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Mabley, Jackie “Moms” (1894–1975)
Jackie “Moms” Mabley found fame and fortune as a stand-up comedian during the twentieth century. Beginning as a staple on the chitlin’ circuit and late night talk show favorite, she went on to become an internationally known entertainer whose career spanned five
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Source: Black Past
Sponsored by BARBinc
May
23
1975
(1865) Abraham Lincoln, “Abraham Lincoln’s Last Public Address”
? F.A.Q. On April 11, 1865, two days after Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered his army to Union General Ulysses S. Grant, President Abraham Lincoln addressed a jubilant crowd that had gathered outside the White House in Washington, D.C.  While the crowd expected an address celebrating t
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Source: Black Past
Hubert Harrison: The Voice of Early 20th Century Harlem Radicalism
In the article below independent historian Jeffrey Perry discusses his 2008 book on early 20th Century Harlem activist Hubert
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Source: Black Past
Sponsored by Illinois Math and Science Academy
Ten thousand students, led by Jackie Robinson,
Ten thousand students, led by Jackie Robinson, Harry Belfonte and A. Phillip Randolph, participated in the Youth March for Integrated Schools in Washington. Daisy Bates, head of the Arkansas chapter of the NAACP, and the nine students who integrated Little Rockss Central High School were awarded
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Oct
25
1958
The first National Negro Catholic Congress is held
The first National Negro Catholic Congress is held in Washington. D. C.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Jan
2
1837
Merriwether, Raymond (1924–2011)
Raymond (Ray) Merriwether, prominent Seattle, Washington African American architect, real estate developer, and newspaper owner, was born in Taylor, Texas on June 19, 1924 to Colie and Annie Merriwether.  After graduating from high school Merriwether attended barber school and served a short time
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Source: Black Past
Sponsored by BARBinc
May
23
2011
Morris, Robert, Sr. (1823–1882)
Robert Morris became one of the first black lawyers in United States after being admitted to the Massachusetts bar in 1847. Morris was born in Salem, Massachusetts on June 8, 1823.   At an early age, Morris had some formal education at Master Dodge’s School in Salem.  With the agreement of his
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Source: Black Past
Sponsored by National Association of Asian American Professionals (NAAP) Boston Chapter
Feb
15
1851
Smalls, Robert (1839-1915)
Robert Smalls was born in Beaufort, South Carolina, on April 5, 1839 and worked as a house slave until the age of 12. At that point his owner, John K. McKee, sent him to Charleston to work as a waiter, ship rigger, and sailor, with all earnings going to McKee. This arrangement continued until
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Source: Black Past
May
13
1862
Underground Railroad, The (1820-1861)
The Underground Railroad was established to aid enslaved people in their escape to freedom.  The railroad was comprised of dozens of secret routes and safe houses originating in the slaveholding states and extending all the way to the Canadian border, the only area where fugitives could be assured
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Source: Black Past
Fenty, Adrian M. (1970- )
Adrian Malik Fenty was born to Philip and Jan Fenty, an interracial couple, on December 6, 1970, in Washington, D.C.   Fenty’s parents were both runners and they owned the athletic shoe store Fleet Feet in Washington, D.C.  Fenty graduated from Woodrow Wilson Senior High School in Washington. While
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Source: Black Past
Sponsored by APEX Museum
Annan, Kofi A. (1938-- )
Kofi Atta Annan, born on 8 April 1938 in Kumasi, Ghana, served as the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN) between 1997 and 2007.  As a young man, Annan finished his undergraduate studies in economics at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1961.  He then completed his
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Source: Black Past
Jan
1
1997
Equal Education
On October 17, 1787 Prince Hall submitted, to the State Legislature of Boston, Massachusetts, a petition asking for equal educational rights. His petition was not granted.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by Eastern Bank
Oct
17
1787
Second Liberian Civil War (1999–2003)
The Second Liberian Civil War was an intense four-year conflict that involved child soldiers on all sides and extensive civilian casualties. It was also one of the few civil wars that spread into neighboring countries, in this case, Guinea and Sierra Leone. The conflict began in April 1999 when
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Source: Black Past
Aug
11
2003
Don Cheadle
Donald Frank “Don” Cheadle, Jr., most famously known as simply Don Cheadle, is a popular American actor, born on the 29th of November, 1964 in Kansas City, Missouri. Ever since his early teen years, Cheadle was known to exhibit a stark interest in the liberal arts, preferring lead roles
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Source: Black History Resources
Sponsored by Greater Boston Veterans Collaborative
Condoleezza Rice
Condoleezza Rice, one of the most influential women in the world, was born on November 14, 1954, in Birmingham, Alabama. She was the first black woman to serve as the United States’ National Security Adviser, as well as the first black woman to serve as U.S. Secretary of State from 2005-2009. Rice
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Source: Black History Resources
Nov
14
1954
Edwards, Isaiah (1913-1994)
Isaiah Edwards was a community activist and advocate in Seattle’s Central Area.  Isaiah Edwards and his wife, Marie, moved from Topeka, Kansas, to Seattle in 1942 to work at Boeing.  Edwards worked for 40 years at Boeing as a maintenance dispatcher without missing a day, and also found time for
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Source: Black Past
Fugitive Slave returned to the South
Fugitive slave Anthony Burns was returned to the South from Boston. It cost the federal government $100,000 to return Burns, who was later sold to a group of Bostonians who freed him.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Jun
2
1854
Dr. Dre
Dr. Dre is an American rap singer and producer who is sometimes referred to as the most influential rap producer of all time. Dre was born Andre Romelle Young on February 18, 1965 in Compton, California to Theodore and Verna Young, who were both singers. His parents separated when Dre was 3 years
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Source: Black History Resources
Sponsored by Diversity In Action
Feb
18
1965
Pugh, Mary E. (1959- )
Mary E. Pugh, founder of Pugh Capital Management, a successful investment firm in Seattle, was the first black woman and youngest person to be named Senior Vice President at Washington Mutual Savings Bank. Born to a Boeing engineer father and real estate agent mother, Pugh’s family lived
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Source: Black Past
Washington, Harold (1922 – 1987)
Harold Washington, the first African American mayor of Chicago, Illinois, was born on April 15, 1922, to Roy Washington, a lawyer, Methodist minister and one of the first black precinct captains in Chicago.  Washington’s mother Bertha Washington was a well-known singer in the
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Source: Black Past
Civil Rights March in Alabama
Through the 25th, Alabama state troopers and sheriffs deputies dispersed Selma-to-Montgomery civil rights march with tear gas and billy clubs, Three white Unitarian ministers, including Rev. James J. Reeb, attacked on streets of Selma, Alabama. Reeb, who was participating in civil rights
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Mar
7
1965
Simmons, Denise E. ( – )
E. Denise Simmons made history in 2008 by becoming the first openly lesbian African American mayor in the United States. She was selected by fellow city councilors in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to serve as mayor of the city for a two-year term from 2008 to
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Source: Black Past
Sponsored by Intellitech
United Construction Workers Association
The United Construction Workers Association (UCWA) was founded in 1970 by Tyree Scott, an electrician who had become a Seattle civil rights activist.  At the request of the American Friends Service Committee, Tyree Scott left the Central Contractors Association which he had created in 1968, to
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Source: Black Past
Travis, Geraldine Washington (1931- )
Geraldine W. Travis is the first African American elected to the Montana State Legislature House of Representatives.   She worked actively to promote civil rights for African Americans, women, and children, and to break down racial barriers in Montana from 1967 to
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Source: Black Past
Sponsored by Pride Academy
Bessie Coleman
Bessie Coleman was the first female African American pilot. She was born on January 26, 1892 and was the tenth of thirteen children born to George and Susan Coleman in Atlanta, Texas. Her father was of Native and African American descent. She attended a small school which was four miles from her
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Source: Black History Resources
Jun
15
1921
University of District of Columbia (1851- )
The University of District of Columbia was founded as a school for African American girls in 1851. The school was established by Myrtilla Miner and was initially called the Miner Normal School.  In 1879 it became part of the District of Columbia public school system. In 1873 the Washington Normal
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Source: Black Past
Sponsored by APEX Museum
Walker, Darren (1959– )
Philanthropist Darren Walker is the tenth president of the seventy-seven-year-old Ford Foundation, the second largest philanthropy in the world. Walker was born August 28, 1959, at a charity hospital in Lafayette, Louisiana, to a single mother and was raised in East Texas. He received two degrees
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Source: Black Past
Sponsored by BARBinc
Aug
28
1959
More than 4,000 delegates from one hundred
More than 4,000 delegates from one hundred national organizations attended National Emergency Civil Rights Conference in Washington.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Jan
15
1950
Dr. Samuel Kelly, Class of 1971: Soldier, Educator, Advocate.
For virtually all of the eight decades of his life, Dr. Samuel E. Kelly has been an advocate of education for its own sake and as a central strategy for improving the lives of African Americans. His awareness of the importance of education came early when his parents demanded careful attention to
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Source: Black Past
Sponsored by Center for Critical Race and Digital Studies
Riley, George Putnam (1833--1905)
George Putnam Riley, a native of Boston, participated in both the California and Canadian Northwest Territory Gold Rushes. In 1869, Riley along with 14 other Portland, Oregon residents--11 African American men, two African American women, and one white man--formed the Workingmen’s Joint Stock
Read more
Source: Black Past
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