Bertram M. Lee and Peter C.B. Bynoe sign an agreement to purchase the National B
Bertram M. Lee and Peter C.B. Bynoe sign an agreement to purchase the National Basketball Associations Denver Nuggets for $54 million. They become the first African American owners of a professional basketball team.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Oct
21
1989
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
Frank Mingo, one of the pioneering advertising executives who specialized in tar
Frank Mingo, one of the pioneering advertising executives who specialized in targeting African American consumers, dies
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by BARBinc
Oct
30
1989
Saint Augustine
St. Augustine, (Aurelius Augustinus, A.B. 354-430 bishop of Hippo,(now Souk-Ahras in modern Algeria),wrote the City of God, setting forth the Christian view of the world and humanity, in A.D. 410.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by Diversity In Action
Jan
0
410
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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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by Greater Boston Veterans Collaborative
Jan
20
1900
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
George H. White
Term of George H. White, last of post-Reconstruction congressmen, ended at noon.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Mar
4
1901
Oscar DePriest elected to Seventy-first Congress
Oscar DePriest elected to Seventy-first Congress from Illinois First Congressional District (Chicago). He was the first congressman from the North and the first Black in Congress since the departure of George H. White in 1901.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Nov
6
1928
Naval Frigate named after African American
The Navy frigate USS Jesse L. Brown was commissioned. The ship was named for Ensign Jesse L. Brown, the first African American naval aviator killed in combat over Korea.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Feb
17
1973
Dr. Ralph Bunche receives the Nobel Peace Prize
Dr. Ralph Bunche receives the Nobel Peace Prize for his work as a mediator in the Palestine crisis. He is the first African American to be so honored.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Mar
20
1950
Death of James Augustine Healy
Death of James Augustine Healy (70), Black Roman Catholic bishop, Portland, Maine.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by Pride Academy
Aug
5
1900
Rafer Johnson, is born
Born August 18, 1935, Hillsboro, Texas One of the greatest all-around track athletes in history. On Sept. 6, 1960, he won the Olymic Decathlon, the first for an African American.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Aug
18
1935
Death of Ida B.Wells-Barnett
Ida Bell Wells-Barnett
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Jul
16
1862
White terrorists attacked Black Republicans
White terrorists attacked Black Republicans in Hamburg, S.C., killing five.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Jul
8
1876
The first African American nursing school
The first African American nursing school opens at Spelman College in Atlanta, Ga.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Aug
13
1881
Blacks in Battle
In one of the decisive battles of the war, two brigades of Black troops helped crush one of the Souths finest armies at the Battle of Nashville. Black troops opened the battle on the first day and successfully engaged the right of the rebel line. On the second day Col. Charles R. Thompsons Black
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by Greater Boston Veterans Collaborative
Dec
15
1864
James A Healy, first Black Roman Catholic bishop
James A Healy, first Black Roman Catholic bishop, consecrated in cathedral at Portland, Maine.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by APEX Museum
Jun
2
1975
Eugene A. Marino, SSJ, is consecrated at the first African American auxiliary bi
Eugene A. Marino, SSJ, is consecrated at the first African American auxiliary bishop in the U.S. He is assigned to Washington, D.C.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sep
12
1974
Time, Inc. agrees to sell NYT Cable for $420
Time, Inc. agrees to sell NYT Cable for $420 million, to a group led by J. Bruce Llewellyn, the largest cable TV acquisition by an African American
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Jan
9
1989
John Mercer Langston, considered the first African
John Mercer Langston, considered the first African American to be elected to public office is elected clerk of Brownhelm, Ohio township
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Apr
2
1855
Max Robinson, first African American news anchor for a major television network
Max Robinson, first African American news anchor for a major television network died today.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Dec
20
1988
Doris A. Davis of Compton, California becom
Doris A. Davis of Compton, California becomes the first African American woman to govern a metropolitan city.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Jun
5
1973
The Chip Woman's Fortune by Willis Richardson
The Chip Womans Fortune by Willis Richardson, the first dramatic work by an African American playwright to be mounted on Broadway, opens at the Frazee Theatre on Broadway
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by APEX Museum
May
15
1923
Jackie Robinson
Jackie Robinson appears on the cover of Life magazine; first time an African American is featured on the cover in the magazines 13 year history
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Source: Blackfacts.com
May
10
1950
A Black scientist helped save thousands of lives
A Black scientist helped save thousands of lives during World War II. Dr. Charles Richard Drew set up and ran the pioneer blood plasma bank in Presbyterian Hospital in New York City. This bank served as one of the models for the system of banks operated later by the American Red Cross. On October
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Oct
1
1940
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
Wally "Famous" Amos's signature panama hat and embroidered shirt are donated to
Wally Famous Amoss signature panama hat and embroidered shirt are donated to the National Museum of American Historys Business Americana collection. It is the first memorabilia added to the collection by An African American entrepreneur and recognizes the achievement of Amos who built his company
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by Intellitech
Nov
18
1980
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
Moneta Sleet becomes the first African American to win a Pulitzer Prize for his
Moneta Sleet becomes the first African American to win a Pulitzer Prize for his photograph of Mrs. Martin Luther King, Jr. and her daughter at her husbands funeral
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Source: Blackfacts.com
May
5
1969
The Charles R. Drew Postgraduate Medical
The Charles R. Drew Postgraduate Medical School (later Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science) is chartered in Los Angeles. It is the only African American focused medical school west of the Mississippi
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by APEX Museum
Aug
2
1966

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