People, Locations, Episodes

Sundiata Keita, hero of the Mali empire

This date celebrates the birth of an African King Sundiata Keita, also known as Mari Diata, in approximately 1210.

Keita was the founder and ruler of the Mali Empire in West Africa. Keita was the son of Nare Maghan, the ruler of Kangaba, a small state located on an offshoot of the upper Niger River. Sundiata left Kangaba, but the reason is unknown: he may have gone into voluntary exile to avoid a jealous half brother, or he may have been exiled by Sumanguru Kante, king of the Soso, who killed Keita’s father and took over his kingdom.

Queen Philippa of Hainaut born

*Philippa of Hainault was born on this date in 1310. She was the first black Queen of England. Philippa was of black Moorish ancestry, born in Valenciennes in the County of Hainaut in the Low Countries of northern France.  Her parents were William I, Count of Hainaut, and Joan of Valois, Countess of Hainaut, granddaughter of Philip III of France. Philippa was one of eight children […]

Juan Garrido, early Black explorer born

*The birth of Juan Garrido in 1487 is celebrated on this date. He was a Black African Spanish conquistador.

Zulu, a people who remain throughout time

*This date celebrates the Zulu nation. The Zulu are the largest ethnic group in South Africa, with a population of approximately 8 million.

Alessandro de Medici born

The birth of Alessandro de Medici in 1510 is celebrated on this date. He was a Black Italian ruler during the 16th century.

Anti-Amalgamation law passed

*On this date in 1664, Maryland passed the first Anti amalgamation law. This law was intended to prevent marriages between Black men and English women.

Kingston, Jamaica founded

Kingston Jamaica was founded on this date in 1692. It is the capital and chief port of Jamaica, an island nation in the West Indies. Kingston lies on the southeast coast of Jamaica, at the northern end of a nearly landlocked harbor.

From slave to general, Abram Hannibal

On this date we celebrate the birth of Abram Hannibal in 1697. He was an African slave who became a successfull general and military engineer in Russia.

Crispus Attucks, the first patriot to die for America

On this date in 1723, we celebrate the birth of Crispus Attucks. He was a Black merchant and patriot.

Little is known about the early years of Attucks. He was born a slave around in the (then) colony of Massachusetts. His father, Prince Yonger, was African and his mother, Nancy Attucks, was an Indian and possible descendant of John Attucks, a member of the Natick Indian tribe. John Attucks was executed for treason in 1676 during the King Philip War. The word “attuck” in the Natick language means deer.

England’s 18th century Black Queen, Sophie Charlotte born

*Princess Sophie Charlotte was born on this date in 1744. She was the first Black Queen of England.

An original patriot, James Lafayette

*James Lafayette’s birth in 1748 is celebrated on this date. He was a Black slave and American patriot.

Born on William Armistead’s New Kent County farm, in 1781 he received permission to leave his master’s service and volunteer with the American forces under the Marquis de Lafayette, (a young French general and American ally). During this time the British had devastated Richmond, looting and burning much of the city and chasing the Virginia legislature from the Capitol; thus the Generals offer to assist the small army came at a critical time.

Peter Salem, an original patriot

The birth of Peter Salem in 1750 is celebrated on this date. He was a Black soldier and patriot.

Though Salem’s birth year is not certain, he was born a slave in Framingham, MA. His owner, Jeremiah Belknap, named him after his hometown of Salem, MA. In America’s early years, Massachusetts, monitoring an insurrection by Blacks, made it illegal for them to serve in the military. When the need for soldiers increased during the French and Indian Wars, Blacks were pressed into military duty. In mid-1775, the Massachusetts Committee of Safety recruited only free Blacks.

Salem Poor, an original patriot

The birth of Salem Poor around 1750 is celebrated on this date. He was a Black patriot during the Revolutionary War.

Poor was a free Negro in Andover, MA. He left his wife when he went off to war to fight for the American Revolution. He enlisted under Captain Benjamin Ames in Colonel Fryes’ regiment. He fought at Bunker Hill and is credited with shooting down British Lieutenant Colonel James Abercrombie.

Somerset v. Stewart ruled

*On this date in 1772, Somerset v Stewart was ruled.  This was a British judgment of the Court of King’s Bench on labor law and human rights.   It held that chattel slavery was unsupported by the common law in England and Wales, although the position elsewhere in the British Empire was left ambiguous.  James Somerset, an enslaved African, was purchased by Charles Stewart or Stewart, a Customs officer when he was in Boston, Province of Massachusetts […]

Rose Fortune, a special Canadian

*The birth of Rose Fortune in 1774 is celebrated on this date. She was a Black law enforcement officer and businesswoman.

Fortune was born into slavery in Virginia, owned by the Devone family. They escaped to New York City then the Nova Scotia (Canada) town of Annapolis Royal in 1783 when she was ten years old. Fortune came from a family of Black Loyalists, (escaped slaves and free Blacks who joined the British army during the American Revolution to find liberty). The British army promised any slave freedom in return for their loyalty.