People, Locations, Episodes

The Port Royal Experiment Begins

*The Port Royal Experiment began on this date in 1861. This educational program involved former slaves successfully working on the land abandoned by white-American planters.    It started during the American Civil War after the Union captured the Sea Islands off the coast of South Carolina and their main harbor, Port Royal. The whites fled, leaving behind 10,000 Black slaves. Several private Northern charity organizations stepped in to help […]

Lydia Flood Jackson, Businesswoman born

*Lydia Flood Jackson was born on this date in 1862.  She was a Black businesswoman, suffragist, and club woman.   Lydia Flood was born in Brooklyn, California, now annexed to Oakland, California.  Her mother was Elizabeth Thorn Scott, and her father was Isaac Flood. Her mother was educated in New Bedford, Massachusetts. She moved to […]

Ida B. Wells, Journalist, and Anti-Lynching Advocate born

On this date in 1862, Ida Bell Wells-Barnett was born. She was an African American journalist, advocate of civil rights, women’s rights, economic rights, and an anti-lynching crusader.

Ida Gibbs Hunt, Global Racial and Gender Activist born

*Ida Gibbs Hunt was born on this date in 1862.  She was a Black administrator and international racial and gender equality activist. Ida Alexander Gibbs was born in Victoria, British Columbia. Ida’s father, Judge Mifflin Wistar Gibbs, was one of the wealthiest African Americans in the United States in the late nineteenth century. Before he acquired […]

William H. Baldwin Jr. Philanthropist born

William Henry Baldwin Jr. was born on this date in 1863. He was a white-American corporate executive and philanthropist    He was the son of William Henry Baldwin, a dry goods merchant, and Mary Chaffee. A descendant of an English settler who had arrived in Massachusetts before 1640, Baldwin grew up in a family noted for its […]

Homer Plessy, Activist born

*Homer Plessy, an African American businessman and civil rights activist, was born on this date in 1863.

Jesse Moorland, Minister, and Civic Leader born

On this date in 1863, Jesse Moorland was born. He was a Black minister, community executive, and civic leader.

Jesse Edward Moorland came from Coldwater, Ohio, the only child of a farming family. When he was an infant, his mother died and his father left him to be raised by his maternal grandparents.

Mary Church Terrell, Activist born

This date marks the birth of Mary “Mollie” Church Terrell in 1863. She was an African American social activist who was co-founder and first president of the National Association of Colored Women.

Emma Ransom, Civic Leader born

*Emma Ransom was born on this date in 1864. She was a Black clubwoman and civic leader. Emma Sarah Connor was born to Jackson and Beattie Connor, former slaves. The Connors moved their ten children to Selma, Ohio, where Emma attended school. As a young woman, she trained as a teacher at Wilberforce University. She taught […]

The National Equal Rights League is Founded

*The National Equal Rights League (NERL) was founded on this date in 1864.  NERL is the oldest national human rights organization in the United States. It was founded at the National Conference of Colored Men in Syracuse, New York, and was dedicated to liberating black people in America. Its origins began with the emancipation of slaves […]

Verina M. Jones, Physician, and Public Servant born

*Verina Morton Jones was born on this date in 1865.  She was a Black physician, suffragist, and club woman. Verina Harris Morton Jones was born in Cleveland, Ohio, to William D. and Kittie Stanley. From 1884 she attended the Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. She graduated and earned her M.D. in 1888. Following […]

The Freedmen’s Bureau Is Formed

*This date celebrates the Freedmen’s Bureau. During the Reconstruction period, after the American Civil War (1865-72), the U.S. Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands was established by Congress to provide practical aid to 4,000,000 newly freed Black Americans in their transition from slavery to freedom.

Mary Ovington, Journalist, and Activist born

Mary White Ovington was born on this date in 1865. She was a White American suffragette, socialist, Unitarian, journalist, and co-founder of the NAACP.

Sadie Chandler Cole, Singer, Music Educator, and Activist, born.

*Sadie Chandler Cole’s birth is celebrated on this date in 1865. She was a Black singer, music educator, and activist. Sadie Chandler was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, and was the daughter of Abraham Washington Chandler and Sarah Hatfield Chandler. Her parents were involved in the Underground Railroad movement and helped found a Baptist church in […]

William A. Hunton Sr., Activist, Minister, and Teacher born

*William A. Hunton was born on this date in 1865. He was a Black activist, teacher, and administrator. Hunton was born in Chatham, Ontario, Canada, and was the son of Stanton and Mary A. Johnson Hunton. The Hunton home was an “underground railway station” where John Brown occasionally held conferences on abolitionism. He received his A.M. degree from […]