People, Locations, Episodes

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.

Nathaniel R. Jones, Lawyer, and Judge born

*Nathaniel R. Jones was born on this date in 1926. He was a Black attorney, judge, and law professor. Nathaniel Raphael Jones was born in the Smoky Hollow district of Youngstown, Ohio, several blocks from a federal courthouse that now bears his name. Although he lived in an integrated neighborhood and attended an integrated public […]

Corrigan v. Buckley is decided

*On this date in 1926, Corrigan v. Buckley, 271 U.S. 323 (1926), was decided. This U.S. Supreme Court case ruled that the racially restrictive covenant of multiple residents on S Street N.W., between 18th Street and New Hampshire Avenue, in Washington, DC, was a legally binding document that made selling a house to a Black […]

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.

Nixon v. Herndon is Legally Argued

*On this date in 1927, Nixon v. Herndon, 273 U.S. 536, was argued.  A United States Supreme Court decision struck down a 1923 Texas law forbidding Blacks from voting in the Texas Democratic Party primary.   In 1902 the Texas legislature passed a requirement for a poll tax, which resulted in the suppressed voting by Black and Mexican Americans. As voter participation by […]

Carl Stokes, Politician born

Carl Stokes was born on this date in 1927. He was an African American lawyer and politician.

David Dinkins, Lawyer, and Politician born

*On this date, in 1927, David Dinkins was born.  He was a Black politician, lawyer, and author.  who, from 1990 to 1993, served as the 106th Mayor of New York City. He was the first African American to hold that office.   David Norman Dinkins was born in Trenton, New Jersey, the son of Sarah “Sally” Lucy and William Harvey Dinkins Jr.  His mother was a […]