People, Locations, Episodes

Stand Watie, Native American Slave Owner born

*Stand Watie was born on this date in 1806. He was a Native American Cherokee Chief, slave owner, and military officer. From Rome, Georgia, he was also called De Gata Ga (Cherokee: “Stand Firm”).   At 12, he was sent to a mission school where he learned to speak English. He later helped an older brother […]

The Abyssinian Baptist Church, NYC is Founded

On this date in 1808, we celebrate the founding of Abyssinian Baptist Church in New York City.

Black Americans along with a group of Ethiopian merchants were unwilling to accept racially segregated seating of the First Baptist Church of New York City and withdrew forever their membership. Determined to organize their own church, they established themselves in a building on Anthony Street (later Worth Street), calling it the Abyssinian Baptist Church. The name was inspired by the nation from which the merchants of Ethiopia had come, Abyssinia.

The First World Anti-Slavery Convention is Held

*On this date in 1840, the World Anti-Slavery Convention met for the first time at Exeter Hall in London.   The new society’s mission was “The universal extinction of slavery and the slave trade and the protection of the rights and interests of the enfranchised population in the British possessions and of all persons captured […]

James Farmer Sr., Educator, and Historian born

*James L. Farmer Sr. was born on this date in1886. He was an African American educator, administrator, minister and historian.

From Kingstree, South Carolina, James Leonard Farmer’s parents, former slaves, were Carolina and Lorena (Wilson) Farmer. The grade school he attended was in Pearson, Ga.; there was no high school for blacks. However Farmer was able to acquire a working scholarship from Mary McCloud Bethune to the Cookman Institute in Daytona Beach, Fla.

Straight University is Founded

*Straight University was founded on this date in 1868. It was one of over 100 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in the United States.  Straight University operated in New Orleans, Louisiana, from 1868 to 1934. Responding to the post-American Civil War need to educate newly freed Blacks in the city and the surrounding region, […]

Sol White, Baseball Player, and Author born

*”Sol” White was born on this date in 1868. He was a Black professional baseball infielder, manager, writer, and executive, and one of the pioneers of the American Negro Leagues. Born in Bellaire, Ohio, King Solomon White’s early life is not well-documented. According to the 1870 and 1880 U.S. Census, his family (parents and two […]

St. Mark A.M.E. Church (Milwaukee) is Formed

*On this date in 1869, we celebrate St. Mark A.M.E. Church, Milwaukee. This is the first Black church in Milwaukee, WI. In 1868, Ezekiel and Catherine Gillespie, Louis and Matilda Hughes, Charles and Sarah Dorsey, James Johnson, and Catherine Paget gathered to organize the Church of Allen in Milwaukee. On January 9, 1869, Rev. Theodore […]

Bill Lindsay, Baseball Player born

*Bill Lindsay was born on this date in 1891. Nicknamed “The Kansas Cyclone” and “Lightning,” he was a Black baseball pitcher for several years before the founding of the first Negro National League. William Bill Lindsay’s parents were Peter Lindsay and Mona Mady Lindsay from Lexington, Missouri. He started his career with the Kansas City, […]

Willie Foster, Baseball Pitcher born

On this date in 1904, William Foster was born. He was an African American Negro League baseball player from Calvert, Texas and a graduate of Alcorn State College.

Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity is Founded

Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity was founded on this date in 1906. The fraternity was the first intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity established for African Americans.

Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., has supplied voice and vision to the struggle of African Americans and people of color around the world. It was founded at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, by seven college men who recognized the need for a strong bond of brotherhood among African descendants in this country.

Corinthian Nutter, Teacher, Pianist, and Education Activist born

*Corinthian Nutter was born on this date in 1906. She was a Black teacher, musician, and education activist.  Corinthian Clay Ricks (her birth name) was born in Forney, Texas, to Robert R. and Roxie Anna (Ford) Ricks. Her father worked for the railroad. Her mother was an itinerant worker, and Nutter was frequently taken out […]

Earl Conrad, Author, and Journalist born

*Earl Conrad was born on this date in 1906. He was a white Jewish-American author who penned at least twenty biographies, histories, and criticism works, including book collaborations. Earl Cohen (his birth name) was born to Eli and Minnie Cohen in Auburn, New York, into a Jewish family with nine siblings. He wished to be […]

Wenonah Bond Logan, Sociology Scholar born.

*Wenonah Bond Logan was born on December 18, 1906. She was a Black scholar and sociologist. From Atlanta, GA., she and her brother John were two children born to Georgia Faigan and John Bond, an interracial couple. Her family moved to Washington, DC, when she was a teenager. As a young girl, she was an […]

Hulan Jack, Politician born

*Hulan Jack was born on this date in 1906. He was an African American politician.

Muriel Rahn, Vocalist born

*Muriel Rahn was born on this date in 1911. She was a Black vocalist and actress.   Muriel Ellen Rahn was born in Boston in 1911, the daughter of Willie and Elizabeth “Bessie” Smith. After her father’s death, she moved with her mother to New York City, where Bessie met and married Cornelius M. Battey, who […]