On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, ask yourself, 'How can I help others?'

Wakanda News Details

On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, ask yourself, 'How can I help others?'

Former Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White was one of King's proteges. He writes about following King's example and committing to public service and volunteer work.

Source: Chicago Sun-Times

You may also like

Prince Hall, founder of the first African American Masonic lodge petitioned the Massachusetts legislature for fund to return to Africa. The plan is the first recorded effort by African Americans to return to their homeland.

fave

Source: Blackfacts.com

Jan

4

1777

Selma March completed

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. along with other notable civil rights leaders and thousands of supporters reach Montgomery Alabama after marching 4 days from Selma.

fave

Source: Blackfacts.com

Mar

25

1965

Central State University [Ohio] (1887- )

Central State University (CSU) was one of the first colleges in the United states to be administered by African Americans. It was also unique as a state-funded institution which for sixty years was part of a private college. The school’s beginnings can be traced back to 1856 and the establishment

fave

Source: Black Past

Trotter, William Monroe (1872-1934)

WilliamMonroe Trotter was a major early twentieth century civil rights activist knownprimarily for launching the first major challenge to the political dominance ofTuskegee Institute founder Booker T. Washington and as an inspiration for the formation of theNational Association for the Advancement

fave

Source: Black Past

Apr

7

1934

Pollard, Fritz (1894-1986)

Fredrick Douglas “Fritz” Pollard, born in 1894, was raised in Chicago, Illinois. In high school he was an all-around athlete excelling as a running back, a three-time Cook County track champion, and a talented baseball player. Upon graduation, for a short time, he played football for

fave

Source: Black Past

Wilberforce University (1856- )

Wilberforce University was established near Xenia, Ohio in 1856 as a joint venture between the Methodist Episcopal Church and the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Named after 18th century abolitionist William Wilberforce, it was the first private, historically black university in the United

fave

Source: Black Past

A Marxist Scholar Analyzes the American Legal System

In the following article Professor Malik Simba, an historian at California State University, Fresno describes his professional and personal odyssey that led to the writing of his book, Black Marxism and American Constitutionalism: From the Colonial Background through the Ascendancy of Barack Obama

fave

Source: Black Past

Pacific Bound: California’s 1852 Fugitive Slave Law

In 1852, California legislators passed a harsh fugitive slave law that condemned dozens of African American migrants to deportation and lifelong slavery. Historian Stacey L. Smith examines the legal travails of three accused fugitive slaves to illuminate the social relations of slavery in gold rush

fave

Source: Black Past

Apr

15

1852

Dziko, Trish Millines (1957- )

Trish Millines Dziko is the co-founder and Executive Director of the Technology Access Foundation. A native of New Jersey, Dziko focused on college and ultimately became a first-generation college student. Ms. Dziko also made history by becoming the first woman to be awarded a full basketball

fave

Source: Black Past

Oct

1

1996

Grant Chapel AME Church, Albuquerque, New Mexico (1883- )

GrantChapel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church was the first black church in NewMexico and was organized during the state’s territorial period. Although New Mexico Territory had a few slavesbefore the Civil War, African Americans began arriving in the region insignificant numbers after

fave

Source: Black Past

Dixon, Charles Dean (1915-1976)

Charles Dean Dixon, conductor, was born January 10, 1915 in New York, New York to West Indian parents Henry Charles Dixon and McClara Rolston Dixon. Dixon’s parents exposed him to classical music at an early age and his mother taught him to play the violin, along with a number of other

fave

Source: Black Past

Nov

4

1976

Operation Equity

Although racially restricted housing covenants had been banned by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1948, various forms of de facto housing segregation kept African Americans relatively isolated spatially in urban areas, including the city of Seattle. Many white homeowners in the years following the

fave

Source: Black Past

Apr

19

1968

(1879) Robert J. Harlan, “Migration is the Only Remedy for Our Wrongs”

Between 1879 and 1880, six thousand Exodusters left Louisiana and Mississippi for Kansas. Their migration, prompted by the end of racially-integrated Reconstruction governments, by anti-black violence and by sharecropping and tenant farming, brought national attention including a Congressional

fave

Source: Black Past

May

8

1879

Moore, Amzie (1911–1982)

Amzie Moore was a prominent figure in the Mississippi civil rights movement and voter registration campaign. He was born on September 23, 1911, on the Wilkins plantation near Greenwood, Mississippi, to black sharecropper parents. When Moore was fourteen, his mother died leaving him to care for

fave

Source: Black Past

Feb

1

1982

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

fave

Source: Black Past

Simmons College of Kentucky [Louisville] (1879- )

Simmons College of Kentucky, the state’s oldest African American college, was founded in 1879. The college was established by former slaves to train the sons and daughters of fellow African Americans. In August of 1865, Rev. Henry Adams led the effort to create the institution where he proposed

fave

Source: Black Past

Aug

30

1930

Freedom’s Journal (1827-1829)

Freedom’s Journal was the first African American owned and operated newspaper in the United States. A weekly four column publication printed every Friday, Freedom’s Journal was founded by free born African Americans John Russwurm and Samuel Cornish on March 16, 1827 in New York City, New York. The

fave

Source: Black Past

Mar

16

1827

The Trillion Dollar African American Consumer Market: Economic Empowerment or Economic Dependency?

Collective African American net income (spending power) now exceeds $1 trillion dollars annually. Because of this economic reality, a wide variety of contemporary companies continually create marketing campaigns to effectively reach this important segment of the U.S. consumer market. Yet, in the

fave

Source: Black Past

War of 1812: Although the U.S. Army did not enlist African Americans after the Revolutionary War, the U.S. Navy continued to use African Americans as seamen because of the perennial shortage of white sailors. The African American presence in the navy placed them at the center of the naval incident

fave

Source: Blackfacts.com

Jun

16

2002

The History of Black History Month

In the following article Daryl Michael Scott, Professor of History at Howard University and Vice President of Program for the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, describes the history of the Black History Month

fave

Source: Black Past

14th Amendment validates citizenship

14th Amendment validates citizenship for African Americans

fave

Source: Blackfacts.com

Jul

23

1868

Conna, John N. (1836-1921)

John Newington Conna was a pivotal figure in the early history and development of Washington State. Born enslaved near San Augustine, Texas in 1836, Conna was a free man by the time of the Civil War because he served in the 1st Louisiana Native Guards, an all-black Union Regiment between 1863 and

fave

Source: Black Past

The New York newspaper Amsterdam News is founded.

The New York newspaper Amsterdam News is

fave

Source: Blackfacts.com

Dec

4

1909

Americo-Liberians

Americo-Liberiansare Liberians of African American descent. They trace their ancestry tofreeborn and formerly enslaved African Americans who immigrated to Liberiain the 19th

fave

Source: Black Past

Jul

26

1847

Documentary Films on Blackpast.org - African American History - Director

A&E Television Americas Black Warriors (on World War II) 1998

fave

Source: Black Past

James & Lydia Sims

During World War II, Lydia Sims moved from Newark, New Jersey, to Spokane with her husband, James Sims, an Army Air Force soldier stationed at Geiger Airfield. At the end of the war, the Sims family decided to remain in Spokane. For 10 years they lived in the Garden Springs housing

fave

Source: Black Past

Mar

19

1969

(1797) Prince Hall Speaks To The African Lodge, Cambridge, Massachusetts

Five years after his presentation at Charles Town, Prince Hall again addresses his fellow Masons. In an address delivered to the African Lodge at West Cambridge, Massachusetts on June 24, 1797, Hall challenges those Masons to work for the elimination of slavery and the establishment of full civil

fave

Source: Black Past

Jun

24

1797

The Association for the Study of African American Life and History: A Brief History

In the following account Professor Malik Simba of California State University, Fresno, describes the century-long histry of the largest organized body dedicated to the research and promotion of African American

fave

Source: Black Past

Apr

3

1950

From Slave to Litigant: African Americans in Court in the Post-Civil War South

In the following article Melissa Milewski, a graduate student in history at New York University, describes her research which has uncovered the surprising success of African American litigants in court cases in the post-Civil War

fave

Source: Black Past

Jan

1

1854

Born: 11/4/1942 Manhattan, New YorkAmerican ophthalmologist, inventor and academic. She has broken ground for women and African Americans in a number of areas. Prior to Bath, no woman had served on the staff of the Jules Stein Eye Institute, headed a post-graduate training program in

fave

Source: Blackfacts.com

More from Chicago Sun-Times

Rev. Clay Evans, civil rights leader, evangelical broadcaster and gospel icon, dies at 94

Census shifts put political power up for grabs but some predict Latina or Latino Chicago mayor by end of decade

Black Caucus mapmaker wants to preserve 18 majority-Black wards on Chicago City Council

Argonne scientist Walter McFall dies at 87; recruited, encouraged ‘countless’ women and minority engineers

Chicago City Council on the clock to pass new ward map by Dec. 1

West Side agency names 1st woman, 1st Black CEO in its 152 years

What makes Josina Morita a formidable politician for these times

Fact-check: Downstate Republican state senator misses the mark with claim about GOP vaccination rate

In Ghana, I’ve been embraced by a community welcoming me home

‘Chicago Strangler’ review: Discovery+ series shines welcome spotlight on dozens of unsolved slayings of Black women

Memorial service for teacher, historian, civil rights leader Timuel Black held at University of Chicago’s Rockefeller Memorial Chapel

Africa is my motherland, America my homeland

For African Americans, can the pandemic spark a national conversation about good health?

CPS teachers get in heated feud after one hangs African American doll from cord in classroom

Spotlight shines on Pullman porters in major expansion of South Side museum

Memorial Day: A time to honor fallen heroes and pledge to defend democracy

Black health care providers look to end treatment inequality

How Chicago’s handling a monkeypox outbreak, Lolla’s top acts to see and more in your Chicago news roundup

Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum’s new president and CEO is the first African American in the role

63% of traffic stops in Chicago targeted African Americans last year, state report shows

Hostile work environment in Chicago’s Department of Water Management triggers $950K settlement

This November, unite to defend the right to vote for Black Americans

Kanye and Kyrie Irving? African Americans have much bigger things to worry about

Let the College Board do its job on African American Studies

African American Studies isn’t just about history

Kennedy-King College gets African American cookbooks

Former mayoral challenger Ja’Mal Green endorses Vallas; Kwame Raoul first statewide official to back Johnson in runoff

New board of Chicago’s main police union has 27 elected members — but just 1 African American

Brandon Johnson wins Chicago mayoral race

How Johnson did it: Flawless execution of ‘smart typical playbook in Chicago politics’ won mayoral race

National Museum of African American History and Culture tells stories everyone should know

Historic Ebony test kitchen finds permanent home at Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture

Renault Robinson, 80, dies — co-founded advocacy group for Black police officers, won lawsuit against CPD, briefly led CHA

Rising Black suicide rate demands attention

Bettiann Gardner, matriarch of family-owned hair care company and the first female co-owner of the Chicago Bulls, dies at 93

Black Catholics at Joliet's Sacred Heart Church worry what its closing will mean

Brandon Johnson's nominee to RTA board Ira Acree withdraws, denouncing critics as 'opponents of African American empowerment'

Black Americans fought hard for voting rights. They shouldn't take a pass in November.

Keep advocating for the disabled

City Council gives top cop power to keep ShotSpotter, but Johnson vows veto

Harry Lennix adds new dimension to Goodman's 'Inherit the Wind'

Richard Hunt sculpture sells for $192,000; breaks previous auction record

Barbara Taylor Bowman, early childhood education advocate dies at 96

Turn to 'radical healing' to cope with second Trump presidency

Kwanzaa across Chicago encourages unity, strength: 'It's relevant to all people'

Violinist Gabriela Lara becomes the CSO's first Latina member as orchestra eyes greater diversity, inclusion

These Are America's 10 Best Small Towns for 2025

$280K settlement approved after emotional plea from Miracle Boyd

Democrats should look to Rahm Emanuel, David Axelrod to rebound against Trump

Cuisine Facts

Arts Facts

Blackfacts BETA RELEASE 11.5.3
(Production Environment)