People, Locations, Episodes

William Cuffay, Tailor, and Politician born

The birth of William Cuffay in 1788 is celebrated on this date. He was a Black tailor, and politician.

From Chatham, Kent in England his father was a naval cook and former slave. A young Cuffay found work as an apprentice tailor. Also as a young man he held conservative views and as late as 1833. Cuffay argued against the formation of trade unions and was the last member of his lodge to join the (then) new tailors’ union. Yet when the tailors’ union came out on strike in April 1834, Cuffay joined them and as a result lost his job.

Emilie D. West, Texas Legend born

*The birth of Emily D. West is celebrated on this date, c.1815. She was a Black indentured servant and a folk heroine whose presence during the Texas Revolution is identified with the song “The Yellow Rose of Texas.” West was a free Mulatto woman from New Haven, Connecticut. In 1835 she was contracted to James Morgan to […]

Miguel de Castro v. Ninety-five enslaved Africans is Decided

On this date in 1819, Miguel de Castro v. Ninety-five enslaved Africans was decided. This was a Libel case for restitution case against American chattel slavery. In October 1817, ninety-five enslaved Africans were taken by pirates from the Portuguese ship “Jesu Nasareno,” owned by Miguel de Castro. Originally bound for Havana, Cuba, the Africans were […]

The First Black Medical Society in America is Founded

On this date in 1884, The Medico-Chirurgical Society of Washington D.C. was founded. It was the first African American medical society.

Lafayette Tillman, 19th-century Policeman born

Lafayette A. Tillman’s birth in 1869 is celebrated on this date. He was an African American Barber and Policeman.

Lafayette Alonzo Tillman was born in Evansville, Indiana. After graduating from public schools, he entered Oberlin College and continued his studies as the Wayland Seminary in Washington, D.C. A proficient bass singer, Tillman traveled extensively with the New Orleans University singers and later with the Don Tennesseans, a group that performed in the White House. He performed in Kansas City in 1880 where he opened a restaurant in 1881.

Emmett Scott High School (South Carolina) is Created

*On this date in 1919, Rock Hill, South Carolina appropriated funding for Emmett Scott High School, the first South Carolina school for blacks.

David Blackwell, Math Professor born

David Blackwell was born on this date in 1919. He was an African American mathematician and professor.

David Harold Blackwell grew up in Centralia, Illinois, a town on the “Mason-Dixon Line.” He was raised in a family which expected and supported working hard. As a schoolboy, Blackwell did not care for algebra and trigonometry.

Johnny Griffin, Saxophonist born

*Johnny Griffin was born on this date in 1928.  He was a Black jazz tenor saxophonist and bandleader.   John Arnold Griffin III was born in Chicago, Illinois, living on the South Side of the Second City with his mother, a singer, and father, who played cornet. As an adolescent, he liked hearing Gene Ammons play and studied music at DuSable […]

Arthur Walker, Solar Physicist born

*Arthur Walker was born on this date in 1936. He was an African American Solar Physicist and educator. This form of science focuses on many aspects of the solar system.

Joe Henderson, Saxophonist born

On this date in 1937, Joe Henderson was born. He was an African American jazz saxophonist.

From Lima, Ohio, Henderson’s musical career started when he was a student at Kentucky State College and Wayne University in Detroit. After a two-year military stint from 1960 to 1962, he worked with Jack McDuff and Kenny Dorham before signing with Blue Note in 1963. There, he joined Horace Silver’s quintet in 1964 for two years. Henderson’s output for the label included Page One, Our Thing, and Mode For Joe, and yielded his classic compositions Recorda Me and Inner Urge.

William Lester, Chemist born

*William Lester, Jr., was born on this date in 1937.  He is a Black theoretical chemist.  Born in Chicago, Illinois, his mother, Elizabeth Francis Lester, was born in Chicago and worked as a seamstress and a doctor’s assistant. His father, William Alexander Lester, was born in Atlanta, Georgia, but moved to Chicago with his family […]

The United Negro College Fund is Founded

On this date in 1944, the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) was incorporated with 27 member colleges. UNCF is the nation’s oldest and most successful minority higher education assistance organization.

A Black Woman Patents a Device for Feeding the Disabled

*On this date in 1951, a Black woman received a patent for a feeding device for the disabled. Bessie Blount invented the machine that delivered food through a tube, one bite at a time, to a mouthpiece whether the patient was sitting up or lying down. When the person wanted more food, they bit down […]

Mumia Abu-Jamal, Activist, and Writer born

*Mumia Abu-Jamal was born on this date in 1954. He is an African American activist and writer.

Stephen Wiltshire, Autistic Artist born.

*Stephen Wiltshire was born on this date in 1974. He is a Black British architectural autistic savant artist. Stephen Wiltshire was born in London; his father, Colvin, was a native of Barbados, and his mother, Geneva, is a native of St. Lucia. He grew up in Little Venice, Maida Vale, London. Wiltshire was non-verbal when young. At three, he was […]