People, Locations, Episodes

Black Settlements in America, a story

Black towns in the United States are featured on this date’s Registry. All African American settlements in the United States have a rich history.

Though residential segregation is often considered one of the more harmful effects of racism in the United States, some African Americans in the nineteenth century chose to form their own racially separate communities. Unlike the ghettos and rural enclaves where many Blacks at the time were forced to live, Black towns were established to promote economic independence, self-government, and social equality for African Americans.

William M. Alexander, Businessman and Newspaper Editor born.

*This date in 1852 is celebrated as the birth date of William M. Alexander, a Black small businessman, minister, and newspaper editor. William Moncure Alexander was born to Moncure Alexander and Frances “Fannie” Alexander in Fredericksburg, Va. In the mid-1870s, his family moved to Richmond and situated itself among that city’s Black elite. Through a […]

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 […]

Jan Matzeliger, Inventor born

*This date marks the birth of Jan Matzeliger in 1852. He was an African American inventor best known for his shoe-lasting machine that mechanically shaped the upper portions of shoes.

Prince Honeycutt, Barber born

*Prince Honeycutt was born on this date in 1852. He was a Black barber and semi-pro baseball player. Prince Albert Honeycutt was born a slave in Tennessee. He ran away when he was ten during the American Civil War. He joined a unit from the Union Army, wanting to serve as a drummer boy, but […]

The Black YMCA in America, a story

*On this date in 1853, the first Black Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) was organized. The YMCA has long been a source for building community spirit and a sense of social responsibility among Black Christian men.

The Provincial Freeman News is Published

*On this date in 1853, the Provincial Freeman published its first edition.  This was a Black Canadian progressive newspaper.   The Provincial Freeman was active for four and a half years and published weekly. It advocated equality, integration, and self-education for Black people in Canada and the United States. The paper’s tone toward any stereotype of Uncle Tom’s […]

Cecil Rhodes, Architect of Apartheid born

*Cecil Rhodes was born on this date in 1853. He was a white-British mining magnate and a South African politician.   The son of a priest, Cecil John Rhodes, was born at Netteswell House, Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire. He was a sickly child. He was sent to South Africa by his family when he was 17 […]

James Shober, North Carolina Doctor born

James Francis Shober was born on this date in 1853. He was an African American doctor and the first Black physician in North Carolina.

The Steven Spencer Hill Ranch, a story

The Steven Spencer Hill Ranch was built on this date in 1853. Located in Tuolumne County (central CA.), it is northeast of Gold Springs, on the slopes next to the Stanislaus River Canyon. Steven Spencer Hill, a Black man, filed a claim for 160 acres of land on this date. Hill came to California during […]

Henry A. Tandy, Building Contractor, born

*The birth of Henry A. Tandy is celebrated on this date in c. 1853. He was a Black building contractor and entrepreneur specializing in decorative stone masonry and brickwork. Born enslaved in Estill County, KY, Tandy moved to Lexington, KY, after the American Civil War. In Lexington, 1867, he first worked for local photographer John […]

William C. Chase, News Publisher born

*William Chase was born on this date in 1854. He was a Black lawyer and newspaper editor.   William Calvin Chase was born to free Black parents in Washington, D.C. He had five siblings. His Maryland-born father, William H. Chase, an expert blacksmith, was shot and killed in his shop in 1863. Before his father’s […]

Phillip ‘Daddy’ Reid, Businessman born

*Phillip ‘Daddy’ Reid was born on this date in 1854.  He was a Black businessman, baseball administrator, and manager. Phillip Edward Reid was from Frankfort, Kentucky. Not much is known about his childhood other than that he grew up in a slave-holding state and would have been very young at the end of the American […]

James C. Farley, Photographer born.

*James C. Farley was born on this date in 1854. He was a Black photographer and proprietor. James Conway Farley was born into slavery in Prince Edward County, Virginia, and both of his parents were slaves. In 1861, he moved with his mother to Richmond, Virginia, where she worked as a store-room keeper at the […]

Christopher Perry, Journalist born

*Christopher Perry was born on this date in 1854.  He was a Black journalist.  Christopher James Perry was born to free people of color from Baltimore, Maryland. Perry attended school in Baltimore, gaining a positive reputation in his local community through his public speeches.  After he graduated from high school in 1873, the ambitious Perry […]