Our History

January 12, 1948 – U.S. Supreme Court rules that African Americans have the right to study law at state institutions. January 13, 1990 – L. Douglas Wilder becomes first African American U.S. governor (Virginia) since Reconstruction. 1913 – Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated becomes the 2nd black Greek letter organization. January 14, 1975 – William T. Coleman named … [Read more...] about This Week In Black History

January 5, 1943 – George Washington Carver, agricultural scientist, died. January 6, 1831 – The World Anti-Slavery Convention opens in London. January 7, 1890 – William B. Purvis patents fountain pen. January 8, 1811 – Charles Deslandes leads slave revolt in Louisiana. January 9, 1866 – Fisk University is founded in Nashville. January 10, 1864 – George … [Read more...] about This Week In Black History

December 29, 1924 – Author, sportswriter A.S. “Doc” Young born. December 30, 1842 – Congressman Josiah Walls born. December 31, 1930 – Odetta, blues and folk singer, born. January 1, 1863 – President Abraham Lincoln issues Emancipation Proclamation. January 2, 1965 – Martin Luther King, Jr., calls for nonviolent protests if Alabama blacks are not allowed to … [Read more...] about This Week In Black History

December 22, 1943 – W.E. B. DuBois becomes the first African American elected to the National Institute of Arts and Letters. December 23, 1869 – Madam C.J. Walker, businesswoman and first African American woman millionaire, born. December 24, 1832 – Charter granted to the Georgia Infirmary, the first black hospital. December 25, 1760 – Jupiter Hammon becomes first … [Read more...] about This Week In Black History

December 15, 1883 – William A. Hinton, first African American on Harvard Medical School faculty and developer of the Hinton test to detect syphilis, born. December 15, 1994 – Ruth J. Simmons named president of Smith College. December 16, 1976 – Andrew Young nominated by President Jimmy Carter to be U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. December 17, 1802 – Teacher and … [Read more...] about This Week In Black History

December 8, 1925 – Entertainer Sammy Davis, Jr., born. December 9, 1872 – P.B.S. Pinchback of Louisiana becomes first African American governor in U.S. December 10, 1950 – Dr. Ralph J. Bunche becomes first black awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. December 11, 1938 – Jazz pianist McCoy Tyner born. December 12, 1899 – George F. Grant patents golf tree. December 12, … [Read more...] about This Week In Black History

December 1, 1987 – Carrie Saxon Perry begins her term as the mayor of Hartford, CT, becoming first African American woman mayor of a major U.S. city. December 2, 1884 – Granville T. Woods patents telephone transmitter. December 3, 1847 – Frederick Douglass publishes first issue of North Star. December 4, 1909 – The New York Amsterdam News is founded by James A. … [Read more...] about This Week In Black History

November 24, 1868 – Pianist Scott Joplin, the “Father of Ragtime”, born. November 25, 1975 – Suriname gains independence from the Netherlands. November 26, 1970 – Charles Gordone becomes the first Black playwright to receive the Pulitzer Prize (for No Place to Be Somebody). November 27, 1990 – Charles Johnson awarded National Book Award for fiction for Middle … [Read more...] about This Week In Black History

November 17, 1980 – WHHM, the first African American operated radio station, goes on the air at Howard University. November 18, 1787 – Abolitionist and women’s right activist Sojourner Truth born. November 19, 1953 – Roy Campanella named Most Valuable Player in National League Baseball for the second time. November 20, 1865 – Howard Seminary (later Howard … [Read more...] about This Week In Black History

November 3, 1981 – Thirman L. Milner elected mayor of Hartford, CT, becoming first black mayor in New England. November 4, 1879 – Thomas Elkins patents refrigeration apparatus. November 5, 1968 – Shirley Chisolm of Brooklyn, NY, becomes the first African American woman elected to Congress. November 6, 1901 – James Weldon Johnson and J. Rosamond Johnson compose “Lift … [Read more...] about This Week In Black History