City University of New York had open admissions

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City University of New York had open admissions

City University of New York inaugurated open admissions policy designed to increase the number of poor and minority students.

Source: Blackfacts.com

Le Moyne-Owen College (1862- )

Le Moyne-Owen College is a private, historically black, four year, co-educational, liberal arts institution located in Memphis, Tennessee. It is affiliated with the United Church of Christ. The institution can trace its roots back to 1862, when the American Missionary Association (AMA) sent

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Source: Black Past

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

May

23

2011

Kenya kĕn´yə, kēn´– [key], officially Republic of Kenya, republic (2009 pop. 38,610,097), 224,960 sq mi (582,646 sq km), E Africa. Kenya is bordered by Somalia on the east, the Indian Ocean on the southeast, Tanzania on the south, Lake Victoria (Victoria Nyanza) on the southwest, Uganda on the

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Source: Fact Monster - Black History

Owens, Major Robert (1936- )

Former New York Congressman Major Robert Owens was born on June 28, 1936 in Collierville, Tennessee. He graduated from Hamilton High School in Memphis in 1952 at the age of 16. Owens received a bachelor’s degree from Morehouse College in 1956, and an M.S. in Library Science from Atlanta

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Source: Black Past

Jun

28

1936

Ella Fitzgerald

Ella Jane Fitzgerald was an American jazz icon of the 20th century. She was born on April 25, 1917 in Virginia to William and Temperance Fitzgerald. The couple separated soon after Ella’s birth, and Temperance moved to New York with her boyfriend, Joseph De Silva. She had a half sister named

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Source: Black History Resources

Jun

15

1996

Segars, Joseph Monroe (1938–2014)

Ambassador Joseph Monroe Segars was born in Hartsville, South Carolina on November 6, 1938. He remained with his aunt and uncle in South Carolina while his parents moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania during the Great Migration to the North in search for better job opportunities. Upon graduating

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Source: Black Past

Haynes, Ulric St. Clair, Jr. (1931- )

The sole child of immigrants from the Barbados, Ulric St. Clair Haynes Jr. was born June 8, 1931 in Brooklyn, New York. Haynes attended Amherst College in Massachusetts, graduating cum laude in 1952, and then earned a law degree at Yale University four years later. Haynes worked briefly as an

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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

Central Contractors Association

In 1969, Walter Hundley, director of the Seattle Model Cities Program, encouraged local black independent contractors to organize in an effort to gain lucrative building construction contracts that required minority participation. When the contractors responded, they selected Tyree Scott, an

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Source: Black Past

The renowned actor and rapper, Mos Def is widely known for his hip hop songs that depict a social themes and consciousness. Fans also identify his memorable performances in Hollywood flicks such as Guide to the Galaxy, The Italian Job and

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Source: Black History Resources

Dec

11

1973

Spelman College [Atlanta] (1881- )

Spelman College, a historically black, liberal arts college for women, opened in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1881. The previous year, a fledgling New England organization called the Women’s American Baptist Home Mission Society secured funds for a college for freedwomen in the city. Approximately one

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Source: Black Past

Knox, Clinton E. (1908–1980)

Clinton E. Knox was born May 5, 1908, in New Bedford, Massachusetts. He was the youngest of five children born to Estella Briggs Knox and William J. Knox Sr. Knox’s older brother, William J. Knox, Jr., was one of the scientists who helped develop the atomic bomb during World War II. His other

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Source: Black Past

Oct

14

1980

Garvey, Marcus, 1887–1940, American proponent of black nationalism, b. Jamaica. At the age of 14, Garvey went to work as a printers apprentice. After leading (1907) an unsuccessful printers strike in Jamaica, he edited several newspapers in Costa Rica and Panama. During a period in London he took

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Source: Fact Monster - Black History

Tubman, Harriet Ross (c. 1821-1913)

Dubbed “The Moses of Her People,” escaped slave Harriet Tubman assisted hundreds of slaves on the Underground Railroad, leading them from Maryland to safety in Pennsylvania. Born enslaved and raised in Dorchester County, Maryland to Benjamin and Harriett Greene Ross, Harriett was both

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Source: Black Past

Jun

2

1863

Juba, South Sudan (1922- )

Juba is one of the newest capitals in the world. It became the capital of South Sudan when that nation was declared independent on July 9, 2011. Juba, located on the White Nile River, is the largest city in South Sudan and in 2011 it had an estimated population of 372,410 people. Since then

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Source: Black Past

Jul

9

2011

Terrence Howard

Terrence Howard is a celebrated American actor known for his strong performances in movies such as “Hustle & Flow” and “Ray & Crash”. He was born on March 11, 1969 in Chicago, Illinois to Tyrone Howard and Anita Williams. He came from a family of actors; his maternal

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Source: Black History Resources

Mar

11

1969

Shorter AME Church, Denver, Colorado (1868- )

Shorter AME Church was organized in 1868. Two women, Mary Smith and Mary Randolph founded the church. The original members met on the South Platte River in 1863 until the Church was given land located at 19th and Holiday (now Market Street) by a major Fillmore, an officer in the Union Army during

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Source: Black Past

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

Shirley Chisholm

Name at birth: Shirley Anita St. Hill

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Source: Fact Monster - Black History

Saddler, Joseph/Grandmaster Flash (1958 - )

Although he will more than likely be remembered best for releasing “The Message,” the first rap song to delve into social commentary about the plight of African Americans in the inner-city, Grandmaster Flash was also the original technological virtuoso of the early hip-hop movement to

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Source: Black Past

Mae Jemison is an American Physician and a former NASA Astronaut. Jemison is the first African American woman to travel in

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Source: Black History Resources

Oct

17

1956

After more than 20 years and 17 attempts at forming a internationally recognized central government, the Somali parliament held its inaugural session on Aug. 20, 2012. Rife with disorganization, corruption, and concerns for the safety of the participants, the swearing in took place at the airport

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Source: Fact Monster - Black History

Sharpton, Alfred Charles “Al” (1954- )

Born in Brooklyn, New York on October 3, 1954, Alfred Charles Sharpton, Jr., is an American Baptist minister and political, social, and human rights advocate. Known as “the Wonder Boy” as a youth, he was licensed and ordained as a Pentecostal minister and toured with the gospel singer

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Source: Black Past

Oct

3

1954

Bean, Maurice Darrow (1928-2009)

In 1977, career diplomat Maurice D. Bean was nominated by President Jimmy Carter to serve as U.S. Ambassador to Burma (in 1989 the military government changed the name of the country to Myanmar). Bean was born on September 9, 1928, in Gary, Indiana. His father Everett worked as a laborer for the

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Source: Black Past

Nov

30

2009

Wiley College (1873- )

Wiley College in Marshall, Texas, is the first African-American college established in the Lone Star State. The institution was founded in 1873 by Bishop Isaac Wiley of Methodist Episcopal Church and chartered by the Freedman’s Aid Society in 1882. Isaac Wiley grew up with dreams of becoming

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Source: Black Past

Reynolds, Melvin Jay “Mel” (1952- )

Politician, scholar and professor, Mel Reynolds was born on January 8, 1952, in Mound Bayou, Mississippi, to parents J.J. and Essie May Reynolds. Reynolds attended John Marshall High School on the Westside of Chicago where he developed impressive academic credentials. He then enrolled in Chicago

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Source: Black Past

Oct

1

1995

White, Lois Jean(1938- )

Lois Jean Barron White, the first African American President of the National Parent Teacher Association (PTA) was born in Nashville, Tennessee on March 21, 1938. She was raised by her grandmother, Rosa Barron, as her own mother lived away in Massachusetts. White’s grandmother taught her the value

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Source: Black Past

Mar

21

1938

Port-au-Prince, Republic of Haiti (1749 - )

Port-au-Prince is the capital, largest city, commercial center, and chief port of the Republic of Haiti. Some 90% of Haiti’s investments and jobs are found in Port-au-Prince. Estimated to be about 1.2 million inhabitants (and nearly three million inhabitants in the metropolitan area), the city

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Source: Black Past

Grose, William (1835-1898)

Before the Civil War, when he was 18, William Grose left his home in Washington, D.C. and enlisted in the U.S. Navy. Assigned to the USS Vincennes in 1853, he went to South Africa, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Russia and the Arctic during his tour of duty. Grose, who was honorably discharged in San

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Source: Black Past

Albany State University (1903- )

Albany State University is a historically black university in Albany, Georgia. It was founded in 1903 by Joseph Winthrop Holley, a native of South Carolina. This son of former slaves was inspired by the writings of W.E.B. DuBois to try to improve conditions for the South’s African American

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Source: Black Past

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