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Ford, Harold Jr. (1970- )
Harold Eugene Ford, Jr. was born in Memphis, Tennessee on May 11, 1970. He currently serves as chairman of the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC) and is a former member of the United States House of Representatives from Tennessee.  During his tenure in congress Ford represented the state’s 9th
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Source: Black Past
May
11
1970
Xavier University [New Orleans] (1915- )
Xavier University is a private, four-year coeducational historically black university located in New Orleans, Louisiana; the campus is located one mile from downtown New Orleans.  Xavier University is the only historically black college or university (HBCU) affiliated with the Roman Catholic
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Source: Black Past
African-American Civil Rights Movement
The Civil Rights Movement began decades before 19th century that resulted in the Emancipation Proclamation. Initially, abolition of slavery was not on Abraham Lincoln’s agenda list. However, his ever increasing reliance on black soldiers to punish the rebellious states rendered him to issue the
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Source: Black History Resources
Pierce, Samuel R., Jr. (1922-2000)
Lawyer, judge and businessman Samuel Riley Pierce, Jr., was the first African American partner in a major New York law firm, the first African American member of a Fortune 500 board, and one of the first African Americans to argue a case before the U.S. Supreme Court.  His career ended when he was
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Source: Black Past
Welfare As We Knew It: The 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act
On August 22, 1996, President Bill Clinton signed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act which ushered in the most sweeping changes in the welfare system since its adoption as part of the Social Security Act of 1935.  In the following account, former White House staffer and now
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Source: Black Past
Sponsored by APEX Museum
Aug
22
1996
Albert, Octavia Victoria Rogers (1853-1890)
Octavia Victoria Rogers Albert, a 19th century author and religious leader, was born in December 25, 1853 in Oglethorpe, Georgia into slavery.  She draws inspiration from that experience for her book The House of Bondage which was published after her death by her husband and daughter in 1890.  In
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Source: Black Past
Sponsored by New York University
Dec
25
1853
Fort Pillow Massacre (1864)
On April 12, 1864, some 3,000 rebels under the command of Nathan Bedford Forrest overran Fort Pillow, a former Confederate stronghold situated on a bluff on the Tennessee bank of the Mississippi, some 40 miles north of Memphis. The garrison consisted of about 600 Union soldiers, roughly evenly
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Source: Black Past
Apr
12
1864
New Constitution Banned Segregation
Louisiana voters approved new constitution and elected state officers, including the first Black lieutenant governor, Oscar J. Dunn, and the first Black state treasurer, Antoine Dubuclet. Article Thirteen of the new constitution banned segregation in public accommodation: All the persons shall
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Apr
16
1868
(1893) Anna Julia Cooper, “ Women's Cause is One and Universal”
On May 18, 1893, Anna Julia Cooper delivered an address at the Worlds Congress of Representative Women then meeting in Chicago. Cooper’s speech to this predominately white audience described the progress of African American women since slavery. Cooper in many ways epitomized that progress. Born
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Source: Black Past
Sponsored by Christo Rey New York High School
May
18
1893
First Black elected to Congress
First Black elected to Congress John W. Menard, defeated a white candidate, 5,107 to 2,833, in an election in Louisianas Second Congressional District to fill an unexpired term in the Fortieth Congress. U.S. Grant elected president with Black voters in the South providing the decisive margin. Grant
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Nov
3
1868
Slavery
Africans accompany Spanish explorer Hernando de Sotos on a expedition and settles among Native Americans in the territory of present-day Alabama.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Jan
0
1539
(1946) W.E. B. DuBois, “Behold the Land”
On October 20, 1946, seventy-eight year old W.E.B DuBois delivered the address at the closing session of the Southern Youth Legislature in Columbia South Carolina.  Although this was one of his last major orations, he used the occasion to inspire his audience to continue the struggle for racial
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Source: Black Past
Oct
20
1946
(1877) John E. Bruce, “Reasons Why the Colored American Should Go to Africa”
As African Americans increasingly realized that Reconstruction would not usher in permanent citizenship rights and in fact did not protect them from violence, some black leaders began to call for alternative approaches. Not surprisingly a some again urged African American colonization in Africa. In
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Source: Black Past
Nov
1
1877
Mya
Mya Marie Harrison, or simply Mya, is a Grammy award winning singer, actress and dancer who has appeared in a variety of roles over the years. Named after acclaimed poet Maya Angelou, Mya was born on October 10, 1979 in Washington D.C. Her father Sherman is an African American while her mother
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Source: Black History Resources
Oct
10
1979
Arrington, Richard (1934- )
Richard Arrington, the first African American mayor of Birmingham, Alabama, was born in Livingston, Alabama on October 19, 1934 to sharecroppers.  He received a Bachelors degree from Miles College (Alabama), a M.A. in Biology from the University of Detroit in Michigan, and a Ph.D. in Zoology and
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Source: Black Past
Sponsored by Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) Boston Professional Chapter
Oct
19
1934
Forty-fourth Congress (1875-77) Convened
Forty-fourth Congress (1875-77) convened with historic high of eight Blacks. One U.S. senator, Blanche K. Bruce, Mississippi. Seven Black congressmen: Jeremiah Haralson, Alabama; Josiah T. Walls, Florida; John R. Lynch, Mississippi; John A. Hyman, North Carolina; Charles E. Nash, Louisiana; Joseph
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Dec
6
1875
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
Till, Emmett Louis (1941-1955)
Emmett Till was a fourteen year-old African American boy who was tortured and killed in Money, Mississippi in 1955 after allegedly insulting a white woman.  Born in Chicago, Illinois, Till lived with his mother, Mamie Till. His father, Louis Till, died while serving in the U.S. Army in Italy in
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Source: Black Past
Sponsored by Prospanica Boston Professional Chapter
Southern University Law Center [New Orleans] (1947-- )
Southern University is a historically black university with a main campus located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Originally founded in 1880 in New Orleans as Southern University in New Orleans, it began its mission of providing post-secondary education for African Americans with 12 students and
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Source: Black Past
Sponsored by Pride Academy
Nov
16
1972
(1869) John Willis Menard, “Speech Before the United States House of Representatives”
John Willis Menard, (1838-1893) was the first African American elected to Congress when on November 3, 1868 he received the majority of votes to fill the unexpired term of Louisiana Second District Congressman James Mann. On the strength of the vote Menard went to Washington to be seated. However
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Source: Black Past
Durant, Kevin Wayne (1988- )
Kevin Wayne Durant is a professional basketball player for the National Basketball Association (NBA) who played for the Oklahoma City Thunder (formally known as Seattle Supersonics) and who now plays for the Golden State Warriors in
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Source: Black Past
Sponsored by APEX Museum
Sep
29
1988
Metcalfe, Ralph Harold (1910-1978)
Ralph Metcalfe, was an outstanding U.S. sprinter, track coach, and politican born in Atlanta, Georgia and raised in Chicago, Illinois. During Metcalfe’s years as a student at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin from 1932 through 1934, he was arguably the world’s fastest human. His strong
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Source: Black Past
Sponsored by Christo Rey New York High School
Ex-slave Oscar J. Dunn
Ex-slave Oscar J. Dunn becomes lieutenant governor of Louisiana. It is the highest executive office held by an African American to date.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by NSBE Boston
Jun
13
1868
Withers, John Lovelle, II (1948- )
In 2007, Ambassador John L. Withers II, a second generation diplomat, was appointed by President George H.W. Bush to serve as ambassador to Albania. Withers was born in 1948 in Guilford, North Carolina, to John L. Withers, Sr. and Daisy P. Withers. His father had briefly worked as a political
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Source: Black Past
Blues artist John Lee Hooker born
Blues singer, songwriter and guitarist John Lee Hooker was born in Clarkdale, Mississippi. Hooker began his 50 years as a musician at age 14, when he sang with religious groups and studied guitar with Will Moore. By age 73, Hooker had received the 1968-69 Best Blues Album award from Jazz and Pop
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Aug
22
1917
Johnson, Robert Louis (1946 - )
Robert Louis Johnson, founder, chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Black Entertainment Television (BET), is also the majority owner of the Charlotte (North Carolina) Bobcats of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the first African American billionaire. He was born in
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Source: Black Past
Goode, Wilson (1938- )
Best known as the first African American Mayor of Philadelphia, Woodrow Wilson Goode was born in 1938 into a family of tenant farmers near the town of Seaboard, North Carolina.  Goode moved to Philadelphia with his family in
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Source: Black Past
Battle of Waterberg (1904)
The Battle of Waterberg on August 11, 1904 in German South-West Africa (Namibia), triggered the annihilation decree by German military of the Herero people, the indigenous nomadic inhabitants of the area.  An estimated 60,000 to 100,000 people perished during and after The Battle of Waterberg which
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Source: Black Past
Aug
11
1904
Eric Holder
Eric Himpton Holder, Jr. was the first African American Attorney General of the United States. He was born on January 2, 1951, to Eric and Miriam Holder in New York City. Eric and Miriam had both migrated from Barbados. Eric worked as a real estate agent and Miriam worked as a telephone
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Source: Black History Resources
Jan
2
1951
Dred Scott
Dred Scott was a slave who lived during the early 19th century and was the first slave who sued his master for freedom in a court of law. He was born into slavery in Virginia and was the property of the Peter Blow family. His birth name was Sam, but he changed it to Dred after his dead brother. The
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Source: Black History Resources
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