People, Locations, Episodes

Septimius Severus, African Ruler of Rome is born

*The birth of Septimius Severus in 145 A.D. is celebrated on this date. He was a North African General and Ruler of the Roman Empire.

Cyril of Alexandria, Emperor born

*The birth of Cyril of Alexandria is celebrated on this date in c. 376. He was a Black North African leader. Little is known about Cyril’s early life. He was born in Didouseya, Egypt, modern-day El-Mahalla El-Kubra. A few years after his birth, his maternal uncle Theophilus rose to the powerful position of Patriarch of […]

Queen Amanirenas, Military Leader born.

*On this date in 57 BCE, we affirm the birth of Queen Amanirenas.  She was a queen and military leader of the Kingdom of Kush from the end of the 1st Century BCE to the beginning of the 1st Century C.E. Biography Queen Amanirenas was born in Kush in present-day Sudan. This affluent city was the […]

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, […]

Ibn Battuta, North African Scholar born

*Ibn Battuta was born on this date in 1304. He was a North African Maghrebi traveler and scholar of Berber origin. Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Battutah, his full name, was born into a family of Islamic legal scholars in Tangier, Morocco, and was born during the reign of the Marinid dynasty. His family belonged to a Berber tribe […]

Queen Philippa of Hainaut is born

*Philippa of Hainault was born on this date in 1310.  She was the first African Queen of England. Philippa was of 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 […]

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 in Genoa […]

Vasco de Balboa, Explorer, and Slave Trader born

*The birth of Vasco Balboa is affirmed 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 Balboa castle on León and Galicia’s borders. His mother was […]

Juan Garrido, Conquistador, and Slave Owner born.

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

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.

Black History and American Police Brutality, a story

*Black history and American police brutality are affirmed on this date in 1619. The expendable pattern of Black lives intersecting with American law enforcement did not begin with Tamir Rice, Michael Brown, Brionna Taylor, or George Floyd.  To understand the systemic racism embedded in American police forces, you must look back at the racial order in the United States […]

The Anti-Amalgamation Law is 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.

The Castillo de San Marcos Fort, a story

*The Castillo de San Marcos began construction on this date in 1672.  Built with Black African and Native American slave labor, it is the oldest masonry fort in the continental United States.  Still standing, it is located on the western shore of Matanzas Bay in the city of St. Augustine, Florida.  The city of St. Augustine was founded for the Spanish Crown in 1565 on the site […]

Louis de St. Denis, Soldier and Slave Owner born.

*Louis de St. Denis was born on this date in 1676. He was a white-French Canadian soldier, slave owner, and explorer. Louis Antoine Juchereau de St. Denis was born in Beauport, New France (Quebec), the eleventh of the twelve children. His father was Nicolas Juchereau, Seigneur du Chesnay. His mother, Marie Thérèse Giffard de Beauport. […]