*Racial segregation in the United States of America is affirmed on November 19, 1862. These were (are) laws that excluded facilities and services to communities based on race. The plight of Africans in the United States of America as chattel enslaved people was enforceable because of laws. Africans were brought to this country in the same category […]
learn moreThe Steven Spencer Hill Ranch was built on this date in 1853. Located in Tuolumne County (central CA.), it is northeast of Gold Springs, on the slopes next to the Stanislaus River Canyon. Steven Spencer Hill, a Black man, filed a claim for 160 acres of land on this date. Hill came to California during […]
learn more*Benjamin Hayes was born on this date in 1815. He was a white-American pioneer, lawyer, and judge. Benjamin Ignatius Hayes was born in Baltimore, Maryland, and graduated from St. Mary’s University. On November 16th, 1848, in St. Louis, Missouri, to Emily Martha Chauncey of Harford County, Maryland, and in 1849, he “set out from Independence, […]
learn more*On this date, 1852, the California Fugitive Labor Act was passed. Two years after California entered the union as a free state, this law lasted only three years. Slavery in the territory of California had been a debated issue since Spanish conquistadors explored the region in the 18th century. The California Fugitive Labor Act was passed […]
learn more*On this date in 1852, the Perkins Escapee case was before Judge Wells of the California Supreme Court. The petition and affidavit came from the prisoners Robert, Carter Perkins, and Sandy Jones. They were seized on June 1st, 1852, without process of law. They were taken before B. D. Fry, a justice of the peace […]
learn more*On this date in 1972, the Delta Air Lines Flight 841 hijacking occurred. Members of the Black Liberation Army took over the aircraft in flight using weapons smuggled on board, including a handgun hidden inside a bible with its pages cut out to form a cavity. Seven crew and 94 passengers boarded the Douglas DC-8 […]
learn more*Robert F. Williams was born on this date in 1925. He was a Black civil rights leader and author. Robert Franklin Williams was born in Monroe, North Carolina, to Emma Carter and John L. Williams, who worked as a railroad boiler washer. He had two sisters, Lorraine Garlington and Jessie Link, and two brothers, John […]
learn more*The Kissing Case occurred on this date in 1958. This was the arrest, conviction, and lengthy sentencing of two preteen Black boys in Monroe, North Carolina. In late October 1958, Sissy Marcus, a 7- or 8-year-old white girl, told her mother she had kissed 9-year-old James “Hanover” Thompson and 7-year-old David “Fuzzy” Simpson on their […]
learn more*Vivian Liberto Distin was born on this date in 1934. She was a Black homemaker and author. She was the first wife of singer Johnny Cash. Vivian Liberto was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, and was the daughter of Irene (Robinson) and Thomas Peter Liberto. Her paternal grandparents were from Cefalù, Palermo, Sicily. […]
learn more*The Blaxican community was celebrated on this date in 1781. They are an African American and Mexican American community that identifies as both. Often called Afro-Chicano or Black Chicana/o, they embrace the Chicano identity, culture, and political consciousness. Blaxican experiences gained public visibility in the late 20th century. Historically, scholars trace the origins of Black […]
learn more