People, Locations, Episodes

Norma Boyd, Teacher, and Administrator born

*Norma Boyd was born on this date in 1888. She was a Black teacher, public policy activist, and administrator. Norma Elizabeth Boyd was born and educated in public schools in Washington, D.C. In September 1906, Boyd attended Howard University’s College of Arts and Sciences, majoring in math. It was when only 1/3 of 1% of […]

Hazel M. Walker, Ohio Educator, and Lawyer born

*Hazel Mountain Walker was born on this date in 1889. She was an African American lawyer and educator.

From Warren, Ohio, she was the daughter of Charles and Alice (Bronson) Mountain. Walker attended Cleveland Normal Training School and in 1909 earned a Bachelor’s and Master’s in Education from Western Reserve University. During the summers, when she was not teaching, Walker worked towards a Law Degree at Baldwin-Wallace College.

Wysinger v. Crookshank is Filed

*On this date, in 1889, Wysinger v. Crookshank was filed.  This was the first case that rendered school segregation of blacks in California contrary to the law. On October 1, 1888, 58-year-old Edmond Wysinger, a former black slave who bought his freedom working in the California mines, moved to Visalia, California. When he attempted to […]

Black History and American Fusion Politics, a story

*Black History and American Fusion Politics are affirmed on this date in 1890. This is a national manifestation of business in a society centered on citizen and common populace uplift. After the American Civil War, fusion politics united political parties briefly and has ebbed and flowed with intended progressive, independent, self-governing results. In some western states, […]

The ‘Mississippi Plan’ Begins

*On this date in 1890, The Mississippi Constitutional Convention began systematic exclusion of Blacks from the politics of South.

The Mississippi Plan (Literacy and “understanding tests”) lasted until November 1st of that year and was later adopted with embellishments by other states: South Carolina (1895), Louisiana (1898), North Carolina (1900), Alabama (1901), Virginia (1901), Georgia (1908), and Oklahoma (1910). Southern states later used “White primaries” and other devices to exclude Black voters.

James Morris Sr., News Publisher born

*James B. Morris Sr. was born on this date in 1890. He was a Black lawyer and newspaper businessman.  From Atlanta, Georgia, at the age of twelve, he began working in a little print shop in Covington, a suburb of Atlanta,”‘ “After completing his grammar school in Atlanta, Morris moved to Baltimore, where he attended […]

William L. Patterson, Activist born

*William Lorenzo Patterson was born on this date in 1891.  He was a Black activist.  Born in San Francisco, California, his father, James Edward Patterson, was from St. Vincent in the British Virgin Islands.  His mother, Mary Galt Patterson, was born a slave in Virginia.  She was the daughter of the organizer of a volunteer regiment of black soldiers who fought with the Union […]

Halie Selassie, Ethiopian Ruler born

Halie Selassie was born on this date in 1892. He was an African dictator and political force in 20th century Ethiopia.

Jomo Kenyatta, Kenya’s First President born

On this date in 1893, we celebrate the birth of Jomo Kenyatta. He was an African political leader, and the first president of Kenya.

Charles C. Diggs Sr. born

*On this date in 1894, Charles Coles Diggs Sr. was born. He was a Black politician.    Born in Tallula, Mississippi, to John Diggs and Etta Jones, Diggs moved to Detroit in 1913, where he owned a successful funeral home on the Lower East Side. A follower of Marcus Garvey during the 1920s, Diggs became involved in politics as a […]

Jesse E. Wilkins Sr., Lawyer, and Labor Activist born

*Jesse Wilkins Sr. was born on this date in 1894. He was a Black lawyer and labor activist leader.  Jesse Ernest Wilkins Sr. was born into a working-class family in Farmington, Missouri. After serving and experiencing racial discrimination as a soldier in the First World War, Wilkins studied mathematics at the University of Illinois and […]

Crystal B. Fauset, Politician born

On this date, Crystal Bird Fauset was born. She was the first African American woman to be elected to a state house of representatives.

Fauset was born in Princess Anne, Maryland, to Benjamin and Portia Bird, but was raised in Boston by her aunt, Lucy Groves. She attended public schools and graduated from Teachers College, Columbia University, in 1931. As a social worker for the YWCA in New York and Philadelphia, Fauset was named executive secretary of the Institute of Race Relations at Swarthmore College in 1933.

George McLaurin, Educator born

*George W. McLaurin was born on this date in 1894.  He was a Black educator.   His family moved to Oklahoma in 1910, and he received his BA from Langston University.  After marriage, he and his wife Peninah McLaurin sent their children out of state when they were 13 to complete their educations.  McLaurin received his master’s degree from the University […]

Eleanor Roosevelt, Political Emissary, and Writer born

*Eleanor Roosevelt was born on this date in 1884. She was a White American diplomat, First lady, writer, humanitarian and Civil Rights activist.

Charles H. Houston, Lawyer born

*This date marks the birth of Charles Hamilton Houston in 1895. He was one of the most important African American lawyers of the twentieth century.