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Actor Ira Aldridge born
Shakespearean actor Ira Aldridge is *believed* to have been born in Africa. Aldridge was an apprentice carpenter in Maryland, where he learned German and became interested in the theater. Aldridge played such roles as the Moorish Othello.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by Christo Rey New York High School
Jul
24
1904
McKenzie, Vashti Murphy (1947- )
On July 11, 2000, journalist and clergywoman Vashti Murphy McKenzie became the first female bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church. In 2005 she became the denomination’s first woman to serve as Titular Head. Her commitment to community development is evident in her work with urban
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Source: Black Past
Jul
11
2000
Documentary Films on Blackpast.org
Capra, Frank The Negro Soldier 1943
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Source: Black Past
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
Togo
Togo, twice the size of Maryland, is on the south coast of West Africa bordering on Ghana to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Benin to the east. The Gulf of Guinea coastline, only 32 mi long (51 km), is low and sandy. The only port is at Lomé. The Togo hills traverse the central
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Source: Fact Monster - Black History
Sponsored by Christo Rey New York High School
Arthur Ashe
Arthur Ashe was a twentieth century famous African American tennis player. He is considered the world’s number one tennis player after he won three Grand Slam titles. He was the first black man to be selected for the United States Davis Cup team and won the singles title at
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Source: Black History Resources
Sponsored by National Association of Asian American Professionals (NAAP) Boston Chapter
Jul
10
1943
From Finland to “Not in My Neighborhood”: Antero Pietila's Journey To and Through Racially Divided America
In the article below Antero Pietila, longtime reporter for the Baltimore Sun, describes his arrival as a Finnish immigrant in the United States as the nation was being convulsed by the Civil Rights Movement.  Pietila describes his initial introduction into the nations racial dilemma through Harlem
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Source: Black Past
(1864) Rev. J. P. Campbell, “Give Us Equal Pay and We Will Go To War”
As African Americans entered the Union Army in early 1863, they quickly found that racial discrimination followed them. The pay differential was one of the most egregious Federal discriminatory policies. African American soldiers were paid $10 per month, $3 of which was deducted for clothing, while
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Source: Black Past
Charles Drew
Charles Drew was born on June 3, 1904 in Washington, D.C., the son of Richard and Nora Drew and eldest of five children. Charles was one of those rare individuals who seemed to excel at everything he did and on every level and would go on to become of pioneer in the field of
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Source: Black History Resources
(1877) Peter H. Clark, “Socialism: The Remedy for the Evils of Society”
Peter Humphries Clark, principal of the Colored High School in Cincinnati, Ohio, was one of a small number of 19th Century African American Socialists. Grandson of William Clark of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, schoolteacher and later Principal of the Colored High School in Cincinnati and staunch
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Source: Black Past
Sponsored by Intellitech
The first Black Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, born, 1908
The first Black Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, born in Baltimore.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Jul
2
1908
Fleetwood, Christian Abraham (1840-1914)
Christian Fleetwood, soldier, choir master, clerk, and abolitionist, was born free in Baltimore, Maryland to Charles Fleetwood and Anna Marie Fleetwood on July 21, 1840. At an early age Christian Fleetwood showed signs of intelligence and quickly endeared himself to the wealthy sugar merchant John
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Source: Black Past
Death of mathematician Benjamin Banneker (74), in
Death of mathematician Benjamin Banneker (74), in Ellicotts Mills, Maryland.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by Eastern Bank
Oct
9
1806
Prologue: Selected Articles | National Archives
Prologue: Selected Articles
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Source: Archives Library Information Center (ALIC)
Sponsored by Diversity In Action
Baskett, James (1904-1948)
James Baskett, the first male African American to win an Academy Award, was born in Indianapolis, Indiana on February 16, 1904.  After high school Baskett planned to study pharmacy, but after he was offered a small part in a show in Chicago, Illinois his career path was forever changed.  Baskett
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Source: Black Past
Jul
9
1948
Bentley, Gladys (1907-1960)
Gladys Bentley (stage name, Bobbie Minton) was a Harlem Renaissance blues singer and cross dresser.  She was one of the most well-known and financially successful black women in the United States in the 1920s and 1930s. She was a pioneer in pushing the envelope of gender, sexuality, class, and race
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Source: Black Past
Sponsored by Greater Boston Veterans Collaborative
Aug
12
1907
Nigeria
Nigeria, one-third larger than Texas and the most populous country in Africa, is situated on the Gulf of Guinea in West Africa. Its neighbors are Benin, Niger, Cameroon, and Chad. The lower course of the Niger River flows south through the western part of the country into the Gulf of Guinea. Swamps
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Source: Fact Monster - Black History
Nigeria
On Jan. 7, 2014, President Jonathan, signed the Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act into law. While homosexual sex has been illegal in Nigeria for generations, the law was only haphazardly enforced. The new legislation has far greater reach; calling for 10 to 14-year prison sentences for offenders
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Source: Fact Monster - Black History
Sponsored by Diversity In Action
The Confession of Nat Turner
After Nat Turner was captured, he was interview in jail by a Baltimore lawyer, Thomas R. Gray. Nat give in some detail the hows and whys of his actions. The complete interview can be read at the following URL: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Parthenon/5674/
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Nov
10
1831
The Society of Colored People in Baltimore
The Society of Colored People in Baltimore is the first Black Catholic association whose documentation has been preserved. This notebook began on this day and continued until Septemeber 7, 1845.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Dec
3
1843
School Integration Begins
School integration began in Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, Md., public schools.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sep
27
1954
Reginald F. Lewis
Lewis was born on this day in Baltimore, Maryland. He received his law degree from Harvard Law School in 1968. He was a partner in Murphy, Thorpes & Lewis, the first black law firm on Wall Street. In 1989 he became president and CEO of TLC Beatrice International food Company, Lewis became the
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Feb
3
0
About Us - Contributors
Home › About Us
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Source: Black Past
Fred Jones
Fred McKinley Jones is certainly one of the most important Black inventors ever based on the sheer number of inventions he formulated as well as their
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Source: Black History Resources
Reggie White
Reggie White was a famous African American sportsman. He was known for his professional football career and remarkable performance in 15 seasons of the National Football League. He represented University of Tennessee while playing college football. He was declared NFL Defensive Player of the Year
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Source: Black History Resources
Dec
26
2004
Marshall, Thurgood (1908-1993)
Thurgood Marshall was an American civil rights activist with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the first African American to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States.  He is remembered as a lawyer who had one of the highest rates of success before the
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Source: Black Past
Sponsored by Eastern Bank
Attorney General George Williams
Attorney General George Williams sent a telegram to Acting Governor Pinchback, saying that the Black politician was recognized by the President as the lawful executive of Louisiana.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by National Black MBA Association (NBMBAA) Boston Professional Chapter
Dec
12
1872
Saint Paul’s College of Virginia (1888-- )
Saint Paul’s College of Virginia is a private college located in Lawrenceville, Virginia.  The college was founded on September 24, 1888, by James Solomon Russell, a newly-ordained deacon in the Protestant Episcopal Church. He became the first principal of the institution, which in 1890 was
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Source: Black Past
Sep
24
1888
Shirley, George Irving (1934- )
George Shirley is an educator, lecturer, and internationally acclaimed tenor whose leading roles in 28 operas with the Metropolitan Opera (“Met”) for 11 seasons helped push open doors on operatic stages for many African American tenors. In 1956 Shirley became the first African American
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Source: Black Past
Jun
24
1956
Liberia
Lying on the Atlantic in the southern part of West Africa, Liberia is bordered by Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Côte dIvoire. It is comparable in size to Tennessee. Most of the country is a plateau covered by dense tropical forests, which thrive under an annual rainfall of about 160
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Source: Fact Monster - Black History
Sponsored by Museum of African American History in Massachusetts
Apr
12
1980
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