William Levi Dawson

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William Levi Dawson

William Levi Dawson is born, first African American representative to chair a committee in Congress.

Source: Blackfacts.com

Cook, Will Mercer (1903-1987)

Will Mercer Cook served as the United States ambassador to the Republic of Niger from 1961 to 1964. Cook directed U.S. economic, social, and cultural programs in Niger, which included the Peace Corps. During the mid-1960s he also became the special envoy to Gambia and

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Source: Black Past

Oct

4

1987

Riley, George Putnam (1833--1905)

George Putnam Riley, a native of Boston, participated in both the California and Canadian Northwest Territory Gold Rushes. In 1869, Riley along with 14 other Portland, Oregon residents--11 African American men, two African American women, and one white man--formed the Workingmen’s Joint Stock

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Source: Black Past

Name at birth: Paul Slocum

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Source: Fact Monster - Black History

William ("Bill") Henry Cosby was born on this day.

William (Bill) Henry Cosby was born on this day.

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Jul

12

1937

Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute (1969- )

The Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute (LHPAI) is Seattles longest-lived performing arts venue for programming primarily by and about people of African descent. It is located at 104 17th Avenue South in the Central Area, the traditional heart of the African American and Diaspora

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Source: Black Past

Brooke, Edward, III (1919-2015)

Edward William Brooke III was the first African American to be elected by popular vote to the United States Senate. Brooke, an African American, Protestant Republican, won elective office in the overwhelmingly white, Catholic, Democratic state of Massachusetts and emerged as a leader in the US

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Source: Black Past

Cayton, Susie Revels (1870-1943)

Susie Sumner Revels, a daughter of Hiram Revels, the first U.S. Senator of African descent, arrived in Seattle, Washington from Mississippi in 1896. Her reason, she stated, during a 1936 Washington Pioneers Project interview, was the man she was going to marry was here. He was Horace Roscoe

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Source: Black Past

Jul

12

1896

Languages: Setswana 78.2%, Kalanga 7.9%, Sekgalagadi 2.8%, English (official) 2.1%, other 8.6%, unspecified 0.4% (2001

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Source: Fact Monster - Black History

Rock, John S. (1825-1866)

John S. Rock was born to free black parents in Salem, New Jersey in 1825. He attended public schools in New Jersey until he was 19 and then worked as a teacher between 1844 and 1848. During this period Rock began his medical studies with two white doctors. Although he was initially denied

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Source: Black Past

Dec

3

1866

Franklin, Aretha

Franklin, Aretha, 1942–, American singer, b. Memphis. She began singing in the choir of her fathers church. Known as the Queen of Soul, she recorded such hits as Respect, Chain of Fools, and Whos Zoomin Who, (You Make Me Feel Like) a Natural Woman, and Highway of

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Source: Fact Monster - Black History

Dawson, William Levi (1886-1970)

WilliamLevi Dawson was a well-known Chicago, Illinois lawyer who became one of the city’s most influentialpoliticians. His career paralleled the risingsignificance of African Americans in the Democratic Party. Dawson was born in Albany, Georgia on April 26,1886. Little is known of his formative

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Source: Black Past

William "Willie the Pro" Thrower (1930-2002)

William ‘Willie the Pro” Thrower was the first African American to play as a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). Thrower was born on March 22, 1930, in New Kensington, Pennsylvania. Although his statistics as a college and high school football player are good, and his pro

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Source: Black Past

Mar

22

1930

Simmons College of Kentucky [Louisville] (1879- )

Simmons College of Kentucky, the state’s oldest African American college, was founded in 1879. The college was established by former slaves to train the sons and daughters of fellow African Americans. In August of 1865, Rev. Henry Adams led the effort to create the institution where he proposed

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Source: Black Past

Aug

30

1930

Harper, Ida Husted

Harper, Ida Husted, 1851–1931, American woman suffragist. Allied with the woman-suffrage movement from 1898, she became the official reporter and historian of the National American Woman Suffrage Association. She wrote The Life and Works of Susan B. Anthony (3 vol., 1898–1908, repr. 1969) and

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Source: Fact Monster - Black History

Holloway, Anne Forrester (1941- 2006)

Anne Forrester Holloway was appointed U.S. Ambassador to Mali on November 6, 1979 by President Jimmy Carter. She was the first African American woman to hold that

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Source: Black Past

Nov

6

1979

Benjamin Banneker

Benjamin Banneker was one of the first well known African American scientists and mathematicians. He was born on November 9, 1731 to an ex slave named Robert, and Mary Banneky, the daughter of an Englishwoman and a free African slave. He grew up on his parents farm along with three of his sisters

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Source: Black History Resources

Oct

9

1806

Long, Jefferson Franklin (1836-1907)

Jefferson Franklin Long, a Republican who represented Georgia in the 41st Congress, was the first black member to speak on the floor of the House of Representatives, and was the only black representative from Georgia for just over a century. Long was born a slave in Knoxville, Georgia on March

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Source: Black Past

Feb

1

1871

Walker, George Theophilus (1922- )

Winning the Pulitzer Prize for Music is one of the multitude of richly deserved tributes to composer, pianist, and educator George TheophilusWalker. His prolific career continues into his 90s with his commissioned SinfoniaNo. 4 (Strands), premiered in 2012 by the New Jersey Symphony

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Source: Black Past

Jun

27

1922

Rush, Bobby L. (1946- )

Bobby Lee Rush was born in Albany, Georgia on November 23, 1946. He graduated from Marshall High School in that city at the age of seventeen and soon afterwards enlisted in the United States Army. Rush served in the Army from 1963 to 1968 when he was honorably

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Source: Black Past

Nov

23

1946

Harris, Patricia Roberts (1924-1985)

Patricia Roberts Harris was born on May 31, 1924 in Mattoon, Illinois. She excelled academically and received a scholarship to Howard University. During her time at Howard, Roberts was elected Phi Beta Kappa and graduated Summa Cum Laude in 1945. While she was in college Roberts participated in

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Source: Black Past

Mar

23

1985

The Black Laws of Oregon, 1844-1857

Oregon passed exclusion laws against African Americans twice during the 1840s, considered another law in the 1850s, and in 1857 approved an exclusion clause as part of its constitution. Exclusion laws were also passed in Indiana and Illinois and considered in Ohio, but Oregon was the only free

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Source: Black Past

Ben Harper is an American musician, known for his success as an artist, instrumental skills and social activism. He was born on October 28, 1969 as Benjamin Chase Harper to Leonard and Ellen-Chase Verdries in Pomona, California. His father was African American and his mother was Jewish. He came

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Source: Black History Resources

Oct

28

1969

Morrison, Chloe Anthony Wofford "Toni" (1931- 2019)

Born Chloe Anthony Wofford on February 18, 1931 in Lorain, Ohio to parents George and Ella Ramah Wofford, novelist Toni Morrison grew up in a working class family. She received a B.A. degree from Howard University after majoring in English and minoring in the classics. Wofford earned an

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Source: Black Past

Feb

18

1931

Scott, David (1946- )

David Scott represents Georgia’s 13th district in the U.S. House of Representatives. The 13th district includes portions of Cobb, Clayton, Douglas, Fulton, Henry, and DeKalb

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Source: Black Past

Jul

27

1946

Nix, Robert Nelson Cornelius, Sr. (1898-1987)

Robert Nelson Cornelius Nix, Sr. was born on August 9, 1905 in Orangeburg, South Carolina, where his father, Nelson, was dean of South Carolina State College. Nix graduated from Townsend Harris High School in New York City, and then from Lincoln University in Chester County, Pennsylvania in

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Source: Black Past

Swahili language

Swahili language, member of the Bantu group of African languages (see African languages and Bantu languages ). Swahili is spoken by 30 million people, chiefly in Tanzania, Kenya, Congo (Kinshasa), Burundi, and Uganda, and serves as a lingua franca for additional millions in E Africa, including

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Source: Fact Monster - Black History

(1997) Kweisi Mfume, “A Shining and Powerful Dream”

Kweisi Mfume, born Frizzel Gray in Baltimore, Maryland, represented that city in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1986 to 1996 and rose to become Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus. On February 15, 1996, he stepped down to become President of the National Association for the

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Source: Black Past

William Levi Dawson

William Levi Dawsons Symphony No. 1, Negro Folk Symphony, was the firsty symphony on black folk themes by a black composer to be performed by a major orchestra.

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Nov

14

1934

Cooper, Jack Leroy (1888-1970)

Jack L. Cooper is widelyacknowledged as the first African American radio broadcaster. Cooper, born inMemphis, Tennessee on September 18,1888, was the youngest of 10 children. He was raised in a poor, single-parenthome, and, at the age of 10, quit school and moved to Cincinnati, Ohio to work at

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Source: Black Past

Jan

12

1970

1st Rhode Island Regiment

The 1st Rhode Island Regiment was a Continental Army regiment during the American Revolutionary War. The 1st Rhode Island Regiment became known as the Black Regiment due to its allowing the recruitment of African Americans in 1778. This decision, designed to help fill dwindling ranks among the

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Source: Black Past

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