People, Locations, Episodes

Willie S. Glanton, Politician born

*Willie S. Glanton was born on this date in 1922. She was a Black lawyer and politician. Willie Stevenson was born in Hot Springs, Arkansas, the daughter of Ervin S. Stevenson and Willie Ever Parker. She was a graduate of Tennessee State University and Robert Terrell Law School in Washington, D.C., she was admitted to the Iowa […]

Benjamin Crump, Attorney born

*Benjamin Crump was born on this date in 1969. He is a Black lawyer who specializes in civil rights and catastrophic personal injury cases such as wrongful death lawsuits. Benjamin Lloyd Crump was born in Lumberton, North Carolina, near Fort Bragg. The oldest of nine siblings and stepsiblings, Crump grew up in an extended family […]

Wilhelmina Wright, Judge born

*Wilhelmina Wright was born on this date in 1964. She is a Black lawyer, professor, and Judge. Wilhelmina Marie Wright was born in Norfolk, Virginia. She went on to study literature at Yale University, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree and graduating cum laude in 1986. Wright received her Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School in 1989. […]

Lee Roy Young, Law Enforcement Officer born

*The birth of Lee Roy Young is celebrated on this date in 1947.  He was a Black law enforcement officer, Texas Ranger.   Lee Roy Young was born in Del Rio, TX.  After graduating from high school, he served four years in the United States Navy from 1966 to 1970.  After he was discharged from […]

Sundiata Keita, Mali Empire King born

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.

Mansa Musa, Mali Emperor born

*The birth of Mansa Musa is celebrated on this date in c. 1280. He was a Black African Mansa (emperor), and administrator. Mansa Musa was the ninth Mansa of the Mali Empire, an Islamic West African state. Mansa Musa’s name was Musa, the Mande word for “ruler” or “king”. Musa is known as Kanku Musa. In Mande tradition, […]

Queen Philippa of Hainaut is 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 […]

Robben Island, South African Prison, a story

*Robben Island is affirmed on this date in 1448. Robben Island is a roughly oval landmass is an island in Table Bay, 4.3 mi west of the coast of Bloubergstrand, north of Cape Town, South Africa. It is former maximum-security prison used by Dutch and British colonizers during the apartheid regime. It takes its name […]

Christopher Columbus, Explorer born

*The birth of Christopher Columbus is estimated to be on this date in 1451.  He was a white-Italian explorer, navigator and slave trader of African and indigenous people.  He was from the territory of the Republic of Genoa (now part of modern Italy).  His father was Domenico Colombo, a wool weaver who worked both in […]

Vasco de Balboa, Explorer, and Slave Trader born

*The birth of Vasco Balboa is celebrated on this date in c. 1475. He was a Spanish explorer, slave trader, governor, and conquistador. Vasco Núñez de Balboa was born in Jerez de los Caballeros, Spain. He was a descendant of the Lord mason of the castle of Balboa, on the borders of León and Galicia. […]

Juan Garrido, Explorer born

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

The Zulu Community, a story

*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, Ruler born

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

Anthony Johnson, Indentured Servant Owner born

*The birth of Anthony Johnson is celebrated on this date in 1606. He was an African slave and farmer and one of the first Black property owners in colonial America. He was a tobacco farmer in Maryland and had his right to legally own a slave recognized by the Virginia courts. There is no information […]

The Dahomey Amazon Women, a story

*The Dahomey Amazons are celebrated on this date in 1625.  Also called Mino, or Minon, “our mothers”, they were a Fon all-female military regiment of the Kingdom of Dahomey. They were so named by Western observers and historians due to their similarity to the mythical Amazons of ancient Anatolia and the Black Sea. King Houegbadja the third King […]