People, Locations, Episodes

Nancy Leftenant, Nurse and Officer born

*Nancy Leftenant was born on this date in 1920. She was a Black nurse and military officer. Also known as “Lefty,” she was born in Goose Creek, South Carolina, to James and Eunice Leftenant. She graduated from Amityville High School, Amityville, New York, in 1939 and New York’s Lincoln School of Nursing in 1941. She […]

Byron De La Beckwith, Klansman born

*On this date in 1920, Byron De La Beckwith Jr. was born. He was a white-American white supremacist and a member of the Ku Klux Klan.  De La Beckwith was born in Colusa, California, the son of Susan Southworth Yerger and Byron De La Beckwith Sr., the town’s postmaster.   His father died of pneumonia when he was 5.  One year later, he […]

Charles Bussey, Military Officer born

*Charles Bussey was born on this date in 1921. He was a Black officer and a Korean War hero.    Charles Bussey was born in Kern, CA., and grew up in Bakersfield, California. After graduating from high school, Bussey attended Los Angeles City College for two years before enlisting in the US military.  Bussey was assigned […]

Matthew J. Perry, Lawyer born

*Matthew J. Perry Jr. was born on this date in 1921. He was a Black attorney and judge. Born in Columbia, South Carolina, Matthew James Perry Jr. attended local segregated schools and started studying business. During World War II in the United States Army, he served from 1943 to 1946. He finished college after the […]

Lockard v. Evans Filed in Tulsa, Oklahoma

*On this date in 1921, Lockard v. Evans, et al., was filed in Tulsa County District Court, Oklahoma. This was legal action from a group of African American’s against the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma to rebuild their neighborhoods destroyed by the Tulsa Race Riots earlier that summer.

Constance Baker Motley, Lawyer, Judge, and Activist born

*On this date in 1921, Constance Baker Motley was born. She was an African American lawyer, judge, and politician.

From New haven, Connecticut she is one of nine children to a family who had migrated to America from the Caribbean island of Nevis. While attending school, she was active in the New Haven Youth Council, and the New Haven Adult Community council. Motley attended Fisk University, transferring to New York University-graduating in 1943 with a degree in economics. She attained her law degree from Columbia University in 1946.

John Patterson, Southern Politician born

*John Patterson was born on this date in 1921.  He was a white-American politician and lawyer.   John Malcolm Patterson was born in Goldville in Tallapoosa County in east-central Alabama. His father was attorney Albert Patterson. He joined the United States Army in 1939 and served in the North African, Sicilian, Italian, Southern France, and German campaigns of World War II. In 1945, he left the Army as a […]

Lincoln Alexander, Canadian Politician born

*Lincoln M. Alexander, a Black Canadian lawyer and politician, was born on this date in 1922.  Lincoln MacCauley Alexander was born in a row house on Draper Street near Front Street and Spadina Avenue in Toronto, Ontario. He was the eldest son of Mae Rose (née Royale), who emigrated from Jamaica, and Lincoln MacCauley Alexander, Sr., […]

Herman Holloway Sr., Delaware Politician born

*On this date in 1922, Herman M. Holloway, Sr. was born. He was an African American politician and community activist.

The son of William and Hennie Holloway, young Holloway grew up in Wilmington attending parochial and public schools. As an athlete, he excelled in basketball and football at the all Black Howard High School, the only Black secondary school in Delaware at the time. Following graduation from high school, he attended Hampton Institute for one year.

Julius Nyerere, Politician born

On this date, we observe the birth of Julius Kambarage Nyerere in 1922. He was the first president of Tanzania in 1964.

Harold Washington, Politician born

This date marks the birth of Harold Washington in 1922. He was an African American politician, the first Black mayor of Chicago.

Parren Mitchell, Baltimore Politician born

*Parren Mitchell was born on this date in 1922. He was a Black politician and activist. Parren James Mitchell was born in Baltimore, Maryland. His father, Clarence M. Mitchell, Sr., was a waiter, and his mother, Elsie Davis Mitchell, was a homemaker. Mitchell graduated from Frederick Douglass Senior High School in Baltimore in 1940. Mitchell served as an officer in […]

Aaron Henry, NAACP Activist born

Aaron Henry was born on this date in 1922. He was an African American civil rights leader, politician, and head of the NAACP.

Nathaniel Stewart Sr., Soldier and Activist born

*Nathaniel Stewart was born on this date in 1922. He was a Black soldier and activist. Stewart was from Ft. Motte, S.C., the son of Willie and Emily Stewart. As a young man, he served his country in World War II as a Tuskegee Airman, ranked Second Lieutenant in the 99th Pursuit Squadron. He served as […]

Samuel Pierce Jr., Politician born

Samuel Pierce, Jr., was born on this date in 1922. He was an African American lawyer and politician, and the first Black to serve in Ronald Reagan’s cabinet.

Samuel Riley Pierce was born in Glen Cove, New York. He graduated from Cornell University in 1947 and received a law degree from Cornell Law School in 1949. He earned a Master of Laws degree from New York University School of Law in 1952.