People, Locations, Episodes

D. A. Holmes, Minister, and Activist born

*This date in 1876 is celebrated as the birth date of Rev. D.A. Holmes, a Black minister and community leader. Daniel Arthur Holmes, the son of former slaves, was born in Randolph County, Missouri. His family moved to Macon, Missouri, after being freed at the end of the American Civil War. At age 17, a […]

Dexter Avenue Baptist Church is Founded

*On this date in 1877, we celebrate Dexter Avenue Baptist Church. This Baptist church in Montgomery, Alabama, is affiliated with the Progressive National Baptist Convention. Freedmen and free people of color organized the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church congregation. It was first known as the Second Colored Baptist Church. The church trustees paid $270 on January […]

Wallace D. Fard, Nation Of Islam founder born

*This date celebrates the birth of Wallace D. Fard, founder of the Nation of Islam (sometimes called the Black Muslim) movement in the United States.

Though his birth date and year are not confirmed, Fard immigrated to the United States sometime before 1930. In that year, he established in Detroit the Temple of Islam as well as the University of Islam, which was the temple’s school, and the Fruit of Islam, a corps of male guards. Fard preached that blacks (who were not to be called Negroes) must prepare for an inevitable race war and that Christianity was the religion of slaveowners.

Arnold Josiah Ford, Rabbi, and Poet born

*Arnold Josiah Ford was born on this date in 1877. He was an Afro Barbadian poet, musician, and composer, and the first Black Rabbi in America.   Ford was born in Barbados to Edward Thomas Ford and Elizabeth Augustine Ford.   He asserted that his father’s ancestry could be traced to the Yoruba tribe of Nigeria and his mother’s to the Mendi tribe […]

The St. James Methodist Episcopal Church, (Maryland) is Founded

*On this date in 1879, St. James Methodist Episcopal Church was incorporated.

Located in quaint and charming Oriole, Maryland, the house of worship was not built until 1885. The church community was comprised of free Blacks; freed slaves and watermen who desired a place to conduct social and spiritual matters.

Cameron Alleyne, Bishop born.

*Cameron Alleyne was born on this date in 1880. He was a Caribbean-American bishop. Cameron Chesterfield Alleyne was born in Bridgetown, Barbados, to Robert Henry Alleyne and Amelia Anna Alleyne. He attended Naparima College in Trinidad between 1899 and 1903 before traveling to the United States for a Bachelor of Arts degree at Tuskegee Institute in […]

The Sixth Avenue Baptist Church (Birmingham, Ala.) is Founded

*On this date, in 1881, the Sixth Avenue Baptist Church was founded. Located in Birmingham, Alabama, it closely parallels the story of people freed from slavery following the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation and the ending of the American Civil War. Encouraged by Reverend M. Tyler, president of the Alabama State Convention, a small band […]

Grant AME Church (Albuquerque) Begins Services

*Grant AME Church of Albuquerque, New Mexico, is celebrated on this date in 1883. This is the oldest Black church in Albuquerque and the first in New Mexico, organized during the state’s territorial period.  In 1882, William Slaughter, Allen Carter, and Edward Clark organized the New Mexico Colored Religious Society, which the following year became […]

The Tuskegee Choir is Formed

*On this date in 1884, we celebrate the Tuskegee Choir. Beginning as a quartet, Booker T. Washington sent this group out for several years to “promote the interest of Tuskegee Institute” by acquainting benevolent audiences with the school and his philosophy. The original quartet consisted of students Hiram H. Thweatt, John F. McLeMore, Warren Logan, […]

The Metropolitan Methodist Episcopal Church (Princess Anne, Maryland) is Founded

This date in 1884 marks the founding of the Metropolitan Methodist Episcopal Church in Princess Anne, Maryland.

The Second Baptist Church (Los Angeles), is Founded

*On this date in 1885, Second Baptist Church, the first African American Baptist Church in Southern California was organized in Los Angeles.

The First Black Bishop in America is Consecrated

On this date in 1885, Samuel David Ferguson was consecrated as bishop (Saint John the Baptist’s Feast Day), at Grace Church, New York, becoming the first Black member of the House of Bishopsin the Episcopal Church.

He was born in 1842 in Charleston, S.C., and immigrated with his family to Liberia in 1848. As Missionary Bishop of Liberia, he founded what is now Cuttington University College and established the Bromley Mission School. He served until his death in Monrovia on August 2, 1916.

The Tanner AME Church (Phoenix, Arizona), is Formed

The founding of Tanner Chapel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church of Phoenix in 1899 is celebrated on this date.

The Black Hebrew Israelites, a story

*The Black Hebrew Israelites are affirmed on this date in 1886. Also called Hebrew Israelites, Black Hebrews, Black Israelites, and African Hebrew Israelites, these groups of African Americans believe they are the descendants of the ancient Israelites. Black Hebrew Israelites are not associated with the mainstream Jewish community, and they do not meet the standards used […]

Ebenezer Baptist Church (Atlanta) is Founded

The founding of Ebenezer Baptist Church in 1886 is celebrated on this date. This Atlanta house of worship is a unique landmark of Civil Rights in the Africa American community.