People, Locations, Episodes

Takao Ozawa v. the United States Supreme Court is Ruled

*On this date in 1922, the United States Supreme Court ruled on Takao Ozawa v. United States that Asian Americans are not white.

Charles Diggs Jr., Politician born

*On this date in 1922, Charles Diggs Jr. was born. He was an African American politician.

From Detroit, Michigan, he was the son of an undertaker and respected father in the Motor City area. Young Diggs attended Miller High School, the University of Michigan, Fisk University, and Wayne State University; earning a degree in Mortuary Services in 1946. He joined his father in the family mortuary business, and then won his father’s seat in the Michigan senate in 1951. Early on, Diggs was a strong voice for civil rights.

Forbes Burnham, Politician born

*Forbes Burnham was born on this date in 1923. He was an Afro Guyanese politician and leader. Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham was born in Kitty, a suburb of Georgetown, Demerara County, British Guiana, as one of four (Olga, Freddie, Jessica, and Flora)[3] children. His parents were James Ethelbert Burnham, a schoolmaster,[2] and Rachel Abigail Sampson, and he grew up in […]

Celes King III, Pilot born

*Celes King III was born on this date in 1923.  He was a Black administrator, pilot, and activist.  As a child in Chicago, Illinois, he developed a love of flying while playing with wooden airplanes. He would ride his bike to the runway of the Chicago Municipal Airport to watch the planes take off and […]

Georgia Powers, Kentucky Senator born

Georgia Davis Powers, an African American politician and lawyer, was born on this date in 1923.

She was born in Springfield, KY, the only girl in a family with nine siblings. Powers once worked as a riveter on airplane fuselages in Buffalo, NY. She moved to Louisville, KY, and got involved in politics through her church. From 1962 to 1967, Powers was campaign chair for a number of candidates. Even before she began her career as a senator, Georgia Powers was a civil rights movement leader in Kentucky.

Robert Mugabe, Politician born

On this date in 1924, Robert Mugabe was born. He is an African politician and revolutionary leader and president of Zimbabwe. An educator by trade and a politician by practice, Mugabe has been the preeminent political leader in Zimbabwe for nearly two decades.

Nadine P. Winter, Activist and Politician born.

*Nadine Winter was born on this date in 1924. She was a Black community activist and politician. Nadine P. Winter was born Nadine Kinnion Poole in New Bern, North Carolina. She was one of five children of a brick mason and a high-school dietician. At an early age, she was a community activist and helped […]

Kenneth Kaunda, Politician and Teacher born

*Kenneth Kaunda was born on this date in 1924. He was a Zambian educator and politician. Kenneth David Kaunda was born at Lubwa Mission, then part of Northern Rhodesia, now Zambia, and was the youngest of eight children. His father, the Reverend David Kaunda, was an ordained missionary and teacher. His mother was also a […]

Patricia Roberts Harris, Lawyer, and Diplomat born

*Patricia Roberts Harris was born on this date in 1924. She was an African American lawyer, ambassador, political activist, and educator.

Born in Mattoon, Illinois, Patricia Roberts was the daughter of Bert Fitzgerald Roberts, a Pullman car waiter, and Hildren Brodie Johnson, a schoolteacher. She attended schools in Chicago and graduated summa cum laude from Howard University in 1945. She did postgraduate work at the University of Chicago and at American University in 1949. Until 1953, she worked as Assistant Director of the American Council on Human Rights.

The United States of Africa, a story

*On this date in 1924, we celebrate the United States of Africa.  This is a proposed Pan-African-based concept of a federation of some or all of the 54 sovereign states, and two disputed states on the continent of Africa. The idea of a multinational unifying African state has been compared to various medieval African empires, […]

Barbara Preiskel, Lawyer, and Activist born

*Barbara Scott Preiskel was born on this date in 1924. She was an African American attorney, activist, and administrator.

Harold Brown, Military Officer, and Educator born

*Harold H. Brown was born on this date in 1924. He was a retired U.S. Army Air Force officer, World War II prisoner of war (POW), and former combat fighter pilot in Korea. Harold Brown was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. His parents were originally from Talladega, Alabama, but moved to Minnesota to escape Jim Crow segregation. He […]

Black History and Restrictive Housing Covenants in America, a story

*On this date in 1924, Black History and restrictive housing covenants in America are affirmed. Historically, restrictive covenants were used in real estate transactions to influence the demographics of communities in the U.S. The restrictions kept certain populations out of specific neighborhoods, encouraging racial, ethnic, and cultural segregation.   It wasn’t uncommon for real estate contracts to […]

Jimmy Carter, Politican and Humanitarian born.

*Jimmy Carter was born on this date in 1924. He was a white-American politician and humanitarian. James Earl Carter Jr. was born and raised in Plains, Georgia. As a child, Carter’s family moved several times, settling on a dirt road near Archery, GA. This community was made up of underprivileged Black families. He had three […]

Israel Augustine Jr., Louisiana Judge born

*Israel Meyer Augustine, Jr. was born on this date in 1924. He was an African American lawyer, activist and judge. From New Orleans, he was a graduate of McDonough 35 High School; he also received a B. A. from Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He obtained his law degree from Lincoln University in St. Louis, Missouri. In 1951, he was admitted to the Louisiana Bar and in 1962, he was allowed to practice before the Supreme Court.