Our History

April 17, 1983 – Alice Walker won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction for The Color Purple. April 18, 1864 – More than 200 black Union troops massacred by Confederate forces at Ft. Pillow, TN. April 19, 1972 – Stationed in Germany, Major Gen. Frederic E. Davidson became the first black to lead a U.S. Army division. April 20, 1894 – Dr. Lloyd A. Hall, pioneering food … [Read more...] about This Week In Black History – April 17, 2025

April 3, 1826 – Poet-orator James Madison Bell, author of the Emancipation Day poem “The Day and the War,” was born. April 4, 1968 – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, TN. April 5, 1951 – Washington, DC Municipal Court of Appeals outlawed segregation in restaurants. April 6, 1909 – Matthew A. Henson reached the North … [Read more...] about This Week In Black History – April 3, 2025

March 27, 1930 – Of the 116,000 African Americans in professional positions, more than two-thirds were teachers or ministers. March 28, 1870 – Jonathan S. Wright became the first black state Supreme Court justice in South Carolina. March 29, 1898 – W.J. Ballow patented the combined hat rack and table. March 30, 1870 – Fifteenth Amendment ratified, guaranteeing … [Read more...] about This Week In Black History – March 27, 2025

March 20, 1883 – Jan. E. Matzeliger patented shoe-making machine. March 20, 1912 – Carter G. Woodson received doctorate from Harvard University. March 21, 1965 – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., led march from Selma to Montgomery, AL, for voting rights. March 22, 1898 – J.W. Smith patented the lawn sprinkler. March 23, 1873 – Slavery abolished in Puerto Rico. … [Read more...] about This Week In Black History – March 20, 2025

March 13, 1773 – Jean Baptiste Pointe Du Sable, black pioneer and explorer, founded Chicago. March 14, 1965 – Montgomery bus boycott ended when municipal bus service is desegregated. March 15, 1988 – Eugene Antonio Marino, first Black archbishop, assigned to Atlanta. March 16, 1846 – Rebecca Cole, second black female physician in America, was born. March 17, … [Read more...] about This Week In Black History – March 13, 2025

March 6, 1857 – U.S. Supreme Court issued Dred Scott decision. March 7, 1965 – U.S. Supreme Court upheld key provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. March 8, 1977 – Henry L. Marsh, III, became first African American elected mayor of Richmond, VA. March 9, 1941 – Amistad mutineers freed by U.S. Supreme Court. March 10, 1913 – Harriet Tubman died. March … [Read more...] about This Week In Black History – March 6, 2025

February 27, 1988 – Debi Thomas became first black to win an Olympic medal in figure skating. February 28, 1984 – Michael Jackson won Eight Grammy awards. March 1, 1994 – Leonard S. Coleman, Jr., elected president of the National Baseball League. March 2, 1867 – U.S. Congress enacted charter to establish Howard University in Washington, DC. March 3, 1865 – … [Read more...] about This Week In Black History – February 27, 2025

February 20, 1934 – Four Saints in Three Acts, by Virgil Thompson and Gertrude Stein, premiered as the first black-performed opera on Broadway. February 21, 1965 – Civil Rights activist Malcolm X was assassinated in New York City. February 22, 1989 – Col. Frederick Gregory was the first African American to command a space shuttle mission. February 23, 1868 – W.E.B. … [Read more...] about This Week In Black History – February 20, 2025

February 13, 1970 – Joseph L. Searles became the first black member of the New York Stock Exchange. February 14, 1879 – B.K. Bruce of Mississippi became the first African American to preside over U.S. Senate. February 15, 1961 – U.N. sessions were disrupted by U.S. and African nationalists over assassination of Congo Premier Patrice Lumumba. February 16, 1874 – … [Read more...] about This Week In Black History – February 13, 2025