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, 1879
B.K. Bruce of Mississippi becomes first African American to preside over U.S. Senate.
February 15, 1961
U.N. sessions are disrupted by U.S. and African nationalists over assassination of Congo Premier Patrice Lumumba.
February 16, 1874
Frederick Douglass elected president of Freedman’s Bank and Trust.