People, Locations, Episodes

Korematsu v. The United States is Decided

*On this date in 1944, Korematsu v. the United States, 323 U.S. 214 (1944), was decided. This was a landmark United States Supreme Court case upholding the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. The case exemplifies the racial intersectionality between Asian Americans and African Americans in the United States. The decision has widely been criticized, with some scholars describing it as “an […]

Brown v. Baskin is Ruled

*On this date in 1948, Brown v. Baskin was ruled.  This was one of the legal building blocks against voter suppression against Black citizens in the United States.  One month after the South Carolina General Assembly repealed all statutes related to party primaries in the state to maintain its white primary, Black leaders formed the […]

Mike Espy, Lawyer, and Administrator born

*Michael Espy was born on this date in 1953.  He is a Black lawyer and politician.    Alphonso Michael Espy was born in Yazoo City, Mississippi.  He is the grandson of Thomas J. Huddleston Sr., founder of the Afro-American Sons and Daughters. This fraternal society operated the Afro-American Hospital, a leading healthcare provider for Blacks […]

Theodore Shaw, Lawyer, and Educator born

*Theodore Shaw was born on this date in 1954.  He is a Black lawyer, activist, and educator.  Theodore Michael Shaw is the son of Theodore and Jean Audrey Churchill Shaw. He was born on Governors Island and raised in Harlem and the Bronx, NY. He received his B.A. from Wesleyan University in 1976 and his […]

Lezli Baskerville, Lawyer, and Education Advocate born.

*Lezli Baskerville was born on this date in 1956. She is a Black lawyer, judge, and education advocate. Baskerville was born in Montclair, New Jersey, to Marjorie Baskerville and Charles W. Baskerville. Her mother was a teacher and social worker, and her father was a marketing executive. She has an identical twin, Dr. Renee E. […]

The South Africa Treason Trial Begins

*On this date in 1956, the South Africa Treason trial began. This Treason Trial was a prosecution in Johannesburg in which 156 primarily Black citizens were arrested in a raid and accused of treason in South Africa. On December 5 of that year, the South African Police’s Security Branch raided and arrested 140 people from […]

Dorsey v. State Athletic Commission is Decided

*On this date in 1958, Dorsey v. State Athletic Commission was decided. The Louisiana decision stated that Joseph Dorsey, Jr., is a Negro prizefighter. He brings this suit on his behalf and behalf of all other Negro professional prizefighters similarly situated. He asks for a declaratory judgment and an injunction to restrain the Louisiana State […]

Boynton v. Virginia is Ruled

*On this date, 1960, the United States Supreme Court decided Boynton v. Virginia. The case overturned a judgment convicting Bruce Boynton, a Black law student, of trespassing by being in a restaurant in a bus terminal that was “whites only.” It held that racial segregation in public transportation was illegal because such segregation violated the Interstate Commerce Act, which broadly forbade discrimination in interstate […]

Sherrilyn Ifill, Attorney born

*Sherrilyn Ifill, born on this date in 1962, is a Black lawyer, author, and non-profit administrator.    From New York City, her family immigrated to the U.S. from Barbados; she is the cousin to former PBS journalist Gwen Ifill, with fathers who were brothers, both becoming African Methodist Episcopal ministers. Ifill received her B.A. degree from Vassar College and her J.D. degree from New York […]

Simkins v. Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital is Decided

*On this date in 1963, Simkins v. Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital was decided.  This federal case reached the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, which held that “separate but equal” racial segregation in publicly funded hospitals violated equal protection under the United States Constitution.  George Simkins, Jr. was a dentist and NAACP leader in Greensboro, North Carolina. One of his African American patients developed an abscessed tooth, and […]

Heart of Atlanta Motel Inc. v. the United States is Decided

*On this date in 1964, Heart of Atlanta Motel, Inc. v. the United States was decided. This court case was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court. It held that the Commerce Clause gave the U.S. Congress power to force private businesses to abide by Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits […]

Swain v. Alabama is decided

*On this date in 1965, Swain v. Alabama was decided. This case was heard before the United States Supreme Court regarding the legality of a struck jury. Robert Swain, a Black man, was indicted and convicted of rape in the Circuit Court of Talladega County, Alabama, and sentenced to death by an all-white jury. The […]

The Race Relations Act is passed

*On this date in 1965, the Race Relations Act was enacted. This was the first legislation in the United Kingdom to address racial discrimination. The Act outlawed discrimination on the “grounds of color, race, or ethnic or national origins” in public places in Great Britain. It also prompted the creation of the Race Relations Board […]

The Police murder two Black Panthers Members

On this date in 1969, Fred Hampton, chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party, and Mark Clark, a fellow member were killed while sleeping by Chicago police.

The attack, aided by the help of an infiltrator, was masterminded by the city police force and the FBI’s powerful counter-intelligence program (COINTEL-PRO).

Adrian Fenty, Politician and Lawyer born.

*Adrian Fenty was born on this date in 1970. He is a Black politician and lawyer. Adrian Malik Fenty was born in Washington, D.C., the second of the three children of Jeanette Bianchi Perno Fenty and Phil Fenty. He is the middle child of three boys: Shawn, himself, and Jesse. Fenty’s mother is Italian-American. His […]