You may also like

Dred Scott Case
Dred Scott and his wife Harriet filed suit against Irene Emerson for their freedom. The Dred Scott case was first brought to trial in 1847 in the first floor, west wing courtroom of St. Louis Courthouse. A black slave from Missouri who claimed his freedom on the basis of seven years of residence in
Read more
Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by Intellitech
Apr
6
1846
Henry Armstrong
Henry Armstrong was born in this day in St. Louis, Missouri. In 1938 he became the first boxer to hold three titles after winning the boxing lighweight championship.
Read more
Source: Blackfacts.com
Dec
12
1912
Ray, Emma (1859-1930)
For nearly thirty years, Emma Ray, who was born into slavery and raised in poverty in Missouri, ministered to the poor and homeless in Seattle slums along with her husband, L.P. They came to Seattle following the 1889 fire in order for L.P. to find work as a stonemason. Shortly after, they were
Read more
Source: Black Past
Eleanor Holmes
Eleanor Holmes (later Eleanor Norton) is born in Washington, DC. A graduate of the Yale University School of Law, Norton will become chairperson of the New York City Commission on Human Rights, and a Georgetown University law professor before being elected a non-voting delegate to Congress
Read more
Source: Blackfacts.com
Jun
13
1937
Maya Angelou
Born: 4/4/1928 St. Louis, MissouriDied: 5/28/2014 Winston-Salem, North CarolinaMaya Angelou was an American author, poet, and civil rights activist. She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, and several books of poetry, and was credited with a list of plays, movies, and television
Read more
Source: Blackfacts.com
Rosa Parks
Born: 2/4/1913 Tuskegee, AlabamaDied: 10/24/2005 Detroit, MichiganRosa Parks was an African-American Civil Rights activist, whom the United States Congress called the first lady of civil rights and the mother of the freedom movement.On December 1, 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, Parks refused to obey
Read more
Source: Blackfacts.com
Dec
1
1955
Slavery
Africans accompany Spanish explorer Panfilo de Narvez on his expedition that is ship wrecked, leaving only four survivors, in southwestern Florida; this expedition continues with Narvaezs successor, Alvar nunez Calbeza de Vaca.
Read more
Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by Pride Academy
Jan
0
1527
Civil Rights Bill enacted by Congress. Bill gave B
Civil Rights Bill enacted by Congress. Bill gave Blacks the right to equal treatment in inns, public conveyances, theaters and other places of public amusement. It will be overturned by the Supreme Court in 1883.
Read more
Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by Christo Rey New York High School
Mar
1
1875
Al Sharpton
Al Sharpton is a religious leader and political activist. He was born on October 3, 1954, in Brooklyn, New York. His father left the family and Sharpton was raised by his mother. They had to move to the public housing projects, where his mother worked as a maid and supported the family on her
Read more
Source: Black History Resources
Oct
3
1954
Hirman R. Revels
Hirman R. Revels of Mississippi sworn in as first Black U.S. senator and first Black representative in Congress.
Read more
Source: Blackfacts.com
Feb
25
1870
Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Re-elected
Harlem voters defied Congress and re-elected Congressman Adam Clayton Powell Jr.
Read more
Source: Blackfacts.com
Apr
11
1967
Storm of 1928
The hurricane that hit Palm Beach County Florida, on September 16, 1928, has been identified as the third largest death total, caused by a natural disastor, in the United States.
Read more
Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by Massachusetts Black Lawyers Association (MBLA)
Sep
16
1928
Black Men and Women Elected To Congress
A record number of Black congressmen and the first Black woman representative were elected to Congress. The nine Black congressmen and Sen. Edward W. Brooke topped the previous high of eight in the Forty-fourth Congress of 1875-77. The first Black woman representative, Shirley Chisholm of the
Read more
Source: Blackfacts.com
Nov
5
1968
Shirley Chisholm becomes first Black woman to be elected to Congress, representi
Shirley Chisholm becomes first Black woman to be elected to Congress, representing Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, NYC, 1968
Read more
Source: Blackfacts.com
Nov
5
1968
Draft Act Passed
During the height of the Civil War, Congress passed this act which mandated military service for all men between the ages of twenty and forty five.
Read more
Source: Blackfacts.com
Mar
3
1863
Fango, Gobo (1855-1886)
Gobo Fango was born in the Eastern Cape Colony in what is now South Africa around 1855, just before the beginning of the eighth of the nine Xhosa Wars (Cape Frontier Wars) against British and Boer settlers.  Fango was a member of the Gcaleka tribe, a sub-group of the Xhosa peoples.  These frontier
Read more
Source: Black Past
Sponsored by Pride Academy
Murray, George Washington (1853–1926)
South Carolina Congressman George Washington Murray was born near Rembert, Sumter County, South Carolina, on September 22, 1853 to slave parents. He attended public schools, the University of South Carolina, and the State Normal Institute at Columbia, where he graduated in 1876. After
Read more
Source: Black Past
Freeing of Slaves
On May 9, 1862 General Hunter of the Union Army issued a proclomation freeing the slaves of Georgia, Florida and South Carolina. A displeased President Lincoln anulled this act. Lincoln stated, General Hunter is an honest man...He proclaimed all men free within certain states. I repudiated the
Read more
Source: Blackfacts.com
May
9
1862
Maya Angelou
Born: 4/4/1928 St. Louis, MissouriDied: 5/28/2014 Winston-Salem, North CarolinaMaya Angelou was an American author, poet, and civil rights activist. She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, and several books of poetry, and was credited with a list of plays, movies, and television
Read more
Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by Christo Rey New York High School
More than one hundred delegates from six states
More than one hundred delegates from six states held a Black convention in Philadelphia. John Mercer Langston, one of the first Blacks to win public office, elected clerk of Brownhelm Township, Lorain County, Ohio. In 1856 he was elected clerk of the township of Russia, near Oberlin. In 1857 he was
Read more
Source: Blackfacts.com
Oct
16
1855
Longshoremen Strike
Black Longshoremen struck for higher wages in St. Louis, Missouri.
Read more
Source: Blackfacts.com
Apr
21
1892
Delegates and observers a convention
Two thousand delegates and observers attended Congress of African Peoples convention in Atlanta. (8/3-7).
Read more
Source: Blackfacts.com
Aug
3
1970
Passing of Civil Rights Bill
U.S. Congress pass Civil Rights Bill banning racial discrimination in sale or rental of approximately 80 per cent of the nations housing.
Read more
Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by Diversity In Action
Apr
10
1968
Matthew Henson receives a joint medal by Congress
Matthew Henson receives a joint medal by Congress for his role as co-discoverer of the North Pole
Read more
Source: Blackfacts.com
Jan
28
1944
Arthur W. Mitchell
Born: 12/22/1883 Lafayette, AlabamaDied: 5/9/1968 Petersburg, VirginiaArthur W. Mitchell was a U.S. Representative from Illinois. Mitchell was the first African American to be elected to the United States Congress as a Democrat.Mitchell was elected to the House of Representatives in 1934, defeating
Read more
Source: Blackfacts.com
Congress readmits Mississippi
Congress passed resolution readmitting Mississippi on condition that it would never change its constitution to disenfranchise Blacks.
Read more
Source: Blackfacts.com
Feb
17
1870
Congress repeals the Enforcement Act
Congress repeals the Enforcement Act which makes it easier for some states to disenfranchise African American voters.
Read more
Source: Blackfacts.com
Feb
8
1894
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
Read more
Source: Black Past
Jan
16
1865
Four newcomers elected to Congress
Four newcomers elected to Congress: Mervyn Dymally (Calif.), Augustus Savage (ILL.), Harold Washington (Ill.) and George W. Crockett Jr. (Mich.).
Read more
Source: Blackfacts.com
Nov
30
1981
Gordon Parks' film The Learning Tree is registered in the National Film Registry
Gordon Parks film The Learning Tree is registered in the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress. It joins other films such as Casablanca, Gone with the Wind and The Wizard of Oz.
Read more
Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by Greater Boston Veterans Collaborative
Sep
19
1989
More from theGrio
Father, son fatally shot at Birmingham gas stations five years apart
Victims of colon cancer are younger than ever
Charleston church attack survivors push for hate crime bill
Journalist Jim Trotter asked NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell tough questions on diversity. Now he's out of a job.
Ryan Coogler developing 'X-Files' reboot, says show's original creator
Reparations for Black Californians could top $800 billion
Jacqueline 'Cookie' Hamer Flakes, the last living child of Pap and Fannie Lou Hamer, has passed away
Adidas doubles back on opposition to Black Lives Matter logo
House Democrats condemn Republicans for inaction following latest school shooting
Conservative group that Ginni Thomas once led received nearly $600K from unnamed donors
Nine-year-old North West might be launching a beauty brand
A white lady news anchor said ‘fo shizzle my nizzle’ on air and got benched for her trouble
Peacock reveals first-look teaser for LeBron James biopic
Vice President Harris' historic trip to Africa signals America 'means business'
7 California officers charged in death of man in custody
Black women redefine the landscape of hip-hop | Women's History Month
Kidjo, Blackwell, Pärt awarded Sweden's Polar Music Prize
3 dead, 13 missing in Caribbean sinking; 14 Africans saved
More than 50 years after the civil rights movement, governments continue to usurp Black power, nullifying the will of the people 
NFL hits highs in diverse executives, lacks in head coaches
Remembrances, calls for reform at Irvo Otieno's funeral
FDA approves over-the-counter Narcan. Here's what it means
The racial wealth gap isn't closing any time soon
Black women are building their own retreats: 'We deserve to scale the wellness industry'  
Former classmate of Nashville shooter received messages from assailant before massacre
Rep. Jamaal Bowman calls Republicans 'cowards' during heated argument outside House floor
Regé-Jean Page on 'Dungeons & Dragons,' sharing the 'heart and humor' in the fantasy film
Museum of Modern Art apologizes for ejecting a Black artist from its 'Black Power Naps' exhibit
Bryant Gumbel to become first Black journalist to receive Sports Emmy lifetime achievement award
Megan Thee Stallion, Lauryn Hill to headline 2023 ESSENCE Fest
Trump indicted by New York prosecutor; becomes 1st ex-president charged with crime
Questlove to direct 'The Aristocats' adaptation for Disney
Black leaders see irony in Trump indictment: ‘What goes around comes around’
Rejection of Black educator angers some Mississippi senators
Study: Biggest Hollywood films still go mostly to white men
Social issues dominate in Women's Hall of Fame's new class
Black entrepreneurs stymied as legal cannabis industry flourishes
Mississippi pushes more state policing in mostly Black city
Rapper's multimillion-dollar politics conspiracy trial opens
A different March Madness: Online hate for the athletes
What you should know about Trump's indictment in New York
Texas Christian University coach teaches players about consent in viral video
Senate Chaplain Barry Black is right: We need more than thoughts and prayers to reduce gun deaths
Damar Hamlin asks lawmakers to put money toward defibrillators in public schools
Marsai Martin, H.E.R. on Disney Dreamers Academy, inspiring young students
It’s Trans Day of Visibility — here’s what you should know
It’s a mistake to dismiss Trump’s hush-money indictment
Teyana Taylor says she's begun working on Dionne Warwick project
Elon Musk can have this blue checkmark back because I refuse to pay for Twitter
TheGrio TV's 'Masters of the Game' kicks off season two with Tabitha Brown

Martin Luther King Jr. Facts

Cuisine Facts

Black Sands Ultimate Edition Hardcover Release!

Science Facts

Sports Facts

Politics Facts

Spirituality Facts

American Civil War Facts