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 […]

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.

Thomas Jefferson born

*Thomas Jefferson was born on this date in 1743.  He was a white-American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, politician, and Founding Father of the United States of America.   Part of the first Families of Virginia(FFV), he was born at the family home in Shadwell in the (then) Colony of Virginia, the third of ten children. He was of English descent and was born a British subject. His […]

Haiti’s Toussaint Louverture, born

*Toussaint Louverture was born on this date in 1743.  He was a Black Haitian general and abolitionist.   François-Dominique Toussaint Louverture is thought to have been born on the plantation of Bréda at Haut de Cap in Saint-Domingue.   Louverture’s parents are not known. John Beard’s biography of Louverture claims that family traditions name his grandfather as from Southern Benin. Louverture […]

England’s Black Queen, Sophie Charlotte born

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

Richard Pierpoint born

*The birth of Richard Pierpoint is celebrated on this date in c. 1744.  Also known as Black Dick, Captain Dick, Captain Pierpoint, he was a Black British soldier. Richard Pierpoint was born in Bundu, what is now Senegal.  When he was about sixteen, he was captured and sold as a slave. He survived the crossing of the Atlantic and was sold to […]

Benjamin Rush, Diplomat born

*Benjamin Rush was born on this date in 1746.  He was a white-American abolitionist, physician and diplomat. His interpretation through white privilege of race has raised many ethical questions.   The fourth of John and Susanna (Hall) Rush’s seven children, he was raised and spent most of his life in Philadelphia. His mother, a Presbyterian first supervised […]

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.