People, Locations, Episodes

Shirley Chisholm, Congresswoman born

This date marks the birthday of Shirley Chisholm in 1924. She was also a teacher, administrator, and politician.

Shirley Anita Chisholm was born in Brooklyn, N.Y. As a young girl, she lived with her grandparents in Barbados, returning to New York and graduating from Brooklyn College with a B.A. in sociology. In 1952, she received her M.A. from Columbia University, soon beginning a career as a nursery school teacher and director.

Robert Sobukwe, Pan-African Activist born

*Robert Sobukwe was born on this date in 1924. He was a Black African administrative activist, and Pan-Africanist. Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe was born in Graaff-Reinet in the Eastern Cape Province, the youngest child of Hubert and Angelina Sobukwe. His father worked as a general store clerk and part-time woodcutter; his Xhosa mother served as a […]

Louis Stokes, Politician born

*Louis Stokes was born on this date in 1925. He is an African American politician and administrator.

George W. Collins, Politician born

*On this date George Washington Collins was born in 1925. He was an African American lawyer and politician.

Patrice Lumumba, Congolese Poltician born

*On this date, in 1925, Patrice Lumumba was born.  He was a Black Congolese writer, activist, and politician.   Patrice Emery Lumumba was the son of a farmer, François Tolenga Otetshima, and his wife, Julienne Wamato Lomendja.   He was born in Onalua in the Katakokombe region of the Kasai province of the Belgian Congo, of the Tetela ethnic group. He had three brothers (Charles Lokolonga, Émile Kalema, […]

The National Bar Association is Formed

On this date in 1925, the National Bar Association (NBA), formally organized. It is the nation’s oldest and largest national association of predominately African American lawyers and judges.

Gus Savage, Chicago Politician born

On this date in 1925, Gus Savage, an African American politician, was born.

Born in Detroit, Savage attended public schools in Chicago and served in the U.S. Army until 1946 after graduation. He earned a B.A. degree in philosophy from Roosevelt University in 1951. While attending Chicago-Kent College of Law (1952-1953), he began his career as a journalist. Politically, Savage started in the 1940s as a fulltime member of the Progressive Party of former Vice President Henry A. Wallace. He also promoted programs for Paul Robeson, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Hon. Elijah Muhammad.

Robert F. Kennedy, Politician born

*Robert ‘Bobby’ Kennedy was born on this date in 1925.  He was a white-American politician, lawyer, and author. Robert Francis Kennedy was born in Brookline, Massachusetts, and was the seventh child of Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. and Rose Kennedy.  After serving in the U.S. Naval Reserve as a seaman apprentice from 1944 to 1946, Kennedy returned to Harvard University and graduated in 1948. He received his […]

James R. Ford, Tallahassee Educator born

*James R. Ford was born on this date in 1925.  He was a Black educator, politician, and businessman.   James Robert Ford was born in Leon County, Florida, and grew up there, attending local segregated public schools. He attended Florida A&M University, earning his B.S. in 1950 and his MEd in 1959. He served in both the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Army.  He […]

Idi Amin, African Dictator born

*Idi Amin’s birth is celebrated on this date in 1925. He was a Black African dictator and politician. Idi Amin Dada was born in Koboko County in the West Nile district of Uganda, home of the Kakwa tribe. His birth year is estimated at 1925 because records were not kept for Ugandans. His father had […]

Basil Paterson, Lawyer, and Politician born

*Basil Alexander Paterson was born on this date in 1926. He is an African American labor lawyer and former politician.

Mervyn Dymally, California Congressman born

On this date in 1926, Mervyn M. Dymally, an African American educator and politician, was born.

Born in Cedros, Trinidad, in the British West Indies, Dymally attended Cedros Government School on Trinidad and St. Benedict and Naparima secondary schools in San Fernando, Trinidad. In 1946 he arrived in the United States to study at Lincoln University in Jefferson City, MO. He earned a B.A. degree in education from California State University, Los Angeles (UCLA), in 1954. In 1956, he began a career as a teacher of exceptional children in Los Angeles.

Julius Becton Jr., Soldier and Administrator born

*Julius Becton Jr. was born on this date in 1926. He is a Black retired United States Army lieutenant general and education administrator. Julius Wesley Becton Jr. was born in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. He joined the U.S. Army Air Corps in July 1944, graduated from infantry Officer Candidate School in 1945, and served with the […]

George L. Brown, Politician born

*George Brown was born on this date in 1926.  He was a Black politician.   George Leslie Brown grew up on a farm in Lawrence, Kansas.  He was a basketball, football, and track high school athlete before graduating from Lawrence Liberty Memorial High School in 1944. Brown graduated from the University of Kansas in 1950 […]

Jesse Brown, Navy Pilot born

Jesse L. Brown was born on this date in 1926. He was the first African American aviator in the U.S. Navy.