People, Locations, Episodes

Betsey Stockton, Teacher born

*This date in 1798 is celebrated as the birth date of Betsey Stockton, a Black domestic and teacher. Born into slavery in Princeton, New Jersey, as a child, her owner, Robert Stockton, gave her to his daughter upon her marriage to Reverend Ashbel Green. He was the president of the College of New Jersey (now […]

The British Slave Trade Act is Passed

*On this date, in 1807, the Slave Trade Act was passed. Officially, the Act for the Abolition of the Slave Trade was a bill of the Parliament of the United Kingdom prohibiting the slave trade in the British Empire.   It did not abolish the practice of slavery; it encouraged British action to press other nation-states to abolish their slave trades. Many of […]

Gertrude Mossell, Journalist, and Educator born

Gertrude Mossell was born on this date in 1855. She was a Black feminist journalist and educator.

She was born in Philadelphia, and worked as a teacher for several years before becoming a journalist in the early 1870s. She wrote columns and articles for many black newspapers including the Indianapolis World, the Philadelphia Echo, the Richmond Rankin Institute, Our Women and Children, and Woman’s Era. She also wrote for white newspapers and magazines such as the Ladies Home Journal, The Philadelphia Times, the Philadelphia Inquirer, and the Philadelphia Press.

Peter Jackson, Boxer born

On this date in 1861, Peter Jackson was born. He was an African American boxer.

Joseph Douglass, Violinist born

*Joseph Douglass was born on this date in 1869. He was an African American violinist and composer.

The grandson of Frederick Douglass he was born in the Anacostia area of Washington D.C. to Charles and Mary Elizabeth Douglass, their second child and only that would live to adulthood. Following in the path of his famous grandfather and father, Joseph took up the violin at a young age, receiving classical training at the New England Conservatory for five years and later the Boston Conservatory.

LeRoy Matlock, Baseball Player born

*Leroy Matlock was born on this date in 1907. He was a Black baseball player in the Negro Leagues. Born in Moberly, MO., Matlock was among the best left-handed pitchers in the 1930’s.  He played with several teams from 1929 to 1938. He was selected for the 1935 and 1936 East-West All-Star Games. Matlock won […]

Robert E. Lillard, Lawyer, Politician, and Activist born

Robert Emmitt Lillard was born on this date in 1907. He was an African American lawyer, politician, and activist.

Born in Nashville to John W. and Virginia (Allen) Lillard, he was educated at Immaculate Mother’s Academy and in local public schools. He then attended Beggins Commercial College, although his ambition was to become a lawyer. In 1928, R. E. Lillard began work as a garage attendant and married Hallie C. Moore. They had three children: Gladys, Sandra, and Robert Walter. Lillard entered law school in 1932 at Nashville’s Kent College of Law.

Janet Bragg, Nurse, Aviator, and Businesswoman born

*Janet Bragg was born on this date in 1907. She was an African American aviator, nurse, and nursing home proprietor.

Esau Jenkins, Activist born

*Esau Jenkins was born on this date in 1910.  He was a Black businessman, preacher, and community organizer.   Jenkins grew up during Jim Crow segregation, when educational opportunities were not readily available. He was the only child of Peter Jenkins and Eva Campbell, from Johns Island, South Carolina. He was forced to end his […]

Lorenzo ‘Piper’ Davis, Baseball Player born

This date marks the birth of Lorenzo “Piper” Davis, one of Alabama’s all-time best athletes in both baseball and basketball.

He was born in Piper, AL, a coal-mining community in the hills around Birmingham. As a teenager, Davis attended a public high school for colored boys in Fairfield, just up the road from Piper. There he earned a basketball scholarship to Alabama State University in Montgomery. After a single year starring on the Alabama State basketball squad, Davis was forced by family financial circumstances to drop out of college and find a job.

Robert N. Hyde II, Educator born

*Robert Hyde was born on this date in 1916. He was an African American educator and administrator.

From Des Moines, Iowa, Robert N. Hyde II was the son of Branham and Stella Hyde; he also had a sister (Maxine Graham). A graduate of North High School in Des Moines, Hyde received his Bachelor of Science degree in philosophy from Lincoln University (Pennsylvania) in 1941, and his Master of Science in Education degree from Drake University in 1970.

Samuel Massie, Chemist, and Teacher born

Samuel Massie, a brilliant African American chemist and teacher, was born on this date in 1919.

Johnny Hartman, Vocalist born

Johnny Hartman, African American singer, was born on this date in 1923.

Fontella Bass, Singer born

Fontella Bass was born on this date in 1940. She is an African American singer and entertainer.

Ruth Simmons, College Educator, and Administrator born.

Ruth Simmons was born on this date in 1945. She is an African American educator and the first Black president of Brown University.

She was born in Grapeland, Texas, one of 12 siblings in a sharecropper’ family. Vernell Lillie, her high school drama teacher, inspired her to higher education. Simmons won a scholarship to Dillard University in New Orleans. A junior-year stint at Wellesley College helped her discover what she really wanted to do — be a professor. She earned a BA in romance languages from Dillard University and an MA and Ph.D. in romance languages from Harvard.