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Elijah Muhammad
Name at birth: Elija Pool or Elijah Poole
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Source: Fact Monster - Black History
Sponsored by Eastern Bank
Baskett, James (1904-1948)
James Baskett, the first male African American to win an Academy Award, was born in Indianapolis, Indiana on February 16, 1904.  After high school Baskett planned to study pharmacy, but after he was offered a small part in a show in Chicago, Illinois his career path was forever changed.  Baskett
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Source: Black Past
Jul
9
1948
Brown, Jesse (1944-2002)
Jesse Brown, wounded veteran and government official, was born on March 27, 1944 to Lucille Brown in Detroit, Michigan.  His single-parent mother raised him in Chicago.  Brown first attended Roosevelt University in Chicago and later graduated from Kennedy- King College in that same
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Source: Black Past
Sponsored by Museum of African American History in Massachusetts
Dec
18
1992
Study of Negro Life And History
Association for they Study of Negro Life and History organized at Chicago meeting. The name of the organization, the major organizing center for the dissemination of information on Black history, was changed in the sixties to the Association for the Study of Afro-American Life and History.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by Center for Critical Race and Digital Studies
Sep
9
1913
McGee, Henry Wadsworth, Sr. (1910-2000)
The first African American Postmaster of a major postal facility, Henry W. McGee, Sr. was born in Hillsboro, Texas, in 1910, and moved to Chicago, Illinois in 1927.  McGee was the first person to rise from the ranks of letter carriers to achieve the status of Postmaster, a post to which he was
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Source: Black Past
Sponsored by Pride Academy
Poage, George Coleman (1880–1962)
George Poage ran track in the 1904 Olympic games and was the first African American to ever win an Olympic medal. Poage was born in Hannibal, Missouri on November 6, 1880, but spent most of his childhood growing up in La Crosse, Wisconsin. As a teen, he excelled both in academics and
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Source: Black Past
Apr
11
1962
Katherine Dunham, dancer/anthropologist born
Katherine Dunham
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Jun
22
1912
Bank in Chicago Established
Seaway National Bank of Chicago established.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Dec
25
1965
Sam Cook, Father of Soul Music, born.
Singer Sam Cook, the son of a minister and believed by many to be the first father of soul music, was born in Chicago, Illinois. Cook began his singing career with a gospel group known as the Singing Children. His fame came in 1965 with You and Me, Only 16, and his very famous Stand By Me and
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Jan
22
1931
de Sable founds Chicago
Jeanne Baptiste Pointe de Sable founded settlementnow known as Chicago, Ill, 1773
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Mar
12
1773
Birthday
Charles White Born April 2, 1918. Renowned African-Americccan artist born in Chicago, IL; died October 3, 1979. Charles White began his professional career by painting murals for the WPA during the Depression. He was influenced by Mexiccan muralists Diego Rivera and David Alfaro Siquieros. Among
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Apr
2
1918
On October 1, 1945, noted R&B singer and songwriter, Donny Hathaway was born in
On October 1, 1945, noted R&B singer and songwriter, Donny Hathaway was born in Chicago, Illinois. Before his death, he often teamed up with songstress, Roberta Flack, on songs such as Where Is the Love.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Oct
1
1945
Jame Cleveland
Born on this day in Chicago, Illinois, James Cleveland first sang gospel under the direction of Thomas Dorsey at the Pilgrim Baptist Church.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by National Association of Black Accountants (NABA) Boston Metropolitan Chapter
Dec
5
1932
Troops were mobilized to put down Chicago riot
Troops were mobilized to put down Chicago riot which erupted on July 27, and continued for several days. Fifteen whites and twenty-three Blacks were killed and more than five hundred were injured.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by Eastern Bank
Jul
27
1919
Carson, Johnnie (1943- )
Johnnie Carson is a retired diplomat who served as United States Ambassador to Uganda (1991-1994), U.S. Ambassador to Zimbabwe (1995-1997), and U.S. Ambassador to Kenya (1999-2003). Carson was born on April 7, 1943 in Chicago, Illinois. After attending public schools in Chicago, Carson received
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Source: Black Past
May
7
2009
Death of Ida B.Wells-Barnett
Ida Bell Wells-Barnett
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Jul
16
1862
Ida Bell Wells-Barnett
Born: 7/16/1862 Holly Springs, MississippiDied: 3/25/1931 Chicago, IllinoisIda Bell Wells-Barnett, more commonly known as Ida B. Wells, was an African-American journalist, newspaper editor, suffragist, sociologist, Georgist, and an early leader in the Civil Rights MovementBusiness
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Second annual report of the NAACP
Second annual report of the NAACP listed total receipts from May through December, 1911, of $10,317.43. Organization had local chapters in Chicago, Boston and New York.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by New York University
Jan
1
1912
Race riot, West Side of Chicago
Race riot, West Side of Chicago. National Guard was placed on stand-by alert, August 14. (8/12-14).
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Aug
12
1965
Benjamin Oliver Davis Sr.
Born: 7/1/1877 Washington, D.C., United StatesDied: 11/26/1970 Chicago, IllinoisBrigadier General Benjamin Oliver Davis, Sr. was the first African-American general officer in the United States Army. He was the father of Air Force General Benjamin O. Davis, Jr.Business / Schooling: Awards
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Source: Blackfacts.com
President Eisenhower
President Eisenhower named J. Earnest Wilkins of Chicago assistant secretary of labor.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Mar
4
1954
Davis, Shani (1982- )
Shani Davis became the first African American to win a gold medal an individual event in the Winter Olympics and the first African American male to win a gold when he competed in the men’s 1,000-meter speedskating championship in the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in
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Source: Black Past
Sponsored by Diversity In Action
Lorraine Hansberry, born
Birth date of playwright Lorraine Hansberry, who was born in Chicago. Her only two plays, A Raisin in the Sun and The Sign in Sidney Bursteins Window, became famous.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by National Black MBA Association (NBMBAA) Boston Professional Chapter
May
19
1930
Death of Elijah Muhammad
Death of Elijah Muhammad (77), leader of the Nation of Islam, in Chicago. He was succeeded by his son, Wallace D. Muhammad.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Feb
25
1975
Waters, Muddy
Waters, Muddy, 1915–83, African-American blues singer and guitarist, b. Rolling Fork, Miss., as McKinley Morganfield. As a teenager he began singing and playing traditional country blues on harmonica and guitar, and in 1941 he was recorded by Alan Lomax for the Library of Congress. Two years
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Source: Fact Monster - Black History
Ambassador
Clifton Wharton is sworn in as ambassador to Norway. Clifton Wharton was the 1st Black person to earn a PhD in economics from University of Chicago in as well as the first Black president of Michigan State, predominantly White university.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Mar
9
1961
Jackson, Jesse Louis. Jr. (1965- )
Jesse Jackson, Jr., an African American Congressman, represented Illinois’ Second Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives from December 12, 1995 to November 21, 2012. On March 11, 1965, in Greenville, South Carolina, in the middle of the voting rights campaign, Jesse
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Source: Black Past
Sponsored by New York University
Jones, Richard Lee (1893-1975)
Richard Jones was a decorated military leader, serving in both World Wars I and II, and an early United States
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Source: Black Past
Sponsored by NSBE Boston
Bernie Mac
Bernard Jeffrey “Bernie” McCullough, or Bernie Mac, was an American comedian and actor, born on October 5, 1957 in Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A. After losing his mother at the age of 16, Mac would set up stand-up comedy shows for neighborhood kids and spent most of his 20s serving various
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Source: Black History Resources
Aug
9
2008
Gwendolyn Brooks, poet, first Black awarded a Pulitzer Prize (poetry) in 1950.
Gwendolyn Brooks, poet, first Black awarded a Pulitzer Prize (poetry) in 1950. Brooks was born in Topeka, Kansas but grew up in Chicago. She is a witty poet who satirizes blacks and whites and attacks racial discrimination. She uses black language and rituals to proclaim black solidarity.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
May
1
1950
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