People, Locations, Episodes

The Kalinago Community, a story

*The Kalinago community is celebrated on this date in 1500. Also known as the Island Caribs or simply Caribs, they are indigenous people of the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean. They may have been related to South America’s Mainland Caribs (Kalina) but spoke an unrelated language known as Island Carib. They also spoke a pidgin language […]

Plantations in the United States of America, a story

*Plantations in America are affirmed on this date in 1600. These were planned structural communities governed by and that relied on chattel slavery.  The plantation complex in the Southern United States was the built environment that was common on agricultural plantations in the Antebellum South from the 17th into the 20th century. The complex included everything […]

Ellen, and William Craft, Slaves Who Escaped to Freedom

The lives of Ellen and William Craft are celebrated on this date. They were two Black abolitionists who were known for William’s autobiographical slave narrative describing the couple’s dramatic escape from slavery.

Maria Fearing, Missionary born

Maria Fearing, a Black teacher and missionary, was born on this date in 1838.

Fearing, born a slave near Gainesville, AL, completed the ninth grade, learning to read and write at age 33. As a house servant, she spent much of her time with her mistress and the other children. Mrs. Amanda Winston taught her children and young Maria the Presbyterian catechism and told them Bible stories and tales about missionaries in Africa. These stories about Africa left a deep impression on Fearing.

Liberia Gains its Independence From America

This date in 1847 marks Independence Day in the Republic of Liberia. Liberia owes its establishment to the American Colonization Society, founded in 1816 to resettle freed American slaves in Africa.

Berea College is Founded

On this date in 1855, we celebrate the founding of Berea College, the oldest continually integrated college in America.

Located in Berea, KY, its spiritual foundation, “God has made of one blood all peoples of the earth,” has shaped its culture and programs. Founder John G.

Henry Lincoln Johnson, Lawyer, and Politician born

*Henry Lincoln Johnson was born on this date in 1870.  He was a Black lawyer and politician. The son of former slaves Martha Ann and Peter Johnson, Johnson was from Augusta, Georgia. Known to family and friends as “Linc,” he attended Clark Atlanta University and graduated in 1888. Johnson obtained a law degree in 1892 […]

Mercedes Gilbert, Actress born

*Mercedes Gilbert was born on this date in 1894. She was a Black actress, novelist, and poet. Gilbert was a native of Jacksonville, Florida, and attended Edward Waters College. She originally trained as a nurse before coming to New York and entering the entertainment profession, first as a songwriter and then as a stage actress. Career […]

Evelyn Preer, Singer, and Actress born

Evelyn Preer was born on this date in 1896. She was an African American actress and singer.

She was the oldest of three children born to Frank and Blanche Jarvis in Vicksburg, MS. When her father died, she and her mother migrated to Chicago where she completed grammar and high school. Vaudeville provided her early training as a performer as well as “street preaching” for her Apostolic mother who was trying to help raise funds to build an Apostolic Church for Blacks.

Edgar G. Brown, Journalist, and Lobbyist born

*Edgar G. Brown’s birth is celebrated on this date in 1898. He was a Black activist, lobbyist, and journalist.  Born in Sandoval, Illinois, Brown was the eldest son of a family of eight children. George Washington Brown’s father was a domestic worker for a prominent white-American family. Brown attended Northwestern University, which was interrupted by […]

John Atkinson, Park Superintendant born.

*John Atkinson was born on this date in 1901. He was a Black plasterer, Jeweler, Watch Repair, Small Appliance Repair, and The Dew Drop Inn owner in Atlanta, Georgia.  From Crawfordville, Georgia, John Lloyd Atkinson was the son of George William Atkinson and Emma Louise Edwards Atkinson. He received his first schooling from his father, […]

Alexander Memorial Baptist Church (DC) is Founded

Alexander Memorial Baptist Church began on this date in 1908 when a group of worshipers left the First Baptist Church in Georgetown, Washington D.C., because they did not like the way the church was managed.

The First ‘Universal Races Congress’ Assembles

*On this date in 1911, the first “Universal Races Congress” assembled.   This four-day conference at the University of London was a 20th-century global effort against racism. Speakers from several countries discussed race relations and how to improve them.  The congress, with 2,100 attendees, was organized by prominent humanists of that era; it was conceived as a result of comments in 1906 by Felix Adler and primarily […]

Spottswood Robinson III, Lawyer, and Judge born

*Spottswood Robinson was born on this date in 1916.  He was a Black lawyer, judge, and civil rights activist.     Spottswood William Robinson, III, was from Richmond, Virginia.   As a young man, he had two heroes, his father and paternal grandfather; he idolized his grandfather because of his fearlessness and accomplishments. Spottswood W. Robinson, Sr. was born into […]

John Africa, MOVE Activist born

*John Africa was born on this date in 1931.  He was a Black radical and activist. Born Vincent Leaphart in the Mantua neighborhood of West Philadelphia. His father, Frederick Leaphart, was a handyman, while his mother, Lennie Mae, was a homemaker. He was one of ten children. Lennie Mae died suddenly in her early 40s, […]