Our History

May 15, 1820 – U.S. Congress declared foreign slave trade an act of piracy, punishable by death. May 16, 1927 – William Harry Barnes became the first African American certified by any American surgical board. May 17, 1954 – U.S. Supreme Court declared segregation in public schools unconstitutional in Brown v. Board of Education decision. May 18, 1896 – In Plessy vs. … [Read more...] about This Week In Black History – May 15, 2025

May 8, 1983 – Lena Horne was awarded the Spingarn Medal for distinguished career in the field of entertainment. May 9, 1899 – John Albert Burr patented lawn mower. May 10, 1950 – Boston Celtics selected Chuck Cooper, first black player drafted to play in the National Basketball Association (NBA). May 11, 1895 – Composer William Grant Still, the first African … [Read more...] about This Week In Black History – May 8, 2025

May 1, 1867 – The first four students entered Howard University. May 2, 1920 – Indianapolis ABCs defeated Chicago Giants in first Negro National League Game. May 3, 1964 – Frederick O’Neal became the first black president of the Actor’s Equity Association. May 4, 1961 – “Freedom Riders” began protesting segregation of interstate bus travel in the South. May 5, … [Read more...] about This Week In Black History – May 1, 2025

April 24, 1944 – United Negro College Fund (UNCF) was founded and incorporated. April 25, 1918 – Ella Fitzgerald, “First Lady of Song”, was born. April 26, 1888 – Sarah Boone patented the ironing board. April 27, 1968 – Vincent Porter became the first African American certified in plastic surgery. April 28, 1839 – Joseph Cinque led a mutiny aboard the slave ship … [Read more...] about This Week In Black History – April 24, 2025

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