People, Locations, Episodes

John Ward, Black Seminole Scout born

*The birth of John Ward in 1847 is celebrated on this date. He was a Black Seminole scout in the U.S. Army and a Medal of Honor Recipient.

Thomas E. Miller, Educator, and Politician born

This date marks the birth of Thomas Ezekiel Miller in 1849. He was a Black politician and educator who was elected to the South Carolina Congress and served from 1889 to 1891.

Archibald Grimke, Journalist and Activist born

*Archibald Grimké was born on this date in 1849.  He was a Black lawyer, intellectual, journalist, and activist.   Archibald Henry Grimké was born into slavery near Charleston, South Carolina, in 1849. He was the eldest of three sons of Nancy Weston, who was also born into slavery, daughter of an enslaved black African woman […]

Madam Yoko, African Leader born

*This date in 1849 is celebrated as the birth date of Madame Yoko. Madam Yoko, or Mammy Yoko, was a leader of the Mende people in Sierra Leone.   Madam Yoko, originally called Soma, was born in the Gbo Chiefdom.  She changed her name to Yoko at her Sande initiation ceremony, during which she became […]

Ruy Barbosa, Brazilian Diplomat born

*Ruy Barbosa, also known as Rui Barbosa, was born on this date in 1849. He was a Brazilian diplomat, writer, jurist, and politician.   Rui Barbosa de Oliveira de Oliveira was born in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. He gave his first public speech for the abolition of slavery when he was 19. For the rest of his life, he […]

William Harrison Heard, Politician and Clergyman born

*William H. Heard was born on this date in 1850.  He was a Black clergyman and politician.  William Henry (Harrison) Heard was born a slave in Elbert County, Georgia, some three miles from the small settlement of Longstreet. His father, George, was a blacksmith and later a wheelwright and carpenter of mixed ethnicity. George was the son of an […]

Josiah Settle, Lawyer and Politician born

*Josiah Settle was born on this date in 1850. He was a Black lawyer and politician. Josiah “Joe” Thomas Settle was born into slavery in the Cumberland Mountains of East Tennessee or North Carolina to Nancy Settle. His father owned the family, also named Josiah. At the time of his birth, his master moved the […]

Edward P. McCabe, Land Agent born

*Edward McCabe was born on this date in 1850. He was a Black settler, attorney, and land agent. Edward P. McCabe was born in Troy, New York. As a child, he and his family moved from Troy to Fall River, Massachusetts, Newport, Rhode Island, and Bangor, Maine. When his father died, he left school and […]

William Hardin, Administrator born

*The birth of William Hardin is celebrated on this date in c. 1831. He was a Black soldier, politician, and barber.  William Jefferson Hardin was born in Russellville, Kentucky, to a white father and a mulatto mother. He claimed to be the nephew of Benjamin Hardin, but his claims were never proven. Shakers raised him […]

Ferdinand Barnett, Journalist, and Lawyer born

*Ferdinand Barnett was born on this date in 1852. He was a Black journalist, lawyer, and civil rights activist.  Ferdinand Lee Barnett was born in Nashville, Tennessee. His mother was a freewoman, Martha Brooks. Ferdinand Lee Barnett’s father was born in Nashville and worked as a blacksmith. He purchased his family’s freedom the year Ferdinand […]

William Feilds, School Principal born

*The birth of William A. Feilds is celebrated on this date in c. 1852.  He was a Black schoolteacher, principal, and politician.   Born a slave in West Tennessee in 1874, Feilds married Elizabeth (Lizzie) Fields, age 20, in Shelby County, TN.  In 1882, Sholes’ Memphis City Directory listed Feilds as a “teacher 5th District school, r county.” According […]

George White, Politician, and Schoolteacher born

On this date, George Henry White was born in 1852. He was a Black lawyer, politician, schoolteacher, and administrator.

White was born a slave in Rosindale, North Carolina. After working as a farm laborer, he studied at Howard University (1873-1877). This was followed by work as a schoolteacher and as a lawyer. As the last former slave to serve in Congress, White’s term in the House closed out the years of service of the first generation of black representatives.

José Martí, Cuban Nationalist and Journalist born

*José Martí was born on this date in 1853. He was an Afro Cuban nationalist, poet, philosopher, essayist, journalist, translator, professor, and publisher. Born in Havana, Spanish Empire, José Julián Martí Pérez began his political activism at an early age. In 1865, he enrolled in the Escuela de Instruction Primaria Superior Municipal de Varones, headed by Rafael […]

Holmes v. Ford, a story

*On this date in 1853, Holmes v. Ford was heard in the territorial court of Oregon.  This American court case in the Oregon Territory freed a slave family. The decision reaffirmed that slavery was illegal in the territory outlined in the Organic Laws of Oregon that continued once the region became a U.S. territory. In […]

George Murray, Farmer, and Congressman born

*This date spotlights the birth of George Washington Murray in 1853. He was a Black farmer, politician, teacher and inventor.