Walter Moses Burton: First Black Elected Sheriff in the United States

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Walter Moses Burton: First Black Elected Sheriff in the United States

Walter Moses Burton was recognized as being the first Black elected sheriff in the United States. He also served four terms as a State Senator in Texas. Burton was born in slavery in North Carolina on August 9, 1840. He was brought to Texas from North Carolina in 1850, enslaved by a planter, Thomas Burke […]

Source: Black Then

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National Baptist Convention

These Baptist groups, the Foreign Mission Convention of the United States, the American National Baptist Convention, the Baptist National Education Convention, Merged and established the National Baptist Convention at an Atlanta meeting.

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Sep

28

1895

Fifty-first Congress convened

Fifty-first Congress convened. Three Black congressmen: Henry P. Cheatham, North Carolina; Thomas E. Miller, South Carolina; John M. Langston, Virginia.

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Mar

4

1889

Congress Fight For Blacks Freedom

Congress authorized president to accept Blacks for military service. Congress passed the Second Confiscation Act, which freed the slaves of all rebels.

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Jul

17

1862

Amanda Berry Smith, born into slavery

Amanda Berry Smith, born into slavery, becomes an independent missionary and travels the U.S. and three other continents.

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Jan

23

1837

Following the dwindling supply of indentured servants,the Virginia legislature

Following the dwindling supply of indentured servants, the Virginia legislature legally recognizes the institution of slavery in order to maintain needed labor on tobacco plantations.

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Jan

0

1661

Anti-lynching Bill Proposed

African American Congressman George H. White,R-North Carolina, introduced a bill to make lynching of Americans a federal offense. The bill died in committee. In 1900, 105 African Americans were lynched in the United States.

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Jan

20

1900

Opera singer Marian Anderson born

Opera singer Marian Anderson was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Anderson was entered in the New York Philharmonic Competition at age 17 by her music teacher, and placed first over 299 other singers. Awarded a Rosenwald Fellowship in 1930, Anderson went to Europe for a year of study. She

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Feb

27

1902

Spingarn Medal: Edward W. Brooke

Spingarn Medal presented to Edward W. Brooke for his public service as the first Black U.S. senator since Reconstruction.

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Nov

7

1967

On this day at the Grammy Awards ceremony, African-American musicians won awards in several categories. Lionel Richies Cant Slow Down won best album of 1984. Tina Turners Whats Love Got to Do With It took the best record slot and earned her the title Best Female Pop Vocalist. The Pointer Sisters

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Feb

26

1985

Executive Order 9808

In the aftermath of World War II, mob violence and lynching of Black Americans, in conjunction with the continuing controversy about segregation in American society, led President Harry S. Truman to issue Executive Order 9808 on this day which set up a committee to study the protection of civil

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Dec

5

1946

Poet Jupiter Hammon born

Birthday of Jupiter Hammon, a writer and self-educated Calvinist, who was born a slave. Hammon is believed to be the first black poet published in the United States.

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Oct

17

1720

Rebecca J. Cole--2nd Black Female Physician

Born: March 16, 1846

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Aug

14

1922

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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Aug

5

1892

Anti-Slavery Law

The provisional governor of Florida abolishes slavery by proclamation.

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Aug

3

1865

The Massachusetts Body of Liberties outlaws bondslavery (a term used interchan

The Massachusetts Body of Liberties outlaws bond

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Jan

0

1641

Forty-fifth Congress (1877-79) convened

Forty-fifth Congress (1877-79) convened. One U.S. senator, Blanche K. Bruce, Mississippi. Three U.S. congressmen: Richard H. Cain, Joseph H. Rainey, Robert Smalls, South Carolina. Jackson College (Miss.) established.

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Oct

15

1877

Cellular Phone Invented

Henry Sampson, an african-american, invented the cellular phone.

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Jul

6

1971

James Theodore Holly

James Theodore Holly, a Black American who emigrated to Haiti in 1861, elected bishop of Haiti. He was consecrated in a ceremony at New Yorks Grace Church on November 8.

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Nov

3

1874

Phillis Wheatley freed

Poet Phillis Wheatley, born a slave in 1754, was freed and her first book of poetry, Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, was published. The book of poetry is said to have been widely acclaimed in the United States and England.

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Jan

21

1773

Selma March begins

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. leads thousands of people on a 54 mile march from Selma to Montgomery Alabama to call for voting rights for African Americans.

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Mar

21

1965

Elizabeth "Mumbet" Freeman, dies.

Elizabeth Mumbet Freeman, dies. Born into slavery, she ran away form her owners after mistreatment by her masters wife. She petitioned successfully for her freedom, citing her knowledge of the Bill of Rights and the new constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in her argument that all men

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Dec

28

1829

Texas constitutional convention

Texas constitutional convention (nine Blacks, eighty-one whites) met in Austin.

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Jun

1

1868

Jefferson Davis Signed Bill

Jefferson Davis signed bill authorizing use of slaves as soldiers in the Confederate army.

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Mar

13

1861

U.S. Refuses to Seat P.B.S. Pinchback

U.S. Senate refuses to seat P.B.S. Pinchback, elected Senator from Louisiana in 1873, after three years of controversy.

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Mar

8

1876

Edward Mitchell Bannister wins a bronze medal for his painting Under the Oaks at

Edward Mitchell Bannister wins a bronze medal for his painting Under the Oaks at the American Centennial Exposition, in Philadelphia. The award will cause controversy among whites who think African Americans incapable of artistic excellence.

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Sep

27

1876

First Black Appointed to a Sub-Cabinet Post

William Henry Lewis was appointed assistant attorney general of the United States by President William Howard Taft, making him the first Black appointed to a sub-cabinet post.

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Nov

26

1911

First Black American woman aviator

First Black American woman aviator, Bessie Coleman was born, 1893

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Jan

26

1893

Did You Know That In...

1732 - Rhode Island Assembly repeals its duty tax on black slaves

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Jan

0

1732

Death of Prince Hall

Death of Prince Hall, activist and Masonic leader, in

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Dec

4

1807

Soldier & patriot James Robinson is born. When he won a medal for bravery at th

Soldier & patriot James Robinson is born. When he won a medal for bravery at the Battle of Yorktown, he was promised his freedom for fighting with the Americans. After the war, he was sold back into slavery.

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Nov

28

1753

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