*Richard Lapchick was born on this date in 1945. He is a white-American educator, human rights activist, sportswriter, and author. Richard E. Lapchick is from Yonkers, New York, and he is the son of Joe Lapchick, a college and professional basketball coach who helped integrate the NBA when he signed Nat Clifton in 1950. […]
learn more*The National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America (N’COBRA) was founded on this date in 1987. Founded in Washington, D.C., N’COBRA is an organization that advocates for financial compensation for the descendants of formerly enslaved people in the United States. The National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America spreads information and supports the […]
learn more*Robin Rue Simmons was born on March 12, 1976. She is a Black former politician and national leader for local reparations for African Americans. Rue Simmons was born and raised in the largely segregated 5th Ward of Evanston, Illinois. From 2017 to 2021, Simmons was the alderman of the 5th Ward. As an alderman, she […]
learn more*Ragtime music is celebrated on this date in 1895. Ragtime is a musical style that peaked from the 1890s to the 1910s. Its cardinal feature is its syncopated or “ragged” rhythm. Ragtime music originated within African communities in the United States in the late 19th century and became a distinctly American form of popular music. […]
learn more*James Scott was born on this date in 1885. He was a Black ragtime composer and pianist. James Sylvester Scott was born in Neosho, Missouri, to James Scott Sr. and Molly Thomas Scott, both former slaves. Scott was a cousin of blues singer Ada Brown. In 1901, his family moved to Carthage, Missouri, where he […]
learn more*Ada Brown was born on this date in 1890. She was an American blues and jazz singer and actress. Ada Scott Brown was born and raised in Kansas City, Kansas. She was born into a musically inclined family and grew up singing in church as a child. In 1910, she successfully launched her career at […]
learn more*The Fante community is celebrated on this date in 1000. The Fante people combine the Akan and aboriginal Guan people, mainly located in the Central and Western Ghana forest and coastal areas. Their land stretches from the eastern part of the western region in the west to Gomoa in the east. There are two groups […]
learn more*The Brotherhood of Liberty was formed on this date in 1885. Known as Mutual United Brotherhood of Liberty, it was in Baltimore, Maryland, that the organization sought to remove social injustices and protect the civil rights of Blacks against the structures of the Jim Crow Era. The Brotherhood of Liberty used legal means to protect […]
learn more*Everett Waring was born on this date in 1859. He was a Black businessman and lawyer. Everett J. Waring, the son of Malvina C. and James S. Waring, was born in Springfield, Ohio. His father was an educator and principal of Black schools in Columbus and Springfield. Everett, whose mother and father were mulatto, was […]
learn more*The ‘Navassa Island Riot’ is affirmed on this date in 1889. Navassa Island is a small uninhabited island northeast of Jamaica, south of Cuba. In September 1875, the fierce 1875 Indianola hurricane swept over the island, destroying much of the company’s infrastructure, including the rail line and workers’ homes. The storm caused an estimated $25,000 […]
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