People, Locations, Episodes

Hazel Harrison, Pianist and Educator born

Hazel Harrison was an African American pianist and teacher and was born on this date in 1883.

Portia Washington Pittman, Teacher born

Portia Washington Pittman was born on this date in 1883, in Tuskegee, AL. She was an African American musician and teacher, and the only daughter of Booker T. and Fanny (Smith) Washington.

Her father was the founder of Tuskegee Institute. After her mother’s death in 1884, Portia was cared for by nursemaids and two stepmothers. An accomplished pianist by the age of ten, she attended New England’s finest boarding schools, including Framingham State Normal School in Massachusetts in 1895, Tuskegee Institute, and, in 1901, Wellesley College in Massachusetts.

Charlotte H. Brown, Educator born

On this date in 1883, Charlotte Eugenia Hawkins Brown was born. She was an African American civic leader and educator who founded the Palmer Institute (a prep school for African Americans), argued against lynchings, and was in favor of interracial cooperation.

Ernest Just, Biologist, and Collegiate Mentor born

*This date marks the birth of Ernest Everett Just in 1883. He was an African American biologist and educator who taught at Howard University for more than 30 years.

Joel Augustus Rogers, Anthropologist born

Joel Augustus Rogers was born on this date in 1883. He was an African American writer, lecturer, anthropologist, historian, journalist, and publisher.

The Haines Normal and Industrial Institute, a story

*On this date in 1883, we celebrate the opening of the Haines Normal and Industrial Institute, a school created during the Reconstruction era in America. Also known as Haines Institute, it was a school for Blacks in Augusta, Georgia. It was established by Lucy Craft Laney and named in honor of a benefactor who funded […]

Hartshorn Memorial College Opens

*The opening of Hartshorn Memorial College opened on this date in 1883.  One of over 100 Historical Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in America, this school started classes in Richmond, Virginia, until 1932, when it merged into Virginia Union University.   Hartshorn Memorial College was created as a college for African American women’s education.  The college’s namesake, Joseph C. Hartshorn, donated the school […]

Edward B. Henderson, Administrator born

*Edwin Henderson was born on this date in 1883.  He was a Black educator, coach, and pioneer of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).   Edwin Bancroft Henderson was born in southwest Washington, D.C. His father, William Henderson, was a day laborer, and his mother, Louisa, taught him to read at an early age. He […]

Arthur W. Mitchell, Politician born

On this date, Arthur Wergs Mitchell was born in 1883. He was an African American teacher, administrator, and politician. He was the first Black representative elected as a Democrat in the United States.

Elder W. Diggs, Educator, and Officer born

*Elder Diggs was born on this date in 1883. He was a Black writer, soldier, and scholar. Elder Watson Diggs was born in Hopkinsville, Christian County, Kentucky, and is the eldest son of three children. His mother, Cornelia, raised Diggs and his brother (William Ellis) and sister (Effie). He received a one-room school education in […]

Cecelia Cabaniss-Saunders, Administrator born

*This date in 1883 is celebrated as the birth date of Cecelia Cabaniss-Saunders, a Black educator and administrator. From Charleston, South Carolina, Cecelia Hayne Holloway’s father, James H. Holloway, was a school principal during American Reconstruction. Cecelia Holloway graduated from Fisk University in 1909. She then attended Tuskegee Institute, receiving her Master of Social Science. Cecelia continued her studies […]

Nathan A. Murray, Biology Teacher and Librarian born

*Nathanial Allison Murray was born on this date in 1884. He was a Black teacher and librarian. From Washington, D.C., his parents were educators Daniel Alexander Payne Murray and Anna Jane Evans Murray. His father, Daniel, was one of the first African American librarians for the Library of Congress and was considered a leading authority on the […]

Arkansas Baptist College is Founded

*The founding of Arkansas Baptist College (ABC) is celebrated on this date in 1884.  Arkansas Baptist College is a private, historically Black liberal arts college  (HBCU) in Little Rock, Arkansas. Founded as the Minister’s Institute, ABC was initially funded by the Colored Baptists of the State of Arkansas. It is the only historically Black Baptist […]

Mary Edwards Hunter, Community Educator born

*Mary Edwards Hunter was born on this date in 1885. She was a Black teacher, extension agent, and advocate for women and children. Mary Evelyn Virginia Edwards was born in Fitchburg, Alabama, the fifteenth of seventeen children of Elijah E. and Frances (Moore) Edwards. While still a girl, she became the bookkeeper for her father’s […]

Jean Hamilton Walls, Physicist born

*The birth of Jean Hamilton Walls in 1885 is celebrated on this date. She was an African American physicist and educator.

From Pittsburgh she was the daughter of. Walls graduated from Allegheny High School in 1904 and majored in mathematics and physics at Pitt. She received a master’s degree at Howard University in 1912 and taught at the Frederick Douglass High School in Baltimore; the Agricultural and Technical College in Greensboro, North Carolina; and the Fort Valley School in Georgia.