People, Locations, Episodes

Wilton Gregory, Bishop born

Reverend Wilton D. Gregory was born in Chicago on this date in 1947. He is an African American Roman Catholic bishop and the seventh bishop of Belleville, Illinois.

Calvin O Butts, Minister, and Educator born

*Calvin O. Butts, was born on this date in1949.  He is an African American pastor, educator, and administrator.

Gayle Elizabeth Harris, Priest born

*Gayle Elizabeth Harris was born on this date in 1951. She is a Black priest and bishop. Harris was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and studied at the Lewis & Clark College and the Church Divinity School of the Pacific. Harris became a deacon in February 1981 and a priest in June 1982. She was assistant […]

Capers Funnye, Rabbi born

*Capers Funnye was born on this date in 1952.  He is a Black Jewish Rabbi and activist. From Georgetown, SC, the Low Country, Capers C. Funnye Jr.’s paternal ancestry among the Geechee, Gullah people of the Sea Islands.  His family moved to Chicago as part of the Great Migration of Blacks to industrial cities out […]

James Perkins Jr., Politician born

*James Perkins Jr. is celebrated on this date in 1952.  He is a Black businessman, teacher, and politician.  James Perkins Jr. grew up in Selma, where his parents were elementary school principals and nurses.  He graduated in 1971 in the first racially integrated class at Selma High School; he organized an unsuccessful effort to use […]

The Caravans (Gospel Vocal Group) is Formed

The 1952 founding of The Caravans Black Gospel singing group is celebrated on this date.

Jean-Bertrand Aristide, Politician born

*Jean-Bertrand Aristide was born on this date in 1953.  He is a former Black priest and politician.  Jean-Bertrand Aristide was born into poverty in Port-Salut, Sud, Haiti.  His father died three months after he was born, and he later moved to Port-au-Prince with his mother. At age five, Aristide started school with priests of the Salesian […]

Al Sharpton, Minister and Activist born

*Al Sharpton was born on this date in 1954. He is a Black minister, talk show host, activist, and politician. Alfred Charles Sharpton Jr. was born in New York City to Ada and Alfred Charles Sharpton Sr. The family has some Cherokee roots. He preached his first sermon at four and toured with gospel singer […]

The ‘Manifesto on Racial Beliefs’ is Published

On this date in 1957, a “Manifesto on Racial Beliefs” was published by The Atlanta Constitution.

Dr. Allison Williams, Senior Pastor of Trinity Presbyterian Church, and 79 other white Atlanta pastors, signed the Manifesto, which was also published in The Atlanta Journal. This document clearly stated their opposition to the “hatred, defiance, and violence” which followed the Supreme Court’s granting of “full privileges of first-class citizenship” to Black Americans through the 1954 Brown vs. Board of Education decision.

Dennis Oglesby, Minister and Activist born

*Dennis Oglesby was born on January 21, 1960.  He was a Black minister and community activist.  Born in Chicago to insurance executive Dennis Michael Oglesby Sr. and community organizer Sylvia Oglesby, Dennis Jr. grew up in California with his father after his parents divorced. In 1983, he graduated from Rust College, an HBCU in Holly […]

The Hebrew Israelites Of Jerusalem, a story

On this date we celebrate the return of African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem to Israel in 1969.

Elijah Muhammad Dies

*On this date in 1975, Elijah Muhammad died. He was an African American Black Muslim, who was leader of the Nation of Islam from 1934 until his death.

The Mormon Church Allows Blacks Into Priesthood

On this date in 1978, the Mormon Church announced that Blacks would be allowed to hold the priesthood.

Shais Rishon, Rabbi and Activist born.

*Shais Rishon was born on this date in 1982. He is a Black Orthodox rabbi, activist, and writer. Shais Rishon, known by the pen name MaNishtana, was born in Brooklyn, New York, to an Ashkenazi Jewish family linked with the Chabad-Lubavitch movement. He says his mother’s ancestors have practiced Judaism since the 1780s. His father, Asher Rishon, […]

Rev. Henry Lyons Pleads Guilty to Grand Theft

*On this date in 1999, Rev. Henry Lyons pled guilty to tax evasion, embezzlement and grand theft.

These charges were committed while he served as president of the National Baptist Convention, USA Inc., the largest Black denomination in America. Rev. Henry Lyons was a fraud and a thief.

The sordid tale began in 1997 when Lyons’ wife, Deborah, set fire to a home she discovered her husband had purchased with Bernice Edwards, a companion whom Lyon said was his mistress. Rev. Lyons was released from prison in December, 2003.