People, Locations, Episodes

The Black and Tan, and Lily-White (Political Factions), a story

*On this date, 1870, We remember the Black-and-Tan and the Lily-White political factions.  They were political coalitions in the American Republican Party in the South from the 1870s to the 1960s. Southern Republicans were divided into two groups: The Lily-white faction, which was practically all-white, and the biracial black-and-tan faction, which replaced the Negro Republican Party faction’s name after Reconstruction in the 1890s.  The lily-white […]

The Black Seminole Scouts are Formed

*On this date in 1870, Black Seminole Scouts are remembered.  Also known as the Seminole Negro Indian Scouts or Seminole Scouts, they were commissioned by the United States Army. Despite the name, the unit included both Black Seminoles and some Native Seminoles. However, because most of the Seminole scouts were of African descent, they were often attached to the Buffalo Soldier regiments to guide the troops through […]

John Langalibalele Dube, Essayist, and Politician born

*John Langalibalele Dube was born on this date in 1871. He was a Black South African activist, essayist, philosopher, educator, politician, publisher, editor, novelist, and poet. John Langalibalele was born in Natal at the Inanda mission station of the American Zulu Mission (AZM), South Africa. This was a branch of the American Board of Commissioners […]

Oscar De Priest, Chicago Politician born

On this date, we recall the birth of Oscar Stanton De Priest in 1871. He was the first African American to win a seat in the U. S. House of Representatives in the 20th century.

William H. Davis, Government Administrator born.

*William H. Davis was born on this date in 1872. He was a Black educator, pharmacist, and American government official. William Henry Davis was born in Louisville, Kentucky, to former slaves Jerry and Susan Davis. He graduated from Louisville Colored High School in June 1888 at 16, second in his class of eighteen students. Davis […]

The First Black Woman In America Is Admitted To Practice Law

On this date in 1872, Charlotte E. Ray became the first Black woman admitted to practice before the district Supreme Court (Washington D.C.).

Blacks Serge Politically During Reconstruction

On this date in 1872, the Republican National Convention met in Philadelphia. Held during Reconstruction, this gathering was filled with substantial Black representation from Southern states.

For the first time in American History, three Blacks addressed a major national political convention: Robert B. Elliot, chairman of the South Carolina delegation; Joseph H. Rainey, South Carolina delegate; and John R. Lynch, Mississippi delegate.

Ulysses S. Grant was nominated for president and Henry Wilson for vice president.

Blaise Diagne, Legislator, and Diplomat born

*Blaise Diagne was born on this date in 1872. He was a Black Senegalese and French political leader. He was born Gnagna Anthony Pereira Diagne in Gorée to a Senegalese Lebu father (Niokhor Diagne), a cook and sailor, and a Manjack mother of Guinea-Bissau origin. They baptized him as “Blaise.”  He studied in France before joining the […]

William A. White, Canadian Minister and Soldier born

*William A. White II was born on this date in 1874. He was a Black Nova Scotian minister and soldier. William Andrew White II was born to formerly enslaved people in King and Queen County, Virginia. He moved to Baltimore, Maryland, where he lived with his brother and attended Wayland Seminary in Washington. After a […]

Samuel J. Brown, Lawyer, and Activist born

*Samuel Joe Brown was born on this date in 1875. He was a Black lawyer and activist. Samuel “Joe” Brown was born in Keosauqua, Iowa, to Elizabeth (Henderson) Brown and Lewis Brown. Lewis, a teamster, traced the family lineage to the original 20 slaves brought to Jamestown, Virginia, in 1619. Moving north from Missouri, his […]

Edward B. Ceruti, Lawyer, and Activist born

*Edward Ceruti was born on this date in 1875. He was a Black attorney and racial justice activist. Edward Burton Ceruti was born in Nassau, the Bahamas. His parents were Eliza Jane Anderson, a mulatto, and Edward Burton Ceruti, Sr. The family moved to the United States when he was four years old. According to the 1880 census, […]

Dick Turpin, Navy Diver born

*Dick Turpin was born on this date in 1876. He was an African American Navy Diver, inventor and officer.

Rufus Buck, Outlaw born

*The birth of Rufus Buck is affirmed on this date in 1876. He was a Black Indigenous Indian outlaw who terrorized Arkansas and Oklahoma in the summer of 1895. Born to a Black mother and Creek father in about 1875, Rufus was in trouble from a young age, and by the time he was 18, […]

The Poll Tax in America, a story

*On this date in 1876, the American national election resulted in the illegal use of the Poll Tax in the United States.   Historically, Poll taxes have been a major source of government funding among the colonies that formed the United States. Poll taxes made up from one-third to one-half of the tax revenue of colonial Massachusetts. To encourage […]

Perry W. Howard Jr. Politician, Lawyer born

*Perry W. Howard II was born on this date in 1877. He was a Black attorney and politician. Perry Wilbon Howard II was born in Ebenezer, Mississippi. He was mulatto, the first son of Sallie and Perry Wilbon Howard, who were enslaved. His parents bought their farmland and sent all seven of their sons to college. […]