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Captured Black Soliders
Surrounded by a superior rebel force, First Kansas Colored Volunteers smashed through rebel lines and sustained heavy casualties in an engagement at Poison Spring, Arkansas. Captured Black soldiers were murdered by the Confederate troops.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by Intellitech
Apr
18
1864
Phyllis Wheatley Dies
Phyllis Wheatley, the first African-American author to be published in book form, dies in poverty at the age of thirty-one. Wheatley astonished Bostonians with her ability to write poetry while yet being a slave.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by Pride Academy
Dec
5
1784
Founder of Pro-Line
Comer Cottrell, founder and president of Pro-Line Corporation (1970), the largest African American owned business in the Southwest and the first African American to be part owner of a major league baseball team (1989), the Texas Rangers, born
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Dec
7
1931
Birthday
Charles White Born April 2, 1918. Renowned African-Americccan artist born in Chicago, IL; died October 3, 1979. Charles White began his professional career by painting murals for the WPA during the Depression. He was influenced by Mexiccan muralists Diego Rivera and David Alfaro Siquieros. Among
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Apr
2
1918
Laurence Fishburne, Jr. Born
Actor Laurence Fishburne, Jr. was born on this day in Augusta, GA. Fishburne , nicknamed Fish will start his theatrical career at the young age of 10. He will become the son of the first African American family featured on a daytime drama at the age of 11. He will continue his rise to fame starring
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by Illinois Math and Science Academy
Jul
31
1961
George "Little Chocolate" Dixon betas Jack Skelly in New Orleans to win the worl
George Little Chocolate Dixon betas Jack Skelly in New Orleans to win the world featherweight title. While some African American citizens celebrate for two days, the New Orleans Times-Democrat says, It is a mistake to match a Negro and a white man ...to bring the races together on any terms of
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sep
6
1892
Death of George Washington Williams
Death of George Washington Williams (41), Blackpool, England. Williams served in the Ohio House of Representatives from 1880 to 1881, during the 64th session of the General Assembly. He was the first African-American to serve in the Ohio Legislature.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Aug
4
1891
Willie D. Burton
Willie D. Burton becomes the first African American to win the Oscar for sound, for the movie Bird.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by New York University
Apr
11
1988
Slavery
Hugh Davis, a Virginian is sentenced to be whipped before an assembly of Negroes and others for abusing himself to the dishonor of God and shame of Christians, by defiling his body in lying with a Negro.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Jan
0
1630
The 99th Pursuit Squadron, an all African American
The 99th Pursuit Squadron, an all African American unit is formed and the Tuskegee Training Program is established, the 99th will fly more than 500 missions and more than 3,700 sorties during one year of combat before being combined with the 332nd Fighter Group.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by Concerned Black Men of Massachusetts
Jan
16
1941
The South Carolina Gazette reports that Cae
The South Carolina Gazette reports that Caesar, a South Carolina slave has been granted his freedom and a life time annuity in exchange for his cures for poison and rattlesnake bite. Caesar and the famous James Derham of New Orleans are two of the earliest know African American medical
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by Illinois Math and Science Academy
May
9
1750
Shirley Franklin is sworn in
Shirley Franklin is sworn in as the first African American Mayor of Atlanta and the only African American female mayor of a major American city.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by Museum of African American History in Massachusetts
Jan
7
2002
Quincy Jones wins an Emmy for musical composition for the miniseries Roots. It
Quincy Jones wins an Emmy for musical composition for the miniseries Roots. It is one of nine Emmys for the series, an unprecedented number
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sep
11
1977
the Bronze Muse
On this day, the Bronze Muse died in
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) Boston Professional Chapter
Feb
22
1911
John Singleton, Director
John Singleton,the first African American director to be nominated for the Academy Award is nominated for best director and best screenplay for his first film Boyz N the Hood.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Feb
19
1992
Army Brig. Gen. Sherian Grace CAdoria born.
Birthday of Army Brig. Gen. Sherian Grace Cadoria, in Marksville, Louisiana. A graduate of Southern University, Gen. Cadoria was the highest ranking African American woman officer in the US Armed Forces at the end of 1990.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Jan
26
1940
First Prizefighter Bill Richmond born
Bill Richmond, son of a slave, became the first African American to distinguish himself as a prizefighter. On this date, Richmond knocked out Jack Holmes in England.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by Association of Latino Professionals For America (ALPFA) Boston Professional Chapter
Jul
8
1805
Patricia Roberts Harris
Patricia Roberts Harris, the first African American U.S. Ambassador is named permanent chairman of the Democratic National Convention. She will later be appointed Secretary of Health and Human Services and Secretary of Housing and Urban development
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Jun
27
1972
Norma Merrick Sklarek, the first licensed woman
Norma Merrick Sklarek, the first licensed woman architect in the U.S. and the first African American woman to become a fellow in the American Institute of Architects, born.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) Boston Professional Chapter
Apr
15
1928
Malcolm X born in Omaha, Nebraska
Malcolm X was born Malcolm Little on May 19, 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska. His mother, Louis Norton Little, was a homemaker occupied with the familys eight children. His father, Earl Little, was an outspoken Baptist minister and avid supporter of Black Nationalist leader Marcus Garvey. Earls civil
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Source: Blackfacts.com
May
19
1925
Larry Doby
Larry Doby is born. He will become the first African American in baseballs American League, playing for the Cleveland Indians. He will be the 1954 RBI leader.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Dec
13
1924
Leander Jay Shaw, Jr., justice of the Florida State Supreme Court (1983), first
Leander Jay Shaw, Jr., justice of the Florida State Supreme Court (1983), first African American chief justice (1990) in Florida, the second African American chief justice in any state supreme court, born
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sep
6
1930
Black Rebellion in Tampa, Florida
African Americans in Tampa, Florida rebelled after an African American man was killed by a white police officer while in custody.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Feb
21
1987
George Johnson
George and Noble Johnson founded the Lincoln Motion Picture Company in 1916. It was the first black-owned production company, it produced films exclusively for African
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Dec
17
2001
Cellular Phone Invented
Henry Sampson, an african-american, invented the cellular phone.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Jul
6
1971
African Americans Replaces Reluctant Whites
African Americans Replaces Reluctant Whites: By 1777, losses on the field of battle and rising White desertions had reduced the Continental Armys ranks of men. Northern colonies began to accept African Americans, free and slave, because these colonies could not fill their quotas with White man. In
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Oct
5
2002
George H. White
George H. White, the only African American member of the U.S. House of Representatives, (1896) and the first to introduce an antilynching bill, born. He also founded Whitesboro, N,J, as a haven for African Americans escaping Southern racism.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Dec
18
1852
Henry Lewis
On this day Henry Lewis becomes the first African American to lead a symphony orchestra in the United States.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Feb
15
1968
Smash of Confederate Defenses
Nine Black regiments of Gen. John Hawkinss division helped smash Confederate defenses at Fort Blakely, Alabama. Capture of the fort led to fall of Mobile. Sixty-eight U.S.C.T. had the highest number of casualties in the engagement.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by National Black MBA Association (NBMBAA) Boston Professional Chapter
Apr
9
1865
Charles Edward Anderson
In 1960, Charles Edward Anderson earned a Ph.D. in Meteorology from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, Massachusetts. Charles Edward Anderson the first African American to earn a Ph.D. in Meteorology; died today.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Oct
21
1994
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Whitney Houston & Bobby Brown "Something In Common" [Soul Train Music Awards 1994]
Targeting the Uneven Burden of Kidney Disease on Black Americans
A Hat Tip to 4 New Picture Books
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On Race, Herschel Walker’s Offer of Absolution Divides Georgia Voters
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Opinion | How Democrats Can Hang on to Congress in 2022
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When Jim Crow Violence Came to a Small New York Village
An Exhibition on Cancer Puts Hope for the Future on Display
The Goal: ‘To Dream Bigger and Change the World’
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To Change Baseball, an Ace Needs a New Title
Ronnie Hawkins, Rockabilly Road Warrior, Is Dead at 87
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How to Watch the Scripps National Spelling Bee
Guilty Until Proven Innocent: A Gay Refugee’s Confrontation With America
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Easton, Pa.: A Gritty River Town Being Transformed
A federal judge blocks Louisiana’s congressional map, calling it a racial gerrymander.
Building a Juneteenth Menu for the 21st Century, One Recipe at a Time
A Broken Redistricting Process Winds Down, With No Repairs in Sight
Samella Lewis, Artist and Activist for Art World Diversity, Dies at 99
Inside the Push to Diversify the Book Business
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School’s Catholic Title in Peril Over Pride and Black Lives Matter Flags
Los Angeles County Votes to Return Beach Seized in 1924 From a Black Family
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Hershel Williams, a Hero in the Battle for Iwo Jima, Dies at 98
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