People, Locations, Episodes

Fort San Sebastian (West Africa), is Built

*Fort San Sebastian was built on this date in 1523. It was a Portuguese fortress to protect the monetary interest and transfer African Slaves during the Middle Passage. The facility in Shama, Ghana, is the third oldest fortification in Ghana. It was built by the Portuguese from 1520 to 1526 as a trading post and captured […]

Adolf Gustaf Badin, Royal Servant born

*The birth of Adolf Gustaf Badin is celebrated on this date, c1750. He was an Afro Swedish (Black Swede) court servant and chronicler. He was born in Africa or the Danish island Saint Croix and enslaved at birth. He said the only thing he remembered about his past was burning his parents’ hut. It is […]

The Xhosa Wars Begin

*On this date in 1789, we affirm the Xhosa Wars. Also known as the Cape Frontier Wars or the Kaffir Wars, they were a series of nine wars or outbreaks between the Xhosa Kingdom and white European slave traders in what is now the Eastern Cape in South Africa. These war incidents were the longest-running military action […]

Shango (African Based Religion), a story

On this date, from 1800, we celebrate the Shango religion, one of many African inspired religions practiced in the Americas.

William Goodridge, Businessman, and Abolitionist born

*The birth of William Goodridge is celebrated on this date in 1805. He was a Black businessman and abolitionist.

Silas Omohundro Jr., Slave Trader, born.

*Silas Omohundro Jr. was born on this date in 1807. He was a white-American slave trader. Born in Albemarle, Virginia, his father was Richard Omohundro Sr., and his mother was Edith Seay. Omohundro ran a slave trade business from what is now 15th Street in Richmond, VA. As a chattel slave trader, he engaged in the direct […]

Martin Becker, Sailor, and Printer born

On this date we celebrate the birth of Martin F. Becker in 1820. He was a Black sailor, printer, administrator, and barber.

The USS Dale is commissioned

*The USS Dale was commissioned on this date in 1839. Later called the Oriole, it was a sloop-of-war vessel in the United States Navy. It was the product of a non-patented invention by Benjamin Bradley. The Dale was one of six warships authorized to be constructed by The April 3, 1837 Congressional Act. The first of this group was Princeton, the Navy’s […]

James Brister, Dentist born

 *The birth of James Brister is celebrated on this date in 1858. He was a Black dentist. Born in Philadelphia, he was the son of dentist Joseph Brister and Olivia Rebecca Parker Brister. The families came to Philadelphia from Delaware and Maryland. In 1860, Joseph Brister was already a member of the Banneker Institute, organized […]

The Devil’s Punchbowl (Mississippi), a story

*The Devil’s Punchbowl episode is remembered on this date in 1865.  This post-American Civil War episode in Black history occurred in Natchez (Adams County), Mississippi.  As Black slaves made their way to freedom, the town of Natchez quickly went from a population of 10,000 to nearly 100,000 people. To deal with the population influx of […]

The Colored Farmers National Alliance and Cooperative Union is Founded

*The Colored Farmers National Alliance and Cooperative Union were founded on this date in 1886.  It was founded in Houston County, Texas, on the farm of R.M. Humphrey, a white Alliance member and Baptist missionary. The alliance elected J. J. Shuffer as its first president. Although the orders’ charter barred whites from membership, Humphrey was elected honorary superintendent. As […]

Ronald Davies, Lawyer and Judge born

*Ronald Davies was born on this date in 1904. He was a white-American lawyer and Judge. Ronald Davies was born in Grand Forks, ND. A 1922 Grand Forks Central High School graduate, he received a bachelor’s degree from the University of North Dakota in 1927. Davies attended law school at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., […]

Edgar V. Cunningham, Boy Scout born

*Edgar V. Cunningham, Sr. was born on this date in 1910. He was an early youth member of the Boy Scouts of America who, for several years, was believed to be the first Black Eagle Scout. Background. Cunningham was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, and was a member of Troop 12 in Waterloo, Iowa, in […]

James Lu Valle, Chemist born

*James Lu Valle was born on this date in 1912. He was an African American Chemist.

From in San Antonio, Texas, he received a Bachelor of Arts from UCLA in 1936. During that time he ran track for UCLA and won a Bronze medal in 400 meter race in the 1936 Berlin Olympics. In 1937, Lu Valle earned a Master of Arts and Ph.D. in 1940 from California Institute of technology.

Daisy Bates, Administrative Activist born

*On this date we remember the birth of Daisy Bates. She was an African American civil rights activist who coordinated the integration of Little Rock, Arkansas’s Central High School.