July 27, 1880 – Alexander P. Ashbourne patents process for refining coconut oil.
July 28, 1868 – 14th Amendment granting blacks full citizenship rights becomes part of the U.S. Constitution.
July 29, 1895 – First National Conference of Colored Women Convention is held in Boston.
July 30, 1822 – James Varick becomes first Bishop of African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church.
July 31, 1874 – Patrick Francis Healy inaugurated as president of Georgetown University, Washington DC
August 1, 1879 – Mary Eliza Mahoney graduates from the New England Hospital for Women and Children, becoming the first black professional nurse in America.
August 2, 1924 – James Baldwin, author of Go Tell It On The Mountain, The Fire Next Time, and Another Country, is born.