senior executive

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Source: Black Past

Britton, Theodore R., Jr. (1925- )

Ambassador Theodore Roosevelt Britton, Jr. was born on October 17, 1925 in North Augusta, South Carolina. In 1936, he and his family migrated to New York City, New York. Britton was drafted into the U.S. Marine Corps out of high school soon after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Although he was unaware

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Source: Black Past

Cornel West

Cornel West is an American philosopher, activist, academic and intellectual; he is also the first African-American to have graduated from Princeton University with a PhD in

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Source: Black History Resources

Jun

2

1963

Race, Gender, Jazz & Local 493: Black Women Musicians in Seattle: 1920-1955

During its brief and rocky tenure from 1918 to 1924, pianist Gertrude Harvey Wright was one of four women in Seattle’s first black musicians’ union, the American Federation of Musicians’ Local 458. Wright, Virginia Hughes, a “Mrs. Austin,” and (Edythe) “Turnham,” all

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Source: Black Past

Duke Ellington

Born: 4/29/899 Washington, D.C., United StatesDied: 5/24/974 New York City, New YorkDuke Ellington was an American composer, pianist and bandleader of jazz orchestras. He led his orchestra from 923 until his death, his career spanning over 50 yearsAwards / Achievements:

960, Hollywood Walk

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Roy Jones Jr.

Roy Jones Jr. is an American boxer, born on the 16th of January, 1969 in Pensacola, Florida, USA. While also developing sequential interests in music and acting, Jones is most notably known as an all-time American boxer, winning a host of trophies to his name in an exciting career. What has

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Source: Black History Resources

Inventor Jan E. Matzeliger born

Inventor Jan E. Matzeliger was born in Dutch Guyana and immigrated to the US in 1878. He patented a shoe lasting machine in 1880.

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Sep

15

1852

Taylor, Ruth Carol (1931- )

Journalist and nurse Ruth Carol Taylor became the first African American airline flight attendant in the United States when she joined Mohawk Airlines in 1958. While she is most commonly known for her achievement in the airline industry, she spent much of her career as an activist for minority and

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Source: Black Past

Feb

11

1958

General William T. Sherman's Special Field Order No. 15 (1865)

On January 16, 1865, Union General William T. Sherman issued Special Field Order No. 15 which confiscated as Federal property a strip of coastal land extending about 30 miles inland from the Atlantic and stretching from Charleston, South Carolina 245 miles south to Jacksonville, Florida. The order

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Source: Black Past

Jan

16

1865

Wash., D.C. Slave Emancipation and Reparations

On April 16, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed a bill ending slavery in the District of Columbia. Passage of this act came

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Apr

16

1862

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