Samuel L. Gravely is born
Samuel Gravely was appointed captain of the Navy Destroyer Escort, U.S.S. Falgout, the first African American to command a United States warship. He later received the rand of Rear Admiral, a first for an African American navyman.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Jun
4
1922
Spottiswood W. Robinson
Spottiswood W. Robinson, representative of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, dean of the Howard University Law School, member of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, and appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson, U.S. Circuit Judge of the D.C. Circuit, born
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by Prospanica Boston Professional Chapter
Jul
26
1916
Daniel Alexander Payne
On this date in 1893, Daniel A. Payne died. The sixth bishop of the American Methodist Episcopal Church, Payne was the first African American ordained by the Lutheran Church in 1837. In 1856, he founded Wilberforce University, where he became the first Black president of a college in America. Payne
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Source: Blackfacts.com
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Feb
24
1811
1893 : Charles S. Johnson, sociologist, founder of
1893 : Charles S. Johnson, sociologist, founder of the National Urban Leagues Opportunity magazine and professor and President of Fisk University, born
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Jul
24
1893
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
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May
9
1750
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
Laurent Kabilia becomes new President of Zaire and renames itthe Democratic Re
Laurent Kabilia becomes new President of Zaire and renames it the Democratic Republic of the Congo.The country was previously under the 37 year rule of Dictator Mobutu SeSE sEKO. cONGO HAS DEMOCRACY.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
May
17
1997
President George Bush nominated conservative black Clarence Thomas to replace Th
President George Bush nominated conservative black Clarence Thomas to replace Thurgood Marshall.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Jul
2
1991
Phyllis Mae Daley, first of four African American
Phyllis Mae Daley, first of four African American Navy nurses to serve active duty in WW II receives her commission as an ensign in the Navy Nurse Corps.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Mar
8
1945
A commemorative stamp is issued by the U.S. Postal Service to honor Henry Ossawa
A commemorative stamp is issued by the U.S. Postal Service to honor Henry Ossawa Tanner, the first African American artist elected to the National Academy of Design
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sep
10
1973
Abolitionist Society Organized
First abolitionist society in United States organized in Philadelphia.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
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Apr
14
1775
Jefferson F. Long born
Jefferson F. Long, a merchant and tailor, was born in Knoxville, Georgia. He became the first African American from Georgia elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, serving two months and 9 days.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Mar
3
1836
Cowboy Willie "Bill" Pickett dies
World famous African American cowboy Willie Bill Pickett died in Ponca, Oklahoma, hospital of injuries sustained after he was kicked in the head by a horse on the Millers Brothers Fabulous 101 Ranch.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
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Apr
2
1932
Benjamin O. Davis, Jr.
Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. becomes the first African American general in the U.S. Air Force. His father was the first African American general in the U.S. Army
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Source: Blackfacts.com
May
22
1959
Richard Theodore Greener
Richard Theodore Greener becomes the first African American to graduate from Harvard University
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Jan
30
1844
The Great Blacks in Wax Museum.
In 1983, Doctors Elmer and Joanne Martin opened a wax museum, the first of its kind in the nation, as well as, Baltimore, Maryland of African Americans leaders that were made of
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by Center for Critical Race and Digital Studies
Jan
0
1983
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
Baseball catcher Elston Gene Howard born
Baseball catcher Elston Gene Howard was born in St. Louis, Missouri. In 1965, Howard signed a $70,000 contract with the NY Yankees and became the highest paid player in the history of baseball at the time.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Feb
23
1929
Juanita Hall becomes the first African American
Juanita Hall becomes the first African American to win a Tony award for her role as Bloody Mary in the musical South Pacific.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Apr
9
1950
William T. Coleman is named Secretary of Transpor
William T. Coleman is named Secretary of Transportation by President Gerald R. Ford. He is the second African American to hold a Cabinet level position
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Jan
14
1975
Washington Redskins quarterback Doug Williams
Washington Redskins quarterback Doug Williams, the first African American quarterback to play in a Super Bowl game, is named MVP in Super Bowl XXII.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Jan
31
1988
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
In Tuskegee, Alabama, the Rosenwald Fund made grants to the Alabama State Board
In Tuskegee, Alabama, the Rosenwald Fund made grants to the Alabama State Board of Health to help meet the cost of a sutdy of syphilis in African American men living in rural Georgia and Alabama. Thus would begin a four decade long study of syphilis without treatment. Over 400 men were allowed to
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Feb
12
1930
COINTELPRO Memorandum
A memorandum sent to field offices of the FBI set goals for what was termed as a new counterintelligence program against African American Nationalist groups. The objective was to block attempts by targeted groups to coalesce, grow and exist. The agencey believed unity was the first step toward
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Mar
3
1968
Patricia R.Harris
Patricia R. Harris named secretary of housing and urban development by President-elect Carter.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Dec
21
1976
Angela Davis arrested in New York City and charged
Angela Davis arrested in New York City and charged with unlawful flight to avoid persecution for her alleged role in California courthouse shoot-out.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by Illinois Math and Science Academy
Oct
13
1970
NAACP Elects Kweisi Mfume
Kweisi Mfume is unanimously elected President and CEO of the NAACP.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Dec
9
1995
White mob prevented enrollment of students
White mob prevented enrollment of students at Mansfield High School, Mansfield, Texas.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by Pride Academy
Aug
30
1956
Black Woman named "American Mother of the Year."
Emma Clarissa Clement, a black woman and mother of Atlanta University President Rufus E. Clement, was named American Mother of the Year by the Golden Rule Foundation. She was the first Afro-American woman to receive the honor.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by Illinois Math and Science Academy
May
1
1946
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

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