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Congressman William Gray
Congressman William Gray is elected Democratic Whip of the House of Representatives, the highest ranking leadership position ever held by an African American in Congress.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Jun
14
1989
Bill Russell named head coach of the Boston Celtic
Bill Russell named head coach of the Boston Celtics, becoming the first African American to coach an NBA team.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by New York University
Mar
28
1966
Jonathan A. Rodgers becomes president of CBS's television stations division, the
Jonathan A. Rodgers becomes president of CBSs television stations division, the highest ranking African American in network television. Rodgers had been general manager of WBBM-TV, CBSs Chicago Station
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sep
3
1990
Larry Doby
Larry Doby is born. He will become the first African American in baseballs American League, playing for the Cleveland Indians. He will be the 1954 RBI leader.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Dec
13
1924
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
Sponsored by Illinois Math and Science Academy
May
9
1750
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
Sponsored by APEX Museum
Feb
24
1811
The 99th Pursuit Squadron, an all African American
The 99th Pursuit Squadron, an all African American unit is formed and the Tuskegee Training Program is established, the 99th will fly more than 500 missions and more than 3,700 sorties during one year of combat before being combined with the 332nd Fighter Group.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by Concerned Black Men of Massachusetts
Jan
16
1941
Naval Frigate named after African American
The Navy frigate USS Jesse L. Brown was commissioned. The ship was named for Ensign Jesse L. Brown, the first African American naval aviator killed in combat over Korea.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Feb
17
1973
Howard Beach Incident
White teens in Howard Beach chased Michael Griffith, an African-American youth, onto a freeway where he was hit by a motorist. Griffith died from his injuries setting off a wave of protests and racial tensions in New York.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Jan
7
1986
Etta Moten sings for President
Etta Moten sings for President and Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt at a White House Dinner. It is the first time an African American actress performs at the White House.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by Center for Critical Race and Digital Studies
Jan
31
1934
African Americans Replaces Reluctant Whites
African Americans Replaces Reluctant Whites: By 1777, losses on the field of battle and rising White desertions had reduced the Continental Armys ranks of men. Northern colonies began to accept African Americans, free and slave, because these colonies could not fill their quotas with White man. In
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Oct
5
2002
Jump Start premieres in 40 newspapers in the U.S. It is created by 26 year old R
Jump Start premieres in 40 newspapers in the U.S. It is created by 26 year old Robb Armstrong, the youngest African American to have a syndicated comic strip. He follows in the footsteps of Morrie Turner, the creator of Wee Pals, the first African American syndicated comic strip.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by NSBE Boston
Oct
2
1989
Congress passed resolution readmitting the state
Congress passed resolution readmitting the state of Tennessee.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Jul
24
1866
Joseph Hayne Rainey
Joseph Hayne Rainey was the first Black elected to Congress to represent South Carolina. He was sworn in on this day to fill an unexpired term.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Dec
12
1870
Reuben V. Anderson is appointed a judge
Reuben V. Anderson is appointed a judge on the Mississippi Supreme Court. He is the first African American named to the court.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Jan
11
1985
Deborah Sampson Gannett, who disguised herself as a man in order to fight in the
Deborah Sampson Gannett, who disguised herself as a man in order to fight in the Revolutionary War, is born in Plymouth, VA
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Dec
17
1760
Debbye Turner is crowned Miss America. She is the third African American to win
Debbye Turner is crowned Miss America. She is the third African American to win the crown since the inception of the pageant in 1921.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sep
16
1989
Congress authorized President Lincoln to accept blacks in Union Army.
Congress authorized President Lincoln to accept blacks in Union Army.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by Intellitech
Jun
17
1862
White terrorists attacked Black Republicans
White terrorists attacked Black Republicans in Hamburg, S.C., killing five.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Jul
8
1876
Charles Edward Anderson
In 1960, Charles Edward Anderson earned a Ph.D. in Meteorology from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, Massachusetts. Charles Edward Anderson the first African American to earn a Ph.D. in Meteorology; died today.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Oct
21
1994
Columbia University graduate and Harvard University law student Barack Obama bec
Columbia University graduate and Harvard University law student Barack Obama became the first African American named president of the Harvard Law Review.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by New York University
Feb
5
1990
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
Judge Clarence Thomas is confirmed as the 106th associate justice of the U.S. Su
Judge Clarence Thomas is confirmed as the 106th associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, its second African American.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by Greater Boston Veterans Collaborative
Oct
15
1991
Eleanor Holmes
Eleanor Holmes (later Eleanor Norton) is born in Washington, DC. A graduate of the Yale University School of Law, Norton will become chairperson of the New York City Commission on Human Rights, and a Georgetown University law professor before being elected a non-voting delegate to Congress
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Jun
13
1937
Violette Neatley Anderson
Violette Neatley Anderson is the first African American woman admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Jan
29
1926
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
Blacks Elected to Congress
Sixteen Blacks were elected to Congress. Andrew Young of Atlanta was the first Black elected to Congress from the Deep South since the Reconstruction era. Also elected for the first time were Barbara Jordan (Tex.) and Yvonne Brathwaite Burke (Calif.). Republican Senator Edward W. Brooke of
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Nov
17
1972
Rafer Johnson won the Olympic Decathlon
On Sept. 6, 1960 Rafer Johnson won the Olympic Decathlon--the first for an African American
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sep
6
1960
Congressman William H. Gray is elected chairman
Congressman William H. Gray is elected chairman of the House Budget Committee, the highest congressional post held by an African American.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by Illinois Math and Science Academy
Jan
4
1985
Cheryl Adrienne Brown
Cheryl Adrienne Brown wins the Miss Iowa pageant and becomes the first African American to compete in the Miss America beauty pageant.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Jun
14
1970
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