People, Locations, Episodes

Julius W. Waring, Judge born

*Julius Waring was born on this date in 1880.  He was a white-American lawyer and judge who played an important role in the early legal battles of the American Civil Rights Movement.    Julius Waties Waring was born to Edward Perry Waring and Anna Thomasine Waties in Charleston, South Carolina. He graduated second in class […]

Gertrude Rush, Iowa Lawyer born

The birth of Gertrude E. Rush, an African American attorney and activist, in 1880 is celebrated on this date.

She was born in Texas, the daughter of a Baptist minister. Her family also lived in Kansas before landing in Oskaloosa, Iowa. Gertrude attended Des Moines University and studied the law under her attorney-husband James B. Rush. She further studied at Drake and LaSalle universities. Rush was admitted to the Iowa Bar in 1918 as the state’s first Black female lawyer.

Bonifacio Pinedo, Bolivian Royal born

*Bonifacio Pinedo’s birth is celebrated on this date in 1880. He was an Afro Bolivian king. This monarchy was one of the few traditional African kingdoms that survived the changes of the Middle Ages and slavery. Born in the tropical regions of Yungas in Bolivia, he succeeded Uchicho, of Congo and Senegalese origin. He was brought as a slave to […]

The Minnesota Women’s Sufferage Association is Founded

*The Minnesota Woman Suffrage Association (MWSA) was founded on this date in 1881. MWSA was an organization devoted to women’s suffrage in Minnesota. After the American Civil War and the fall of Reconstruction, activism from Blacks and women found common ground against voter suppression. Created at the Presbyterian Church in Hastings, Minnesota, the MWSA members organized marches, wrote petitions […]

John Wesley Dobbs, Atlanta Civic Leader born

The birth of John Wesley Dobbs in 1882 is celebrated on this date. He was an African American postal clerk, civic leader, and activist.

Often called the Unofficial “Mayor” of Auburn Avenue,
Dobbs was born in Marietta, Georgia. In 1897, he went to Atlanta, worked at a drugstore, and attended Atlanta Baptist College (Morehouse College). In 1903, Dobbs passed the U.S. postal exam to become a postal clerk and assumed a highly respected position for a Black man at the turn of the century. Three years later he married Irene Ophelia Thompson, and together they would have six daughters.

Violette Neatley Anderson, Lawyer and Judge born

On this date, Violette Anderson was born in 1882. She was an African American attorney and judge/magistrate.

She was born in London, England, the daughter of Richard E. and Marie (Jordi) Neatley. When Anderson was young, the family moved to the United States, where she attended North Division High School in Chicago, graduating in 1899. She then attended Chicago Athenaeum in 1903, and soon after, she married Albert E. Johnson. Anderson was a Republican and an active Episcopalian. She worked as a court reporter from 1905 to 1920, which sparked her interest in law.

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.

Lena O. Smith, Minnesota Lawyer born

*This date marks the birth of Lena O. Smith in 1885. She was an African American attorney and civil rights advocate.

Robert Ogle, Policy Administrator born.

*Robert Ogle was born on this date in 1886. He was a Black public policy administrator. Born to Jeremiah and Mary Ellen Ogle in Washington, D.C., Robert Harold Ogle attended M Street School, one of the top preparatory schools for African Americans. Ogle secured one of the spots available, and upon completion in 1905, he […]

William L. Dawson, Politician born

*William Levi Dawson was born on this date in 1886 in Albany, Georgia. He was the first African American to chair a regular House of Representatives committee.

Norma Boyd, Teacher, and Administrator born

*Norma Boyd was born on this date in 1888. She was a Black teacher, public policy activist, and administrator. Norma Elizabeth Boyd was born and educated in public schools in Washington, D.C. In September 1906, Boyd attended Howard University’s College of Arts and Sciences, majoring in math. It was when only 1/3 of 1% of […]

Hazel M. Walker, Ohio Educator, and Lawyer born

*Hazel Mountain Walker was born on this date in 1889. She was an African American lawyer and educator.

From Warren, Ohio, she was the daughter of Charles and Alice (Bronson) Mountain. Walker attended Cleveland Normal Training School and in 1909 earned a Bachelor’s and Master’s in Education from Western Reserve University. During the summers, when she was not teaching, Walker worked towards a Law Degree at Baldwin-Wallace College.

John Morton-Finney, Lawyer, and Educator born

*John Morton-Finney was born on this date in 1889. He was a Black civil rights activist, lawyer, and educator. Morton Finney was born in Uniontown, Kentucky, to George and Maryatta “Mattie” (Gordon) Finney, a former slave father and a free mother. He was one of the family’s seven children. When his mother died in 1903, […]

Wysinger v. Crookshank is Filed

*On this date, in 1889, Wysinger v. Crookshank was filed.  This was the first case that rendered school segregation of blacks in California contrary to the law. On October 1, 1888, 58-year-old Edmond Wysinger, a former black slave who bought his freedom working in the California mines, moved to Visalia, California. When he attempted to […]

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, […]