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Cheryl Adrienne Brown
Cheryl Adrienne Brown wins the Miss Iowa pageant and becomes the first African American to compete in the Miss America beauty pageant.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Jun
14
1970
African American Shakespearean actor Morgan Smith
African American Shakespearean actor Morgan Smith dies in Sheffield, England. Smith had emigrated to England in 1866.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Mar
22
1882
Founder of Pro-Line
Comer Cottrell, founder and president of Pro-Line Corporation (1970), the largest African American owned business in the Southwest and the first African American to be part owner of a major league baseball team (1989), the Texas Rangers, born
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Dec
7
1931
Naval Frigate named after African American
The Navy frigate USS Jesse L. Brown was commissioned. The ship was named for Ensign Jesse L. Brown, the first African American naval aviator killed in combat over Korea.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Feb
17
1973
Miss America
Vanessa Williams is the 1st African American Miss America to be crowned.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by APEX Museum
Sep
17
1983
African American Women College Presidents
On July 1, 1987, for the first time in history, there were three African American women serving as Presidents of Four Year Colleges and Universities in America.They were - Dr. Niara Sudarkasa- President of Lincoln University in Pennslyvania; Dr. Johnetta Cole, President of Spelman College in
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Jul
1
1987
Lt. Gen. Frank E. Petersen (1932-).
On June 6, 1950, Frank Petersen enlisted in the Navy. At the age of 20, he was the first Afro-American to be named a naval aviator in the Marine Corp. He was also the first African American to command a fighter squadon, a fighter air group, an air wing, and a major
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Jun
6
1950
Reuben V. Anderson is appointed a judge
Reuben V. Anderson is appointed a judge on the Mississippi Supreme Court. He is the first African American named to the court.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Jan
11
1985
Josiah T. Walls
Born on this day in Winchester, VA, Josiah T. Walls was elected to the U.S. Congress for the state of Florida.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Dec
30
1842
Jefferson F. Long born
Jefferson F. Long, a merchant and tailor, was born in Knoxville, Georgia. He became the first African American from Georgia elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, serving two months and 9 days.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Mar
3
1836
W.E.B. Du Bois
W.E.B. Du Bois resigned from his position at the NAACP in a disagreement over policy and racial strategy.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Jun
26
1934
Sigma Gamma Rho, Sorority Inc. founded
Seven black women in Indianopolis, Indiana founded Sigma Gamma Rho sorority based on a desire to raise the standards of teachers in normal and other schools. These individuals included Mary Lou Allison Little, Dorothy Hanley Whiteside, Vivian White Marbury, Nannie Mae Gahn Johnson, Hattie Mae
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Nov
12
1922
White Democrats attacked demonstrators
White Democrats attacked demonstrators, who were marching from Albany to Camilla, Ga., and killed nine Blacks. Several whites were wounded.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by National Association of Asian American Professionals (NAAP) Boston Chapter
Sep
19
1868
Spingarn Medal: Clarence Mitchell Jr.
Clarence Mitchell Jr., director of the Washington Bureau of the NAACP, awarded the Spingarn Medal for the pivotal role he....played in enactment of civil rights
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by APEX Museum
Dec
4
1969
Jackie Robinson
Jackie Robinson appears on the cover of Life magazine; first time an African American is featured on the cover in the magazines 13 year history
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Source: Blackfacts.com
May
10
1950
James Weldon Johnson resigned
James Weldon Johnson resigned as executive secretary of the NAACP, citing health reasons.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by APEX Museum
Dec
19
1930
Thomas W. Turner
Thomas W. Turner founder of the Federation of Colored Catholics and charter member of the NAACP dies at age 101
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Apr
15
1978
Fifty-fifth Congress (1897-99) Convened
Fifty-fifth Congress (1897-99) convened. One Black congressman: George H. White, North Carolina.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Mar
15
1911
Former Saint Louis Cardinals first baseman Bill White is named president of the
Former Saint Louis Cardinals first baseman Bill White is named president of the National League. He is the first African American to head a major sports league.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by NSBE Boston
Feb
3
1989
Conservatives, aided by military forces, seized
Conservatives, aided by military forces, seized convention hall and established effective control over Reconstruction process in Florida. Republican conservatives drafted new constitution which concentrated political power in hands of governor and limited the impact of the Black vote.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by Association of Latino Professionals For America (ALPFA) Boston Professional Chapter
Feb
10
1868
John Mercer Langston, considered the first African
John Mercer Langston, considered the first African American to be elected to public office is elected clerk of Brownhelm, Ohio township
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Apr
2
1855
The 99th Pursuit Squadron, an all African American
The 99th Pursuit Squadron, an all African American unit is formed and the Tuskegee Training Program is established, the 99th will fly more than 500 missions and more than 3,700 sorties during one year of combat before being combined with the 332nd Fighter Group.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by Concerned Black Men of Massachusetts
Jan
16
1941
Moneta Sleet becomes the first African American to win a Pulitzer Prize for his
Moneta Sleet becomes the first African American to win a Pulitzer Prize for his photograph of Mrs. Martin Luther King, Jr. and her daughter at her husbands funeral
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Source: Blackfacts.com
May
5
1969
Slavery
Africans accompany Spanish colonizer Lucas Vasquez de Ayllon
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Jan
0
1526
The South Carolina Gazette reports that Cae
The South Carolina Gazette reports that Caesar, a South Carolina slave has been granted his freedom and a life time annuity in exchange for his cures for poison and rattlesnake bite. Caesar and the famous James Derham of New Orleans are two of the earliest know African American medical
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by Illinois Math and Science Academy
May
9
1750
Frank Mingo, one of the pioneering advertising executives who specialized in tar
Frank Mingo, one of the pioneering advertising executives who specialized in targeting African American consumers, dies
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by BARBinc
Oct
30
1989
NAACP Executive Director
Death of Roy Wilkins (80), longtime executive director of the NAACP, in New York.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sep
8
1981
Lee Elder becomes the first African American professional golfer to qualify for
Lee Elder becomes the first African American professional golfer to qualify for the Masters Tournament.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by APEX Museum
Apr
21
1974
Composer and violinist, Clarence C White, dies, 1880
Composer and violinist, Clarence C White, born
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Aug
10
1880
Forty-third Congress (1873-75) Convened
Forty-third Congress (1873-75) convened with seven Black congressmen: Richard H. Cain, Robert Brown Elliott, Joseph H. Rainey and Alonzo J. Ransier, South Carolina; James T. Rapier, Alabama; Josiah T. Walls, Florida; John R. Lynch, Mississippi.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Dec
1
1873
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