Black History

June 6, 1831 – First annual “People of Color” convention was held in Philadelphia. June 7, 1917 – Poetess Gwendolyn Brooks, first African American to win the Pulitzer Prize (Poetry 1950), was born. June 8, 1953 – Supreme Court ruling banned discrimination in Washington, DC restaurants. June 9, 1995 – Lincoln J. Ragsdale, pioneer fighter pilot of World War II, died. … [Read more...] about This Week In Black History – June 6, 2024

May 30 1965 – Vivian Malone became the first African American to graduate from the University of Alabama. May 31, 1870 – Congress passed the first Enforcement Act, providing stiff penalties for those who deprive others of their civil rights. June 1, 1968 – Henry Lewis became the first black musical director of an American symphony orchestra – the New Jersey Symphony … [Read more...] about This Week In Black History – May 30, 2024

May 23, 1900 – Sgt. William H. Carney became the first African American awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for valor at Fort Wagner, SC, in 1863. May 24, 1854 – Lincoln University (PA), the first black college, was founded. May 25, 1926 – Jazz trumpeter Miles Davis was born. May 26, 1961 – Marvin Cook was named ambassador to Niger Republic, the first black … [Read more...] about This Week In Black History – May 23, 2024

May 16, 1927 – William Harry Barnes became 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. Ferguson, Supreme Court upheld the doctrine of “separate but equal” in education and public … [Read more...] about This Week In Black History – May 16, 2024

May 9, 1899 – John Albert Burr patented the rotary blade lawn mower. May 10, 1950 – Boston Celtics selected Chuck Cooper as first black player drafted to play in the NBA. May 11, 1895 – Composer William Grant Still, the first African American to conduct a major American symphony orchestra, was born. May 12, 1820 – The New York African Free School population reacheed … [Read more...] about This Week In Black History – May 9, 2024

May 2, 1920 – Indianapolis ABCs defeated Chicago Giants in first Negro National League Game. May 3, 1964 – Frederick O’Neal became 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, 1988 – Eugene Marino became first African American installed as a Roman … [Read more...] about This Week In Black History – May 2, 2024

April 25, 1918 – Ella Fitzgerald, “First Lady of Song”, was born. April 26, 1888 – Sarah Boone patented the ironing board. April 27, 1968 – Dr. Vincent Porter became first African American certified in plastic surgery. April 28, 1839 – Cinque lead a slave mutiny off the coast of Long Island, NY. April 29, 1899 – Duke Ellington, jazz musician and composer, was … [Read more...] about This Week In Black History – April 25, 2024

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 first black to lead an Army division. April 20, 1894 – Dr. Lloyd A. Hall, pioneering food chemist was born. April 21, 1966 – Pvt. Milton L. Olive, III, posthumously awarded the Medal of … [Read more...] about This Week In Black History – April 18, 2024

April 11, 1966 – Emmett Ashford became first black umpire in the Major Leagues Baseball. April 12, 1983 – Harold Washington became first African American mayor of Chicago. April 13, 1950 – Historian Carter G. Woodson, author of The Miseducation of the Negro, died. April 14, 1775 – First abolitionist society in U.S. was founded in Philadelphia. April 15, 1964 – … [Read more...] about This Week In Black History – April 11, 2024

April 4, 1968 – Martin Luther King assassinated. April 5, 1951 – Washington, D.C. Municipal Court of Appeals outlawed segregation in restaurants. April 6, 1909 – Matthew A. Henson reaches the North Pole, 45 minutes before Commandeer Peary. April 7, 1885 – Granville T. Woods patents an apparatus for transmission of messages by electricity. April 8, 1974 – Atlanta … [Read more...] about This Week In Black History – April 4, 2024