People, Locations, Episodes

Butler R. Wilson, Lawyer and Activist born

*Butler Wilson was born on this date in 1861. He was a Black attorney, activist, and humanitarian. Butler Roland Wilson was born in Greensboro, Georgia, to Dr. John R. and Mary Jackson Wilson, free people of color. His father was a physician and civic leader in the Atlanta area. Wilson attended Clark/Atlanta University, where he was […]

The Freedmen’s Aid Society is Formed

*The Freedmen’s Aid Society was celebrated on this date in 1861 during the American Civil War.  It was founded by the American Missionary Association (AMA), a group supported by the Congregational, Presbyterian, and Methodist churches in the American North. It organized a supply of teachers from the North and provided housing for them to set up and teach in schools in the South for freedmen (emancipated […]

J. B. Stradford, Businessman born

*J.B. Stradford was born on this date in 1861.  He was a Black businessman and community activist.  John the Baptist (J.B.) Stradford was from Versailles, KY, the son of Julius Caesar (J.C.).  His father was enslaved, and his owner never gave him the last name, though his owner’s daughter befriended him and taught him to […]

The Port Royal Experiment Begins

*The Port Royal Experiment began on this date in 1861. This educational program involved former slaves successfully working on the land abandoned by white-American planters.    It started during the American Civil War after the Union captured the Sea Islands off the coast of South Carolina and their main harbor, Port Royal. The whites fled, leaving behind 10,000 Black slaves. Several private Northern charity organizations stepped in to help […]

Lydia Flood Jackson, Businesswoman born

*Lydia Flood Jackson was born on this date in 1862. She was a Black businesswoman, suffragist, and clubwoman.   Lydia Flood was born in Brooklyn, California, which is now part of Oakland, California. Her mother was Elizabeth Thorn Scott, and her father was Isaac Flood. Her mother was educated in New Bedford, Massachusetts. She moved […]

Ida B. Wells, Journalist, and Anti-Lynching Advocate born

On this date in 1862, Ida Bell Wells-Barnett was born. She was an African American journalist, advocate of civil rights, women’s rights, economic rights, and an anti-lynching crusader.

Ida Gibbs Hunt, Global Racial and Gender Activist born

*Ida Gibbs Hunt was born on this date in 1862.  She was a Black administrator and international racial and gender equality activist. Ida Alexander Gibbs was born in Victoria, British Columbia. Ida’s father, Judge Mifflin Wistar Gibbs, was one of the wealthiest African Americans in the United States in the late nineteenth century. Before he acquired […]

William H. Baldwin Jr. Philanthropist born

William Henry Baldwin Jr. was born on this date in 1863. He was a white-American corporate executive and philanthropist    He was the son of William Henry Baldwin, a dry goods merchant, and Mary Chaffee. A descendant of an English settler who had arrived in Massachusetts before 1640, Baldwin grew up in a family noted for its […]

Homer Plessy, Activist born

*Homer Plessy, an African American businessman and civil rights activist, was born on this date in 1863.

Jesse Moorland, Minister, and Civic Leader born

On this date in 1863, Jesse Moorland was born. He was a Black minister, community executive, and civic leader.

Jesse Edward Moorland came from Coldwater, Ohio, the only child of a farming family. When he was an infant, his mother died and his father left him to be raised by his maternal grandparents.

Mary Church Terrell, Activist born

This date marks the birth of Mary “Mollie” Church Terrell in 1863. She was an African American social activist who was co-founder and first president of the National Association of Colored Women.

Susan Elizabeth Frazier, Teacher and Activist born.

*Susan Elizabeth Frazier was born on this date in 1864. She was a Black teacher and civic leader focused on women’s issues and the rights and capacity of African Americans. Susan Elizabeth Frazier was born in New York City to Helen Eldridge Frazier and Louis M. Frazier. She was the great-granddaughter of Black Revolutionary War […]

Hiram H. Thweatt, Music Administrator and Activist born.

*Hiram H. Thweatt was born on this date in 1864. He was a Black activist, educator, and music administrator.  Hiram H. Thweatt was born in Tuskegee, Alabama. He worked at the Tuskegee Institute as their choir director. And as a “School Teacher” in the 1900 Census, as was their wife, Janice. He was the President […]

Emma Ransom, Civic Leader born

*Emma Ransom was born on this date in 1864. She was a Black clubwoman and civic leader. Emma Sarah Connor was born to Jackson and Beattie Connor, former slaves. The Connors moved their ten children to Selma, Ohio, where Emma attended school. As a young woman, she trained as a teacher at Wilberforce University. She taught […]

The National Equal Rights League is Founded

*The National Equal Rights League (NERL) was founded on this date in 1864.  NERL is the oldest national human rights organization in the United States. It was founded at the National Conference of Colored Men in Syracuse, New York, and was dedicated to liberating black people in America. Its origins began with the emancipation of slaves […]