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Singer Roberta Flack born
b. 10 February 1937, Asheville, North Carolina, USA. Born into a musical family, Flack graduated from Howard University with a BA in music. She was discovered singing and playing jazz in a Washington nightclub by pianist Les McCann, who recommended her talents to Atlantic Records. Two classy
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by Center for Critical Race and Digital Studies
Feb
10
1940
First fugitive slave law enacted by Congress
In 1793, Congress passed the first Fugitive Slave Law to implement the provisions in the Constitution. It stated that to reclaim an escaped slave a master needed only to go before a magistrate and provide oral or written proof of ownership. The magistrate would then issue an order for the arrest of
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by Massachusetts Black Lawyers Association (MBLA)
Feb
12
1793
Abolitionist Society Organized
First abolitionist society in United States organized in Philadelphia.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by Pride Academy
Apr
14
1775
Booker T
Booker T. Washington dined at the White House with President Roosevelt and was criticized in the South.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by APEX Museum
Oct
16
1901
Harriet Tubman receives a pension from Congre
Harriet Tubman receives a pension from Congress for her work as a nurse, spy, and scout during the Civil War.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Aug
5
1892
Walter E. Washington
President Lyndon B. Johnson named Walter E. Washington commissioner and unofficial mayor of Washington, D.C.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sep
6
1967
Compensation For States
President Lincoln, in message to Congress, recommended the use of federal bonds to provide compensation for states that abolished slavery before 1900.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Dec
1
1862
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
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Jan
28
1944
Salem Poor
Salem Poor was a Black hero of the Revoluntionary War. He distinguished himself so in battle that fourteen American officers praised him before Congress. On this day, a memorial was dedicated to him at Cambridge, Massachusetts which carried the citation that under our own observation, we declare
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Dec
5
1775
Maggie Lena Walker
Maggie Lena Walker died on this day. Before her death, she was the secretary-treasurer of the Independent Order of St. Luke, a mutual aid society in Richmond, VA. She transformed the society into a successful financial complex that bolsters the Black community in Richmond in 1899.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Dec
15
1934
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.).
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Nov
30
1981
Louis Stokes is sworn in as the first African Amer
Louis Stokes is sworn in as the first African American congressman from the state of Ohio. He will serve more than ten terms in Congress.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Jan
3
1969
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
Washington, 1st mayor of Washington D.C.
Walter E. Washington, became the first elected mayor of Washington, D.C., in the twentieth century.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Nov
5
1974
Antislavery petition from free Blacks
Antislavery petition from free Blacks of Philadelphia presented to Congress.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Jan
2
1800
Although the Emancipation Proclamation was issued in 1863, slavery continued i
Although the Emancipation Proclamation was issued in 1863, slavery continued in Texas until June 19, 1865, when word reached Galveston, Texas that all slaves in Texas were free. One third of the people in Texas were slaves at that time.Juneteenth was celebrated annually with picnics and barbecues
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by Intellitech
Jun
19
1865
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
As part of the Compromise of 1850, Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Law, 1850
As part of the Compromise of 1850, Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Law, 1850
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sep
18
1850
Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1957, the
Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1957, the first federal civil rights legislation since 1875. The bill established a civil rights commission and a civil rights division in the Justice Department. It also gave the Justice Department authority to seek injunctions against voting rights
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by NSBE Boston
Aug
29
1957
Congress passed the first Enforcement Act which
Congress passed the first Enforcement Act which provided stiff penalties for public officials and private citizens who deprived citizens of the suffrage and civil rights. The measure authorized the use of the U.S. Army to protect the rights of Blacks.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by New York University
May
31
1870
President Roosevelt wanted demonstration ended
President Roosevelt conferred with A. Philip Randolph and other leaders of the March on Washington movement and urged them to call off a scheduled demonstration. Randolph refused.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by National Black MBA Association (NBMBAA) Boston Professional Chapter
Jun
18
1941
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
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Jun
13
1937
Kwesi Mfume
Born: 0/24/948 Baltimore, MarylandKweisi Mfume is the former President/CEO of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, as well as a five-term Democratic Congressman from Marylands 7th congressional district, serving in the 00th through 04th CongressBusiness
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by Massachusetts Black Lawyers Association (MBLA)
Continental Congress approved Washington's order
Continental Congress approved Washingtons order on the enlistment of free Blacks.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by Prospanica Boston Professional Chapter
Jan
16
1776
Shirley Chisholm
Shirley Chisholm, a New York Democrat, is the 1st African American woman elected to Congress.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Nov
5
1974
Pan-African Congress met in London
Pan-African Congress met in London. Among the leaders of the Congress were H. Sylvester Williams, a West Indian Lawyer with a London practice, W.E.B. Du Bois, and Bishop Alexander Walters.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Jul
23
1900
Slavery is abolished in U.S. territories
Slavery is abolished in U.S. territories by Congress
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Jun
18
1862
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
Congressman William L
Congressman William L. Dawson elected chairman of House Expenditures Committee. He was the first Black to head a standing committee of Congress.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Jan
18
1949
Agrippa Hull: Revolutionary Patriot
In the following article, University of California at Los Angeles historian Gary B. Nash describes little-known Revolutionary War soldier who was attached by General George Washington to serve with Polish military engineer Tadeuz Kosciuszko. This account is part of a larger history of three
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Source: Black Past
Sponsored by Center for Critical Race and Digital Studies
May
21
1848
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