People, Locations, Episodes

John B. Meachum, Minister born

*John B. Meachum was born on this date in 1789.  He was a Black minister, businessman, and educator. John Berry Meachum was born into slavery in Goochland County, Virginia. His master took him to North Carolina and then Kentucky. Meachum learned several trades, including carpentry. At 21, he earned enough money from carpentry to purchase […]

Laura M. Towne, Educator, and Abolitionist born

On this date in 1825, Laura Matilda Towne was born. She was a White American educator and abolitionist.

From Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Towne studied homeopathic medicine privately and attended the Penn Medical University. She taught in charity schools in various northern towns and cities in the 1850s and ’60s. Early in 1862 she answered an appeal for volunteers to teach, nurse, and otherwise help former slaves who had been freed in the Union capture of Port Royal and other Sea Islands area of South Carolina. In April of that year she arrived at St. Helena Island, SC.

Josephine Leavell, Music Teacher and Organist born

*Josephine Leavell was born on this date in 1855. She was an African American pianist, organist and music teacher.

Voting Riot in Indianapolis, Indiana Occurs

*On this date in 1876, a race riot happened in Indianapolis, Indiana over voting rights.

Septima P. Clark, Educator, and Activist born

On this date in 1898, Septima P. Clark was born. She was an African American educator and civil rights activist in Charleston, S.C.

Septima Poinsette’s mother Victoria was raised in Haiti and her father Peter was a former slave. They shaped and influenced her basic values. Among the most important were a willingness to share one’s gifts, and another to not forget there was something redeeming in everyone. Her education came from those who insisted on performance and hard work with pride.

Estelle Massey Riddle, Nursing Educator born

*Estelle Massey Riddle Osborne was born on this date in 1901. She was a Black nurse and educator. She served in many prominent positions and worked to eliminate racial discrimination in nursing. Estelle Massey was born in Palestine, Texas, the eighth of eleven children. Despite being uneducated and working in menial jobs, her parents, Hall and Bettye Estelle […]

Ariel Williams Holloway, Poet, and Teacher born

*Ariel Williams Holloway was born on this date in 1905. She was a Black music teacher and poet. Holloway was born Lucy Ariel Williams in Mobile, Alabama. Her mother was Fannie Brandon, a teacher and choir singer, and her father was Dr. H. Roger Williams, a physician and pharmacist. She studied at Emerson Institute, Mobile, […]

Dorothy Hayne Whiteside, Educator born.

Dorothy Hayne Whiteside was born on this date in 1905. She was a Black teacher and sorority administrator. She was born in Indianapolis, IN, the daughter of Robert Hanley and Rhoda Samuels. After graduating from Shortridge High School, Whiteside entered the Indianapolis City Normal School. In 1922, while training as a cadet teacher, she met […]

Hartman Turnbow, Farmer, and Activist born

*Hartman Turnbow was born on this date in 1905. He was a Black farmer, orator, and activist during the 20th-century American Civil Rights Movement.   He was born in Mileston, Mississippi. His grandparents were former slaves, and he inherited their farm. Turnbow was married twice and had six children: Jewross and Hartman and daughters Mae Alice, Mae Bell, Mary, and Christine. He […]

Big Maceo, Pianist, and Singer born

*On this date we recall the birth of Big Maceo in 1905. He was an African American blues singer.

Canada Lee, Actor born

This date marks the birth of Canada Lee (Lionel Cornelius Canegata, his name at birth) in 1907. He was an African American actor and one of the leading Black actors of the 1940s and 1950s.

His film credits include Alfred Hitchcock’s “Lifeboat” and Robert Rosen’s “Body and Soul.” He was known for his dignified presence, a rare image for black screen actors of that time.

Lillie Patterson, Author, and Librarian born.

*Lillie Patterson was born on May 3, 1917. She was a Black writer and school and college librarian. Lillie Griselda Patterson was from South Carolina. She grew up listening to her grandmother telling stories in Hilton Head, South Carolina. Patterson received a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Hampton University in the 1940s and a […]

The National Association of Negro Musicians is Formed

*The National Association of Negro Musicians (NANM) was formed on this date in 1919.  They are one of the oldest organizations in the United States dedicated to the preservation, encouragement, and advocacy of all genres of the music of African Americans.   NANM started in Washington, D.C., at a temporary initial conference of “Negro” musicians […]

John Lewis, Pianist, and Composer born

John Lewis was born on this date in 1920. He was an African American jazz and classic composer and keyboardist.

Dan Bankhead, Baseball Player born

*Dan Bankhead was born on this date in 1920.  He was a Black baseball player in Negro League Baseball and the Brooklyn Dodgers.   A native of Birmingham, Alabama, Daniel Robert Bankhead attended public schools there.  During World War II, he served in the United States Marine Corps Reserves from April 1942 to June 1946 […]