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Ella Fitzgerald Born
Ella Fitzgerald, First Lady of Song, born. In 1934, an awkward sixteen-year-old girl made her singing debut at the Harlem Apollo Theatre amateur night in New York City. She intended to dance, but she lost her nerve when she got on stage. The man said, do something while youre out there, the singer
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Apr
25
1918
(1863) Rev. Jonathan C. Gibbs, “Freedom's Joyful Day”
African Americans throughout the North held meetings and church services on January 1, 1863 to celebrate the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation. Almost always the festivities revolved around a central speaker. One of those speeches was delivered by Rev. Jonathan C. Gibbs, pastor of the First
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Source: Black Past
Mos Def
The renowned actor and rapper, Mos Def is widely known for his hip hop songs that depict a social themes and consciousness. Fans also identify his memorable performances in Hollywood flicks such as Guide to the Galaxy, The Italian Job and
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Source: Black History Resources
Dec
11
1973
(2004) Bill Cosby, “The Pound Cake Speech”
On May 17, 2004, the NAACP staged a gala celebration at Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C. to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court Decision in Brown v. Board of Education. Comedian, actor, and philanthropist Bill Cosby was asked to deliver the main address. Cosby
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Source: Black Past
May
17
2004
Owen, Robert
Owen, Robert, 1771–1858, British social reformer and socialist, pioneer in the cooperative movement. The son of a saddler, he had little formal education but was a zealous reader. At the age of 10 he began working in the textile business and by 1794 had become a successful cotton manufacturer in
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Source: Fact Monster - Black History
Hubert Harrison: The Voice of Early 20th Century Harlem Radicalism
In the article below independent historian Jeffrey Perry discusses his 2008 book on early 20th Century Harlem activist Hubert
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Source: Black Past
Sponsored by Illinois Math and Science Academy
(1888) Frederick Douglass On Woman Suffrage
? F.A.Q. Frederick Douglass was one of the few men present at the pioneer woman’s rights convention held at Seneca Falls, New York, in July 1848. His support of women’s rights never wavered although in 1869 he publicly disagreed with Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony who called for women
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Source: Black Past
Sponsored by Association of Latino Professionals For America (ALPFA) Boston Professional Chapter
Henderson, George Washington (c. 1850-1936)
Born a slave in Clark County, Virginia, George Washington Henderson graduated from the University of Vermont in 1877 and became the first African American to be inducted into Phi Beta Kappa (PBK), the highest academic honor society. He later received a bachelor’s degree in divinity from Yale
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Source: Black Past
Feb
3
1936
Guinea bissau
In Nov. 1980, João Bernardo Vieira headed a military coup that deposed Luis Cabral, president since 1974. In his 19 years of rule, Vieira was criticized for crony capitalism and corruption and for failing to alleviate the poverty of Guinea-Bissau, one of the worlds poorest countries. Vieira also
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Source: Fact Monster - Black History
(1889) John E. Bruce, “Organized Resistance Is Our Best Remedy”
The Negro must not be rash and indiscreet either in action or in his words but he must be very determined and terribly in earnest, and of one mind to bring order out of chaos and to convince Southern rowdies and cutthroats that more than two can play at the game with which they have amused their
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Source: Black Past
Sponsored by Concerned Black Men of Massachusetts
Zimbabwe, Independence Day
Zimbabwe, Independence Day
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Apr
18
1980
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island in the West Indies, 90 mi (145 km) south of Cuba and 100 mi (161 km) west of Haiti. It is a little smaller than Connecticut. The island is made up of coastal lowlands, a limestone plateau, and the Blue Mountains, a group of volcanic hills, in the
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Source: Fact Monster - Black History
Willie Mays, born
Baseball great Willie Howard Mays was born in Westfield, Alabama. Mays played with both the New York and San Francisco Giants. He was National League batting champion four times and twice the leagues Most Valuable Player.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by Pride Academy
May
6
1931
Young, Andrew (1932 - )
Andrew Young, Jr., came into prominence as a civil rights activist and close associate of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., during the modern civil rights movement in the United States.  Young worked with various organizations early in the movement, but his civil rights work was largely done with the
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Source: Black Past
Mar
12
1932
What Comes Naturally: The Loving v. Virginia Case in Historical Perspective
When Richard Loving and Mildred Jeter decided to get married in June 1958, laws banning interracial marriage had been in effect for nearly three centuries.  The colonies of Maryland, Virginia, and Massachusetts had banned intermarriage in 1664, 1691, and 1705.  After the American Revolution, states
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Source: Black Past
Jun
12
1967
Independence Day in Zimbabwe
Independence Day in Zimbabwe. Black and white Minutemen fought British soldiers at Lexington and Concord.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Apr
18
1989
(1964), Dr. Martin Luther King, “Receiving the Nobel Peace Prize”
On December 10, 1964, Dr. Martin Luther King became only the second African American (after Ralph Bunche) to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.  His acceptance speech appears
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Source: Black Past
Sponsored by Prospanica Boston Professional Chapter
Dec
10
1964
Birth of William Seymour
William Seymour was born in Centerville, Louisiana. He is credited as being the inspirational force behind the birth of Pentecostalism in the United States.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by Concerned Black Men of Massachusetts
May
2
1870
(1875) Congressman James T. Rapier, “Half Free, Half Slave”
On February 4, 1875, Congressman James T. Rapier of Alabama, rose on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives to support the Civil Right bill then before Congress which when enacted later that year became the Civil Rights Act of 1875.   His speech appears
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Source: Black Past
Feb
4
1875
Operation Equity
Although racially restricted housing covenants had been banned by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1948, various forms of de facto housing segregation kept African Americans relatively isolated spatially in urban areas, including the city of Seattle.  Many white homeowners in the years following the
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Source: Black Past
Apr
19
1968
(1879) Robert J. Harlan, “Migration is the Only Remedy for Our Wrongs”
Between 1879 and 1880, six thousand Exodusters left Louisiana and Mississippi for Kansas. Their migration, prompted by the end of racially-integrated Reconstruction governments, by anti-black violence and by sharecropping and tenant farming, brought national attention including a Congressional
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Source: Black Past
May
8
1879
Mbeki, Thabo Mvuyelwa
Mbeki, Thabo Mvuyelwa tä´bō mvo͝oyĕl´ə mbĕk´ē [key], 1942–, South African political leader. Mbeki was born into a politically active family his father, Govan Mbeki, an official with the African National Congress (ANC), was imprisoned (1964) at Robben Island along with Nelson Mandela , released
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Source: Fact Monster - Black History
Sponsored by Concerned Black Men of Massachusetts
The Great Migration
The Great Migration began. Approximately two million Southern Blacks moved to Northern industrial centers in the following
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by Greater Boston Veterans Collaborative
Dec
4
1915
Martin Luther King
Born: 1/15/1929 Atlanta, GeorgiaDied: 4/4/1968 Memphis, TennesseeKing was a pivotal figure in the non-violent civil rights movement. During the 1950s and 1960s, he sought to improve race relations and overturn discrimination in American society. He is remembered for his powerful speeches which
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Carson, Johnnie (1943- )
Johnnie Carson is a retired diplomat who served as United States Ambassador to Uganda (1991-1994), U.S. Ambassador to Zimbabwe (1995-1997), and U.S. Ambassador to Kenya (1999-2003). Carson was born on April 7, 1943 in Chicago, Illinois. After attending public schools in Chicago, Carson received
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Source: Black Past
May
7
2009
Islam
Islam ĭsläm´, ĭs´läm [key], [Arab.,=submission to God], world religion founded by the Prophet Muhammad. Founded in the 7th cent., Islam is the youngest of the three monotheistic world religions (with Judaism and Christianity). An adherent to Islam is a Muslim [Arab.,=one who
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Source: Fact Monster - Black History
Rhodes, J. Steven (1951- )
J. Steven Rhodes, U.S. Ambassador to Zimbabwe, was born in New Orleans, Louisiana on September 29, 1951.  After graduating from high school he attended Loyola Marymount University (LMU) in Los Angeles, California where he was a member of the LMU 1969 Hall of Fame football
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Source: Black Past
Sponsored by Concerned Black Men of Massachusetts
Documentary Films on Blackpast.org - African American History - Director
A&E Television Americas Black Warriors (on World War II) 1998
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Source: Black Past
Phyllis Wheatley Dies
Phyllis Wheatley, the first African-American author to be published in book form, dies in poverty at the age of thirty-one. Wheatley astonished Bostonians with her ability to write poetry while yet being a slave.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by Pride Academy
Dec
5
1784
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
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