*This date in 1527 is celebrated as the birth date of Jacques Francis, A Black British slave salvage diver. Francis was from Arguin Island, Mauritania. However, records at the time described him as a “Guinea diver” and exceptionally talented. He had been working for Piero Corsi on a 1546 salvage attempt of the Mary Rose, […]
learn more*Sara Forbes Bonetta’s birth is celebrated on this date in c. 1843. She was Queen Victoria’s Black African goddaughter. Originally named Aina (or Ina), she was born in a Yoruba village in West Africa Nigeria, after its collapse to the Kingdom of Dahomey. In 1848, Oke-Odan was invaded and captured by the army of Dahomey. […]
learn more*Ulric Cross was born on this date in 1917. He was a Black British jurist, diplomat, and Royal Air Force (RAF) navigator. Philip Louis Ulric Cross was born in Belmont, Port of Spain, Trinidad, to Reginald Rufus and Maud Iris Cross. He was the second child in a family of nine. At 11, he came […]
learn more*Ella Jenkins was born on this date in 1924. She was a Black Folk singer-songwriter. Ella Louise Jenkins was born in St. Louis, Missouri, and grew up in predominantly lower-middle-class neighborhoods in the south side of Chicago. Growing up in a Christian scientific family with eclectic musical tastes, she benefited from her rich musical surroundings. […]
learn more*The book, An American Dilemma: The Negro Problem and Modern Democracy was published on this date in 1944. This book was a study of American race relations authored by white Swedish economist Gunnar Myrdal. Myrdal’s volume, at nearly 1,500 pages, painstakingly detailed what he saw as obstacles to full participation in American society that American blacks faced […]
learn more*On this date in 1932, Powell v. Alabama, 287 U.S. 45, was decided. This was a landmark Supreme Court decision in which the Court reversed the convictions of nine young black men for allegedly raping two white women on a freight train near Scottsboro, Alabama. In March 1931, nine Black men—Charlie Weems, Ozie Powell, Clarence Norris, Olen […]
learn more*Lemuel Penn was born on this date in 1915. He was a Black educator and soldier. Lemuel Augustus Penn was born in Washington D.C., joined the Army Reserve from Howard University, and served as an Officer in World War II in New Guinea and the Philippines, earning a Bronze Star. After serving his country, Penn […]
learn more*On this date in 1966, the Supreme Court decided United States v. Guest, 383 U.S. 745. Justice Potter Stewart authored this landmark decision. The Court extended the protection of the 14th Amendment to citizens who suffer rights deprivations at the hands of private conspiracies, where there is minimal state participation in the conspiracy. The Court also held that […]
learn more*On this date in 1964, Heart of Atlanta Motel, Inc. v. the United States was decided. This court case was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court. It held that the Commerce Clause gave the U.S. Congress power to force private businesses to abide by Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits […]
learn more*The Hollywood Victory Committee Negro Division was created on this date in 1941. Chaired by Hattie McDaniel, this was a Black subcommittee of the white Hollywood Victory Committee. Both committees were associated with the Screen Actors Guild to support American troops during World War II. It provided a means for stage, screen, television, and radio performers […]
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