People, Locations, Episodes

The Federal Housing Act is Passed

The Federal Housing Act was enacted on this date in 1934.  This American legislation marked the beginning of the modern federal government’s involvement in the American housing market.  The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) was created from this legislation. It represented the early New Deal’s most significant attempt at short-term economic stimulus. Still, it also had long-term […]

Arnette Hubbard, Lawyer, and Judge born

*Arnette Hubbard was born on January 1, 1935. She is a Black lawyer, judge, and administrator. Born Arnette Rhinehart in Arkansas, she was an only child. Her grandfather encouraged her to become an outstanding lawyer and judge. Hubbard received her B.A. in mathematics and chemistry from Southern Illinois University. She graduated from the University of […]

Grovey v. Townsend Is Decided

*On this date in 1935, Grovey v. Townsend was decided. This United States Supreme Court decision held a constitutional reformulation of Texas’s white primaries system. The case was the third in a series of Court decisions known as the “Texas primary cases.” In Nixon v. Herndon (1927), Lawrence A. Nixon sued for damages under federal civil rights laws after […]

James Seale, Segregationist born

*James Seale was born on this date in 1935. He was a white farmer, police officer and Ku Klux Klan member.

Murray v. Pearson is Ruled

*On this date in 1935, the Maryland Supreme Court ruled against segregation at the University of Maryland Law School.

The case, Murray vs. Pearson had been attacking the school legally since that summer and successfully sued the University of Maryland to admit a young African American Amherst University graduate named Donald Gaines Murray.
Represented by Charles Houston of the Baltimore branch of the NAACP, his colleague and protégé’ Thurgood Marshall won his major first civil rights case in this ruling.

Ruben ‘Hurricane’ Carter, Boxer born

*Rubin Carter was born on this date in 1937. He was an African American professional boxer and criminal justice advocate.

Hazel O’Leary, Administrator born

*Hazel O’Leary was born on this date in 1937. She is an African American politician and administrator.

Hazel Rollins O’Leary was born in Newport News, Virginia; she graduated from the former segregated Huntington High School of Newport News. O’Leary received her Bachelor’s degree in history and government from Fisk University in 1959; and her law degree from Rutgers University in 1966. O’Leary worked as a prosecutor in the state of New Jersey and was later a partner in the accounting firm of Coopers & Lybrand. During the Jimmy Carter administration,

Bruce Boynton, Lawyer, and Activist born

*Bruce Boynton was born on this date in 1937. He was a Black lawyer and civil rights leader.  Bruce Carver Boynton grew up in Selma, Alabama. His parents were civil rights activists, known in their community as Mr. and Mrs. Civil Rights due to their active participation. He was named after his Godfather, George Washington […]

Breedlove v. Suttles is Decided

*On this date in 1937, Breedlove v. Suttles, 302 U.S. 277 (1937), was decided. This case was an overturned United States Supreme Court decision that upheld the constitutionality of requiring the payment of a poll tax to vote in state elections. At the time, Georgia imposed a poll tax of $1.00 per year, generally levied on all inhabitants. […]

Mary Frances Berry, Author, and Administrator born

*On this date in 1938 Mary Frances Berry was born. She is an African American lawyer, administrator, activist and author.

Berry was born in Nashville, Tennessee, where she attended public schools. She earned bachelors and master’s degrees at Howard University, a doctorate in history from the University of Michigan, and the jurist doctor degree from the University of Michigan Law School. She is a member of the Bar of the District of Columbia.

Cecil Price, Police Officer born.

*Cecil Price was born on this date in 1938. He was a white-American police officer and white supremacist. Cecil Ray Price was born in Flora, Mississippi, and graduated from Flora High School in 1956. After graduation, Price became a deputy sheriff in Neshoba County, Mississippi, and joined the White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. On June […]

Missouri ex rel. Gaines v. Canada is Decided

*On this date in 1938, Missouri ex rel. Gaines v. Canada, 305 U.S. 337, was decided.   This was a United States Supreme Court decision holding that states that provided a school to white students also had to provide in-state education to Blacks. States could satisfy this requirement by allowing blacks and whites to attend the same school or creating a second school for […]

The NAACP Legal Defense Fund (LDF) is Formed

*On this date in 1940, we celebrate the founding of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF). They are a leading United States civil rights organization and law firm based in New York City.   Created by Charles Hamilton Houston in the 1930s, the organization stems from the legal department of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. In 1940, Thurgood Marshall established LDF […]

Alston v. The School Board of Norfolk is Decided

*On this date in 1940, Alston v. The School Board of Norfolk was decided. This was a suit instituted by Melvin O. Alston, a Black schoolteacher from Norfolk, VA, and the Norfolk Teachers’ Association, an association composed of Black schoolteachers from that city. From the beginning of segregated public schooling in Norfolk, black teachers made […]

The American Marine Corps Integrates

On this date in 1941, the Marine Corps formally integrated. This was a result of President Roosevelt signing Executive Order 8802 months before Pearl Harbor.