You may also like
Sheryl Swoopes
Sheryl Denise Swoopes is a retired professional basketball player and the first player to be signed on to the WNBA when it was created. She was born on March 25, 1971 in  Brownfield, Texas to Louise Swoopes. She had three older brothers with whom she grew up playing basketball. At the age of seven
Read more
Source: Black History Resources
Mar
25
1971
Leland, Mickey (1944-1989)
George Thomas Mickey Leland, III was born in Lubbock, Texas on November 27, 1944, to Alice and George Thomas Leland, Jr. Mickey Leland and his family soon moved to Houston’s Fifth Ward where he attended Phillis Wheatley High School and later Texas Southern University where he earned a Bachelors
Read more
Source: Black Past
Oct
30
1989
Zina Garrison born
Zina Garrison is born in Houston, Texas. She will win 37 professional tennis title, an Olympic gold medal and in 1990 finish runner-up at Wimbledon.
Read more
Source: Blackfacts.com
Nov
16
1963
Second Kansas Colored Volunteer Infantry Regiment (1863-1865)
The Second Kansas Colored Regiment, also known as the 83rd U.S. Colored Troop, was best known for its bravery during the Civil War battle of Jenkins
Read more
Source: Black Past
Sponsored by Center for Critical Race and Digital Studies
Actress Phylicia Rashad born
Actress Phylicia Rashad was born in Houston, Texas.
Read more
Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by Pride Academy
Jun
17
1948
(1963) Martin Luther King, Jr., “Letter From a Birmingham Jail”
My Dear Fellow
Read more
Source: Black Past
Black Baseball in Minnesota: The Pipestone Black Sox
In the following article historian Bruce A. Glasrud follows the exploits of an all black baseball team in the southwestern Minnesota town of Pipestone in the 1920s which at the time had virtually no black residents.  Nonetheless the team competed with other white, all-black, and racially integrated
Read more
Source: Black Past
Sponsored by National Association of Black Accountants (NABA) Boston Metropolitan Chapter
Latrell Sprewell
Latrell Fontaine Sprewell is a former NBA star who played for the Golden State Warriors, the New York Knicks, and the Minnesota Timberwolves. He was born on September 8, 1970 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He attended Washington High School in Milwaukee where he played basketball. Between 1988 to
Read more
Source: Black History Resources
Sep
8
1970
Reggie Bush
Name at birth: Reginald Alfred Bush II
Read more
Source: Fact Monster - Black History
Two white regiments and a Black regiment, the
Two white regiments and a Black regiment, the Sixty-second U.S.C.T., fought the last action of the civil war at Whites Ranch, Texas.
Read more
Source: Blackfacts.com
May
13
1865
Jordan, Barbara (1936-1996)
Barbara Charline Jordan was born in Houston Texas’s Fifth Ward on February 21, 1936. She received her education in public schools in Texas and graduated from Texas Southern University in 1956 with a B.A. in political science and history. Jordan then received her LL.B. from Boston University School
Read more
Source: Black Past
Jan
17
1996
Freedmen's Town, Houston, Texas (1865- )
Freedmen’s Town is a nationally registered historical site. The site was originally a community located in the fourth ward of Houston, Texas that began in 1865 as the destination for former enslaved people from surrounding plantations in Texas and Louisiana after the Civil
Read more
Source: Black Past
Jun
19
1865
Browder v. Gayle (1956)
June 5, 1956
Read more
Source: Black Past
Bolden Jr., Charles F. (1946-)
Charles Frank Bolden, Jr., NASA’s first permanent black administrator, was born to Charles Frank and Ethel Bolden, both teachers, on August 19th, 1946 in Columbia, South Carolina.  He rose to the rank of Major General in the United States Marine Corps and was a National Aeronautics and Space
Read more
Source: Black Past
Jul
17
2009
Palmer, Larry L. (1949- )
On November 1, 2011, President Barack H. Obama appointed Larry L. Palmer the United States Ambassador to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean. On March 30, 2012, the U.S. Senate confirmed Palmer’s nomination and he reported to his post in Bridgetown, Barbados. Born in Augusta, Georgia, on July
Read more
Source: Black Past
Sponsored by New York University
Adams, Samuel Clifford, Jr. (1920-2001)
Samuel Clifford Adams, Jr., U.S. Ambassador to Niger was born in Waco, Texas on August 15, 1920, to Samuel Clifford Adams and Sarah Catherine (née Roberts) Adams. He grew up in the Fourth Ward section of
Read more
Source: Black Past
Walker, Darren (1959– )
Philanthropist Darren Walker is the tenth president of the seventy-seven-year-old Ford Foundation, the second largest philanthropy in the world. Walker was born August 28, 1959, at a charity hospital in Lafayette, Louisiana, to a single mother and was raised in East Texas. He received two degrees
Read more
Source: Black Past
Sponsored by BARBinc
Aug
28
1959
Black Regiment founded
The 38th and 41st Infantry regiments were joined and became the 24th Infantry Regiment, the third of four proposed African American regiments in teh U.S. Army. Following the Civil War the regiment was poted in Texas from 1869 to 1880.
Read more
Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by National Association of Black Accountants (NABA) Boston Metropolitan Chapter
Mar
3
1869
Race riot in Houston
Race riot, Houston, between soldiers of Twenty-fourth Infantry Regiment and white citizens. Two Blacks and eleven whites killed. Martial law declared.
Read more
Source: Blackfacts.com
Aug
23
1917
Travis, Joe (1815- ?)
Joseph, an enslaved person, was one of a handful of survivors at the Battle of the Alamo in 1836.  He was born around 1815. Known simply as Joe, he was sold four times in his life, most notably to his third master, Colonel William Barret Travis. His mother, Elizabeth, four
Read more
Source: Black Past
Sponsored by Christo Rey New York High School
Mar
6
1836
Jamie Foxx
Name at birth: Eric Bishop
Read more
Source: Fact Monster - Black History
Sponsored by Museum of African American History in Massachusetts
Alvin Ailey
Born to a teen mother whose husband left her early on, Alvin Ailey grew up in the small Texas town of Navasota with a family that was facing financial difficulties. Drawing inspiration from the black church services and the music at the local dance hall, Ailey left for Los Angeles at the age of 12
Read more
Source: Black History Resources
Sponsored by Association of Latino Professionals For America (ALPFA) Boston Professional Chapter
Chrisman, Jerry - Web Site Producer/Drupal Architect
Jerry Chrisman is a creative media producer with extensive experience in graphic, print, and environmental design as well as web and digital media development. Earning a Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1993, Chrisman graduated with honors from the University of Houston Honors
Read more
Source: Black Past
Sponsored by Association of Latino Professionals For America (ALPFA) Boston Professional Chapter
Coleman, Bessie (1892–1926)
In 1921, Bessie Coleman became the first black woman to gain an international permit to fly. After learning French, she attended the famous flight school Ecole d’Aviation des Frères Caudron in Northern France. No schools in America would train a black person. She was inspired to fly by the stories
Read more
Source: Black Past
Sponsored by Center for Critical Race and Digital Studies
African American History in the West Bibliography Authors & Editors
Abajian, James de T. Blacks and Their Contributions to the American West: A Bibliography and Union List of Library Holdings Through 1970 Yes
Read more
Source: Black Past
Texas As a Slave State
President John Tyler signed the joint resolution of Congress to admit Texas as a slave state.
Read more
Source: Blackfacts.com
Mar
5
1845
Williams, Sidney (1942- )
Former professional football player, businessman, and diplomat, Sidney Williams was born in Shreveport, Louisiana on March 24, 1942. Raised in Houston, Texas, he attended the city’s Phillis Wheatley High School and upon graduation in 1959 enrolled at Southern University in Baton
Read more
Source: Black Past
Sponsored by Greater Boston Veterans Collaborative
Mt. Gilead Baptist Church, Fort Worth, Texas (1875- )
Following emancipation in 1865, former slaves across the South detached themselves from white-controlled congregations and established independent churches. In Fort Worth, Texas, historic Mt. Gilead Baptist Church was one of those new congregations. Over time it would serve the spiritual and
Read more
Source: Black Past
Sponsored by National Association of Black Accountants (NABA) Boston Metropolitan Chapter
Mueller, Robert, Seattle, Washington
Robert Mueller lived in Florida, Texas, and Indiana before settling in Seattle. He has worked as a School Technology Specialist for Skyview Junior High in the Northshore School District since 1996 and has been the staff advisor for the school newspaper for much of that time. He earned an English
Read more
Source: Black Past
Sponsored by Intellitech
A Brief History of the San Diego NAACP, 1917-2007
In 1917, realizing the hunger for social justice among the one thousand African American residents of San Diego, W. E. B. DuBois traveled from Los Angeles to San Diego as part of his western states tour on behalf of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).  Having
Read more
Source: Black Past
Sponsored by Museum of African American History in Massachusetts
More from Houston Defender Network - Houston's Leading Black Community News & Information Source
Fort Bend County receives vaccine shipment, as regional demand outpaces supply - DefenderNetwork.com
NAACP, local leaders blast Councilman Greg Travis for racist comments - DefenderNetwork.com
Georgia tallies votes as US Senate control hangs in balance - DefenderNetwork.com
IRS says executors undervalued Prince's estate by 50% - DefenderNetwork.com
The Latest: US virus death toll hits 350,000; surge feared - DefenderNetwork.com
Minority-owned companies waited months for loans, data shows - DefenderNetwork.com
Republicans furious that Stacey Abrams’ sister is judge who stopped voter purge in GA - DefenderNetwork.com
Congress opens new session as virus, Biden's win dominate - DefenderNetwork.com
Senate race thrusts 'Black America's church' into spotlight - DefenderNetwork.com
Who is eligible and how to get the COVID-19 vaccine in Texas - DefenderNetwork.com
Defender Fit & Fine: Dean Greene - DefenderNetwork.com
Local nonprofits provide holiday cheer to students in South Union and OST - DefenderNetwork.com
Trump, on tape, presses Ga. official to 'find' Trump votes - DefenderNetwork.com
Pelosi on track to be speaker again, faces difficult 2021 - DefenderNetwork.com
After a tumultuous 2020, Black leaders weigh next steps - DefenderNetwork.com
Record 3 million have voted early in Georgia Senate runoff - DefenderNetwork.com
Congressman Al Green vaccinated for COVID-19 - DefenderNetwork.com
Appointments filling up quickly at Houston’s free COVID-19 vaccination clinic - DefenderNetwork.com
Texas still blocked from taking over Houston’s school district, appeals court rules - DefenderNetwork.com
Defender Fit & Fine: Aaron West - DefenderNetwork.com
Defender Fit & Fine: Cassius Graham - DefenderNetwork.com
Mayor Turner, Houston Health Department opens COVID-19 vaccine site for public - DefenderNetwork.com
Twitter bans Trump, citing risk of violent incitement - DefenderNetwork.com
Democrats plan lightning Trump impeachment, want him out now - DefenderNetwork.com
Congressional Black Caucus says law enforcement ‘complicit’ in Capitol attack, demands investigation - DefenderNetwork.com
Lawmakers and residents, fight planned OST strip club - DefenderNetwork.com
Girl Scouts call on cookie bakers to address child labor - DefenderNetwork.com
Pasadena allows Rose Bowl name to be used in Texas - DefenderNetwork.com
Year in Review: Redesign of Public Safety Series - DefenderNetwork.com
High School Sports Year in Review: Setting Records, Cancellations, State Champs - DefenderNetwork.com
Principal Joe Clark, who inspired film ‘Lean on Me,’ dies - DefenderNetwork.com
California has nation’s 2nd confirmed case of virus variant - DefenderNetwork.com
'SoHo Karen' now claims she's the victim - DefenderNetwork.com
Entertainment Year in Review: Houstonians, Hollywood, Instagram Hits - DefenderNetwork.com
Studies find having COVID-19 may protect against reinfection - DefenderNetwork.com
10 simple New Year’s resolutions for couples - DefenderNetwork.com
Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett developed scientific approach to the coronavirus vaccine - DefenderNetwork.com
HOUSTON DEFENDER 2020 Year In Review: Top Pro/College Sports Stories - DefenderNetwork.com
Ohio police officer fired in fatal shooting of Black man - DefenderNetwork.com
Despite smooth election, GOP leaders seek vote restrictions - DefenderNetwork.com
Feds decline charges against officers in Tamir Rice case - DefenderNetwork.com
HOUSTON DEFENDER Year In Review: In Memoriam...Deaths in 2020 - DefenderNetwork.com
Officers connected to Taylor's death could face dismissal - DefenderNetwork.com
Some businesses thrived, many lagged during pandemic in 2020 - DefenderNetwork.com
Politicians and vaccines: Set an example or cut in line? - DefenderNetwork.com
Trump's presidential legacy, by the numbers - DefenderNetwork.com
HOUSTON DEFENDER 2020 Year In Review: Message from the Associate Editor Aswad Walker - DefenderNetwork.com
Defender Exclusive: Marcus Davis, scores Pepsi commercial promoting Black businesses - DefenderNetwork.com
Dr. Susan Moore — death of Black doctor of COVID-19 sets off alarms - DefenderNetwork.com
HOUSTON DEFENDER Best Centerfolds of 2020 - DefenderNetwork.com

Literature Facts

Recent Facts

Politics Facts

Facts About Women