People, Locations, Episodes

Benjamin T. Johnson, Businessman and Administrator born

*Benjamin Tanner Johnson was born on this date in 1896. He was a Black businessman, community activist, and administrator. He was born in Princeton, New Jersey, to John Quincy and Halle Johnson. He graduated from Howard University cum laude in 1919 and received his MBA from Harvard Business School (HBS) in 1921. He was the third African […]

The Northeastern Federation of Colored Women’s Clubs Begins

*On this date in 1896, the Northeastern Federation of Colored Women’s Clubs (NFCWC) was founded. This umbrella organization represented black women’s clubs in the northeastern United States. The organization was affiliated with the National Association of Colored Women’s Clubs (NACWC). It was one of the first umbrella organizations for Black women’s clubs in the United States, predating […]

The National Association of Colored Women’s Clubs is Formed

On this date in 1896, the National Association of Colored Women’s Clubs, (NACWC) was organized. The merger of National Federation of Afro-American Women, the Women’s Era Club of Boston, and Colored Women’s League of Washington, DC formed it.

The objectives of the NACWC are as follows:
1. To promote the education of women and children
2. To raise the standards of the home
3. To improve conditions for family living
4. To work for the moral, economic, social, and religious welfare of women and children
5. To protect the rights of women and children

George P. Marshall, Businessman, and Segregationist born

*George P. Marshall was born on this date in 1896. He was a white-American businessman and segregationist. George Preston Marshall was born in Grafton, West Virginia, where his parents, Thomas Hildebrand Marshall and Blanche Preston Marshall, owned the local newspaper. When he was a teenager, his family moved to Washington, D.C., after his father bought […]

Majorie S. Joyner, Humanitarian, and Inventor born

On this date, Marjorie Stewart Joyner was born in 1896. She was an African American businesswoman and humanitarian.

Joseph Glaser, Entertainer Manager born

*Joseph Glaser was born on this date in 1896. He was a white Jewish American artist manager. Joseph G. Glaser was the son of a Chicago family of Russian Jewish origins. After a series of odd jobs (fight promoter, club manager), with the help of his mob connections, he started managing Louis Armstrong and Billie Holiday in […]

The Ice Cream Mold is Patented by a Black Man

*On this date in 1897, the Ice Cream Scoop was patented. Alfred L. Cralle, an African American inventor, was its creator.

The ice cream scoop’s patent number is 576,395.

The Oakland Sunshine News is Published

*The Oakland Sunshine, a weekly Black newspaper in northern California, was celebrated on this date in 1897. It was founded and edited by John A. Wilds, the first Black civil servant in Oakland, the city hall’s custodian and night watchman. Wilds was the editor until 1908. He sold the paper to J. M. Bridges sometime before 1913; Bridges […]

A Black Man Patents a Sprinkler

On this date in 1897, African American inventor Joseph H. Smith patented the sprinkler.

This African American inventors Patent No. is #581.785.

Violet Lewis, Businesswoman born

*Violet Lewis was born on this date in 1897. She was a Black businesswoman and educator.  Born Violet Harrison in Lima, Ohio, she was the daughter of William David Harrison and Eva Brown Harrison, the second child of six. In 1915, Harrison graduated from Lima High School and enrolled in the secretarial program at Wilberforce […]

Junius Wilson, Deaf Laborer born.

*Junius Wilson was born on this date in 1897. He was a Black Deaf laborer. He was born in New Hanover County, NC. His home was in Castle Hayne in the northern part of the county near the Pender County line. Wilson was the son of Sidney Wilson and Mary Foy. he had a brother, […]

Norris Herndon, Insurance Businessman born

*Norris Herndon was born on this date in 1897. He was a Black businessman and philanthropist. Born in Atlanta, Norris Bumstead Herndon was the only child of millionaire businessman Alonzo F. Herndon and Adrienne McNeil Herndon. Herndon and his family, light-complexioned African Americans, could each “pass” for white, easily blending into Atlanta’s white community. When Herndon was 13, […]

Stephanie Saint-Clair, Businesswoman born

*Stephanie Saint-Clair was born on this date in 1897. She was a Black gambler and businesswoman who ran numerous criminal enterprises in Harlem, New York, in the early part of the 20th century.   Stephanie Saint-Clair was born of mixed French and African descent in the West Indies to a single mother, Félicienne, who worked to send her daughter to school. She gave Moule Grandterre, French West […]

Anna Short Harrington, Cook, Salesperson born

*Anna Short Harrington was born on this date in 1897. She was a Black cook and brand spokesperson.  Anna Short was born near Cheraw, South Carolina, and was one of ten children born to Daniel and Lelia Short on the plantation of Frank Brooks Pegues. When she was nine, her family moved to Richmond County, […]

Edgar G. Brown, Journalist, and Lobbyist born

*Edgar G. Brown’s birth is celebrated on this date in 1898. He was a Black activist, lobbyist, and journalist.  Born in Sandoval, Illinois, Brown was the eldest son of a family of eight children. George Washington Brown’s father was a domestic worker for a prominent white-American family. Brown attended Northwestern University, which was interrupted by […]