People, Locations, Episodes

Mordecai Johnson, Educator born

On this date in 1890, Mordecai Johnson was born. He was an African American educator, clergyman, administrator, and public speaker.

Wyatt Mordecai Johnson was born in Paris, TN, the son of a former slave. Johnson learned through his parent’s example the muscle of self-determination, discipline, scholarship, and integrity. His father, a minister and laborer, was a stern man who worked at a mill six days a week, twelve hours a day, for forty years. His mother, Carolyn, offset his father’s firmness with patience and nurturing for her only child.

Mabel Staupers, Activist, and Nurse born

*This date in 1890 marks the birthday of Mabel Keaton Staupers. She was an African American leader in breaking down racial barriers in American nursing.

Mabel Staupers was born in Barbados, West Indies. At 13 she immigrated with her parents to Washington D.C. In 1917 she graduated from Freedmen’s Hospital School of Nursing and was employed at the Harlem Tuberculosis Committee.

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, […]

Irene West, Educator, and Activist born

*Irene West was born on this date in 1890. She was a Black educator and Activist. She was born and raised in Perry County, Alabama. West was born and raised in Perry County, Alabama. She graduated from Alabama State College, now called Alabama State University, and attended Tuskegee and Hampton Institutes. West was a member of numerous civic organizations, including […]

The Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament is Formed

*On this date in 1891, the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, a Roman Catholic order of nuns, was founded.  It is a Catholic charitable institute founded by Saint Katharine Drexel as Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament for Indians and Colored People.   During her life, Saint Katharine Drexel used approximately 20 million dollars of her fortune to fund schools for […]

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 […]

Annie Elizabeth Delany, Dentist born

*Annie Elizabeth Delany was born on this date in 1891.  She was a Black dentist and activist.  Annie Elizabeth “Bessie” Delany was the third of ten children born to the Rev. Henry Beard Delany and Nanny Logan Delany, an educator. H.B. Delany was born into slavery in St. Mary’s, Georgia. Nanny Logan Delany was born […]

The Comité des Citoyens is Formed

*The Comité des Citoyens is celebrated on this date in 1891. This committee was an equal rights organization comprised of Blacks, whites, and Creoles. In 1890, the State of Louisiana passed the Separate Car Act, which required separate accommodations for Black and white people on railroads, including separate railroad cars. At the suggestion of Aristide Mary, […]

Agnes Smedley, Activist, and Social Radical born

*Agnes Smedley was born on this date in 1892. She was a White American activist. The daughter of a laborer, she was born in Osgood, Missouri.

Carter Westley, Lawyer, Activist, and News Journalist born

*Carter Wesley was born on this date in 1892. He was a Black lawyer, newspaperman, and political activist. Carter Walker Wesley was born in Houston, Texas. He grew up in the city’s first and most successful Black neighborhood, Freedmen’s Town. Shortly after completing high school, Westley moved to Nashville, Tennessee, and graduated magna cum laude in […]

Robert Lee Hill, Farmer, and Union Activist born

*Robert Lee Hill was born on this date in 1892. He was an African American sharecropper, and activist and founder of the Progressive Farmers and Household Union of America.

Joseph Ritter, Prelate and Activist born

*Joseph Ritter was born on this date in 1892. He was a white-American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church and a racial justice activist. Born in New Albany, Indiana, Elmer Joseph Ritter was the fourth of Nicholas and Bertha (née Luette) Ritter’s six children. His father owned and operated the Ritter Bakery (where the family […]

The Women’s Loyal Union (NYC) is formed

*The Women’s Loyal Union, or WLU, was formed on this date in 1892 in New York. It started to advocate for women’s rights and, most importantly, the racial injustices that came with being a Black Woman during Reconstruction. WLU began with Maritcha Remond Lyons partnering with educator and activist Victoria Earle Matthews to host and […]

Irene M. Gaines, Children and Women’s Activist born

On this date in 1892, Irene M. Gaines was born. She was an African American civil rights reformer devoted to her race, especially Black women and young people.

The New Orleans General Strike Occurs

*On this date in 1892, the New Orleans general strike occurred. This was a general strike that began despite appeals to racial hatred and Black and White workers remained united. The general strike ended on November 12, with unions gaining most of their original demands. Early that year, streetcar conductors in New Orleans won a shorter workday and the preferential closed shop. This victory drove many New Orleans workers to seek assistance from the American Federation of Labor (AFL).