*The 2nd United States Colored Cavalry Regiment was organized on this date in 1863. They were a Black military unit that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The 2nd Colored Cavalry Regiment was organized at Fort Monroe, Virginia. Fort Monroe was a critical Union stronghold on the Virginia coast that became […]
learn more*Sylvester Ray was born on this date in 1844. He was a Black soldier and military equality advocate. He was from Washington County, New York, a slave state. He joined the Union Army on December 18, 1863, and was a private in the Second US Colored Cavalry. In 1864, he refused to accept less pay […]
learn more*The Regent Theater opened on this date in 1916, in Baltimore, MD. As a Family operation, the Regent Theater was owned by Louis Hornstein and his two sons, Simon and Isaac, who opened the theater on the former site of a coal yard at 1629 Pennsylvania Avenue. Advertised as the “largest, coolest, best-ventilated house in […]
learn more*Slave Fortresses in Africa are affirmed on December 20, 1441. A fort was built to protect someone or something, and a slave fort or slave castle kept enslaved victims until ships were ready to set them aboard and forcefully kidnap the enslaved people. A slave fort was a militarized factory (trading post) that evolved at […]
learn more*Nancy Hicks Maynard was born on this date in 1946. She was a Black publisher, journalist, and businesswoman. She was born Nancy Alene Hall in Harlem, New York City, to jazz bassist Alfred Hall and Eve Keller, a nurse. Maynard first became interested in journalism when, after a fire destroyed the elementary school she had […]
learn more*On this date in 1976, the Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals (OBAP) is celebrated. OBAP is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the encouragement and advancement of minorities in all aviation and aerospace careers. Thirty-eight African American pilots and aviation industry pioneers, representing nearly 50% of the worldwide minority-pilot population, convened in Chicago to address the […]
learn more*Kendrick Lamar was born on this date in 1987. He is a Black rapper and lyricist. Kendrick Lamar Duckworth was born in Compton, California. He is the first child of former gang hustler Kenneth “Kenny” Duckworth and hairdresser Paula Oliver. Both of his parents are African Americans from the South Side of Chicago. As teenagers, […]
learn more*Andrew Frazier’s birth is celebrated on this date in 1743. He was a Black enslaved laborer and soldier. Born at the Manor of Morrisania, New York, Frazier served in the Revolutionary War first as a “waggoner” or wagon driver, then as a “waiter” or body servant to Colonel Morris Graham and was at the Battles […]
learn more*The beginning of the Federal Music Project (FMP) is celebrated on this date in 1935. FMP was a part of the New Deal program Federal Project Number One provided by the U.S. federal government, which employed musicians, conductors, and composers during the Great Depression. During President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s term, he proposed increasing public projects […]
learn more*James Dudley was born on this date in 1859. He was a Black educator and administrator. James Benson Dudley was born into slavery; his parents were owned by Edward B. Dudley, the Governor of North Carolina from 1836 to 1841. Dudley took education to heart, affecting his approach for the rest of his life. Because […]
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