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Jordan, June (1936-2002)
June Meyer Jordan, writer, editor, poet, educator, environmental and social activist, was the only child of Granville Ivanhoe and Mildred Maude Fischer Jordan who were Jamaican immigrants. June was born in Harlem on July 9, 1936.  June’s father worked as a night shift postal clerk and her mother
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Source: Black Past
Jul
9
1936
birth of John William "Blind" Boone
Rachel Boone was a slave of the decendents of the Daniel Boone family who escaped to an army camp near Miami, MO. She gave birth to a son & moved to Warrensburg, MO. Her son became Blind Boone, famous classical pianist known all over the U.S., Canada & Mexico who also reportedly played in
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by APEX Museum
May
17
1864
Henderson, George Washington (c. 1850-1936)
Born a slave in Clark County, Virginia, George Washington Henderson graduated from the University of Vermont in 1877 and became the first African American to be inducted into Phi Beta Kappa (PBK), the highest academic honor society. He later received a bachelor’s degree in divinity from Yale
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Source: Black Past
Feb
3
1936
Ray Charles
Born: 9/23/1930 Albany, GeorgiaDied: 6/10/2004 Beverly Hills, CaliforniaRay Charles Robinson, professionally known as Ray Charles, was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and composer. He was sometimes referred to as The Genius, and was also nicknamed The High Priest of SoulAwards
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Janet Jackson Born
Janet Jackson, of the famous Jackson family was born on this day in Gary, Indiana. Ms. Jackson will star in television shows such as Good Times, Different Strokes, and Fame. She will also become a celebrated songstress recording such albums as Rhythm Nation:1814, Janet, and the widely criticized
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by Museum of African American History in Massachusetts
May
16
1966
Angela Bassett
Angela Bassett is a well known African American actress and director. She was born in New York in August 1958 to Betty Jane and Daniel Benjamin Bassett. Her ancestors adopted the name of Bassett after William Henry Bassett, who was a slave who adopted the name of his former master. Shortly after
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Source: Black History Resources
Mercer, Mabel Alice Wadham (1900-1984)
Mabel Mercer was one of the most important jazz cabaret singers of the 20th Century. Her personal singing style emphasizing interpretation, diction, lyrics, and projection over vocal proficiency influenced numerous leading singers including Billie Holiday, Frank Sinatra, Nat
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Source: Black Past
(1862) John S. Rock, “A Deep and Cruel Prejudice”
New Jersey-born John Sweat Rock was one of the first African American dentists in the United States.  He was also a medical doctor and in 1861, after studying law, was admitted to the Massachusetts bar in 1861.  On January 23, 1862, Rock addressed the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society in
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Source: Black Past
Jan
23
1862
Harry Belafonte
Harry Belafonte was shown with actress Janet Leigh and film star Tony Curtis on the cover of Ebony magazine. It was the first time a black person and two Caucasians were seen together on a U.S. magazine cover.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by Concerned Black Men of Massachusetts
Jul
3
1953
One-Man Show of Art
One-Man Show of Art by Negro, First of Kind Here, Opens Today, read the headline of a front-page article in The New York Times on this day. The article announced the opening of Archibald J. Motley, Jrs show at the New Gallery on Madison Avenue. This was the first time in History that an artist had
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by Museum of African American History in Massachusetts
Feb
25
1928
Denzel Washington Born
Actor Denzel Washington was born on this day in Mount Vernon, NY. Washington will star in such films as Malcolm X, Glory, Much Ado about Nothing, and A Soldiers Story. He will have a start in television in his role on popular show St. Elsewhere. He will win an Academy Award for best supporting
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Dec
28
1954
Baseball star Ernie Banks born
Baseball great Ernie Banks, former Chicago Cub star, was born in Dallas, TX.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by Massachusetts Black Lawyers Association (MBLA)
Jan
31
1931
Denzel Washington
Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. is a renowned Hollywood actor and producer, known for his powerfully portrayed performances in film and television.  Washington was born on December 28, 1954 near New York City. His father, Reverend Denzel Hayes Washington Sr. was a minister, and his mother Lennis owned
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Source: Black History Resources
Sponsored by NSBE Boston
Dec
28
1954
1907 Civil rights activist and politician Grace Towns Hamilton was born inAt
1907 Civil rights activist and politician Grace Towns Hamilton was born in
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Feb
10
1907
Julia premieres on NBC with Diahann Carroll in the title role. It is the first
Julia premieres on NBC with Diahann Carroll in the title role. It is the first modern television show to star an African American woman since Beulah in the 1950s.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sep
17
1968
African American History: Bibliography
Home
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Source: Black Past
First Black Priest Ordained in the United States
Charles Randolph Uncles became the first Black priest ordained in the United States on this day in Baltimore, Maryland
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Dec
19
1891
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
Basketball star Moses "The Mailman" Malone born
National Basketball Association star, Moses The Mailman Malone is born in Petersburg, Virginia.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by Prospanica Boston Professional Chapter
Mar
23
1954
Death of Lt.Gov.Dunn
Lt. Gov. Oscar J. Dunn died suddenly in the midst of a bitter struggle for control of the Louisiana state government. Dunn aides charged that he was poisoned.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) Boston Professional Chapter
Nov
22
1871
Lonnie Elder
Lonnie Elder, author and playwright (Ceremonies in Dark Old Men) and screenwriter (Sounder, A Woman Called Moses), born
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Dec
26
1931
Perkins, Marvin (1963– )
Marvin Perkins is an accomplished recording vocal artist, a sought-after public speaker, and a leader in the effort to correct misunderstanding and incorrect assumptions about blacks, especially in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
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Source: Black Past
The Genesis Group of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (1971– )
In 1971 Ruffin Bridgeforth, Darius Gray, and Eugene Orr, all African American Mormons, met at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City to create a strategy for receiving greater support for the black members of the Latter Day Saints. In that year, there were only three or four hundred Latter-day
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Source: Black Past
Sponsored by National Association of Black Accountants (NABA) Boston Metropolitan Chapter
Frank Ocean
Name at birth: Christopher Breaux
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Source: Fact Monster - Black History
Mos Def
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
LeBron James
LeBron James is an American basketball superstar who currently plays for the National Basketball Association (NBA) team “Cleveland Cavaliers”. He is six feet, eight inches tall and weighs 250 pounds. He was born to a 16 year old single mother named Gloria Marie James on December
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Source: Black History Resources
New Constitution Banned Segregation
Louisiana voters approved new constitution and elected state officers, including the first Black lieutenant governor, Oscar J. Dunn, and the first Black state treasurer, Antoine Dubuclet. Article Thirteen of the new constitution banned segregation in public accommodation: All the persons shall
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Apr
16
1868
Simon Raven
Simon Raven wrote the ascerbic novelist who wrote the Alms for Oblivion series of novels published in the 1960s and 1970s. The 10 volumes were a sharply satirical chronicle of British upper-class life, featuring a continuing cast of characters who first meet at an exclusive English school. Simon
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Source: Fact Monster - Black History
Sponsored by National Association of Black Accountants (NABA) Boston Metropolitan Chapter
Bill Pickett, dies
At the age of 72 black cowboy Bill Pickett died after being kicked while roping a bronco. a star of the 101 Ranch wild West Show, Mr. Pickett invented the rodeo event of bulldogging , an event in which the contestant must wrestle a longhorn steer to the ground with his bare hands.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) Boston Professional Chapter
Apr
24
1944
Duncan, Todd (1903-1998)
Born Robert Todd Duncan in Danville, Kentucky in 1903, Todd Duncan was the first African American to perform in an otherwise all-white cast in the New York City Opera’s production of
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Source: Black Past
Mar
2
1998
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