*The Dominican Republic gained independence from Haiti on this date in 1844. At the beginning of the 1800s, the colony of Santo Domingo, which had once been the headquarters of Spanish power in the New World, was in decline. During this time, Spain was embroiled in various wars to maintain control of the Americas. With […]
learn moreThis date in 1844 marks the birth of Charles Edmund Nash, a Black politician.
Born in Opelousas, LA, he attended common schools and was a bricklayer in New Orleans before enlisting in Company A of the 82nd Regiment. In 1865, during the last battle of the Civil War at Fort Blakely, AL, he was severely wounded, losing part of his right leg. Four years later, he was appointed night inspector in the New Orleans Custom House. Local Republicans apparently concluded that Nash’s wartime heroics made him an attractive candidate for public office.
learn more*George Hezekiah Imes was born on this date in 1844. He was a soldier and minister. Imes enlisted as a Private in the American Civil War from Franklin County, Pennsylvania, and mustered into Company D, 43rd United States Colored Infantry on March 11, 1864, at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Appointed Corporal on April 1, 1864. Promoted to Sergeant on […]
learn moreThe birth of James A. Fields, a Black teacher and lawyer, in 1844 is celebrated on this date.
Born a slave in Hanover County, VA, James Apostles Fields cared for the the horses of white lawyers in Hanover County when they arrived for work. In 1862, during the Civil War, Fields and his brother George ran away from slavery. After the war ended, he entered Hampton Institute in Virginia and was a member of its first class of graduates in 1871 and became a teacher.
learn more*Charles Douglass was born on this date in 1844. He was a Black soldier, journalist, government clerk, real estate developer, secretary, and treasurer. He was the third and youngest son of Frederick Douglass and his first wife, Anna Murray Douglass. Charles Remond Douglass was born in Lynn, Massachusetts, and named after a friend of his father and anti-slavery […]
learn moreThe birth of Cathy Williams in 1844 is celebrated on this date. She was a Black domestic worker and a soldier.
Born in Independence, MO, she worked as a house slave for William Johnson, a wealthy planter in Jefferson City, until his death. About that time, the Civil War broke out and she was freed by Union soldiers. Thereafter, Williams worked for the Army as a paid servant.
learn more*On this date in 1944, the Supreme Court decided Steele v. Louisville & N. R. Co.. In this case, B. W. Steele, a member of the IARE executive, argued that an agreement between the railway and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen (BLFE) was illegal. A whites-only railroad union could not exclude Blacks and deny them better jobs […]
learn more*The birth of George Lawrence Mabson is celebrated on this date in 1845. He was a Black soldier, lawyer, and politician. His father was George W. Mabson, a prominent white-American in Wilmington, North Carolina. His mother was Eliza Moore, a Black woman. During the American Civil War, on February 15, 1864, he enlisted in the 5th […]
learn more*On this date in 1846, Jeremiah Haralson was born. He was a Black politician who served in the House of Representatives.
Born a slave near Columbus, Georgia, he was taken to Alabama and kept in bondage until 1865. After attaining his freedom, Haralson taught himself how to read and write. According to records he then became a farmer and a clergyman, a powerful orator and debater. In 1870 he ran for Congress as an independent and defeated the republican candidate.
learn more*Norris Cuney was born on this date in 1846. He was a Black politician, businessman, union leader, and activist in Texas. Norris Wright Cuney was born near Hempstead, Texas, in the Brazos River valley. He was the fourth of eight children of Adeline Stuart, a mixed-race slave of (African, European, and Native) American ancestry. Their father was Adeline’s white master, Confederate Colonel Philip Cuney, a wealthy farmer. […]
learn more*John Wesley Cromwell was born on this date in 1846. He was a Black lawyer, teacher, civil servant, journalist, historian, and activist. John Wesley Cromwell was born into slavery in Portsmouth, Virginia, the youngest of twelve children. His parents were Willis H. and Elizabeth (Carney) Cromwell. Cromwell’s father worked as a ferryman on the Elizabeth […]
learn moreThis date in 1847 marks Independence Day in the Republic of Liberia. Liberia owes its establishment to the American Colonization Society, founded in 1816 to resettle freed American slaves in Africa.
learn moreThis date marks the birth of John Roy Lync, a Black politician, in 1847.
Born a slave in Concordia Parish, LA., Lynch was freed during the American Civil War and settled in Natchez, MS. There he learned the photography business, attended night school, and in 1869 entered public life as justice of the peace for Natchez County. In November 1869, Lynch was elected to the Mississippi House of Representatives, and reelected in 1871.
learn more*Lloyd Wheeler, born on this date in 1848, was a Black attorney, businessman, philanthropist, and political leader. Lloyd Garrison Wheeler was born in Mansfield, Ohio. His father was active in the underground railroad movement, providing secret accommodations for escaping slaves from the South en route to freedom in Canada. With the illegal status of […]
learn more*J.R. Clifford was born on this date in 1848. He was a Black newspaper publisher, editor, writer, schoolteacher, lawyer, and principal. John Robert (“J.R.”) Clifford was born in Williamsport, in what was then Hardy County, Virginia (now in Grant County), near present-day Moorefield. Clifford’s parents, Isaac and Mary Clifford, and grandparents were “free blacks” who had lived in that region of Virginia for several generations. There were […]
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