Our History

April 7, 1885 Granville T. Woods patents apparatus for transmission of messages by electricity. April 8, 1974  Atlanta Braves slugger Hank Aaron hits 715 home run, surpassing Babe Ruth as the game’s all-time home-run leader. April 9, 1898 Paul Robeson, actor, singer, activist, born. April 10, 1947  Brooklyn Dodger Jackie Robinson becomes first … [Read more...] about This Week In Black History

March 31, 1988  Toni Morrison wins Pulitzer Prize for Beloved. April 1, 1950 – Charles R. Drew, who developed techniques for processing and preserving blood, died. April 2, 1984 Georgetown coach John Thompson becomes first Black coach to win NCAA basketball tournament. April 3, 1826  Poet-orator James Madison Bell, author of the Emancipation Day poem … [Read more...] about This Week In Black History

March 24, 1837 Canada gives African American citizens the right to vote. March 25, 1843 Explorer Jacob Dodson sets out in search of the Northwest Passage. March 26, 1872 Thomas J. Martin patents fire extinguisher. 1911 – William H. Lewis becomes U.S. assistant attorney general. March 27, 1930 Of the 116,000 African Americans in professional positions, more … [Read more...] about This Week In Black History

March 10, 1913 Harriet Tubman dies. March 11, 1959 Lorraine Hansberry’s “A Raisin In the Sun” opens at Barrymore Theater, New York, the first play by a Black woman to premier on Broadway. March 12, 1932  Andrew Young, former U.N. ambassador and former mayor of Atlanta, born. March 13, 1773 Jean Baptiste Pointe Du Sable, black pioneer and explorer, … [Read more...] about This Week In Black History

March 3, 1865 Freedman’s Bureau established by federal government to aid newly freed slaves. March 4, 1965  Bill Russell of the Boston Celtics honored as NBA most valuable player for fourth time in five years. March 5, 1770 Crispus Attucks becomes one of the first casualties of the American Revolution. March 6, 1857  U.S. Supreme Court issues … [Read more...] about This Week In Black History

February 24, 1922 The home of Frederick Douglass made a national shrine. February 25, 1853  First Black YMCA organized in Washington, D.C. February 26, 1965  Civil rights activist Jimmie Lee Jackson died after being shot by state police in Marion, AL. February 27, 1988  Debi Thomas becomes first Black to win an Olympic medal in figure … [Read more...] about This Week In Black History

February 17, 1902 Marion Anderson, internationally acclaimed opera star, born. February 18, 1931  Toni Morrison, winner of 1988 Pulitzer Prize for fiction, born. February 19, 1923 In Moore vs. Dempsey decision, U.S. Supreme Court guarantee due process of law to Blacks in state courts. February 20, 1934  Four Saints in Three Acts, by Virgil … [Read more...] about This Week In Black History

February 10, 1989 Ronald H. Brown is elected chairman of the Democratic National Committee. February 11, 1990 Nelson Mandela is released from prison after 27 years. February 12, 1909  NAACP founded in New York City. February 13, 1970  Joseph L. Searles becomes first Black member of the New York Stock Exchange. February 14, … [Read more...] about This Week In Black History

February 3, 1956  Autherine Lucy enrolls as the first African American student at the University of Alabama. February 4, 1913  Rosa Parks, civil rights pioneer who sparked Montgomery bus boycott, born. February 5, 1934  Major league home run champion Hank Aaron born. February 6, 1867  Robert Tanner Jackson becomes first African … [Read more...] about This Week In Black History

January 27, 1961 Leontyne Price made her Metropolitan Opera debut. January 28, 1787 Free Africa Society organized in Philadelphia. January 29, 1926 Violette Nealy Anderson becomes the first Black woman lawyer to argue a case before the U.S. Supreme Court. January 30, 1979 Franklin Thomas named president of Ford Foundation. January 31, 1986 August … [Read more...] about This Week In Black History