People, Locations, Episodes

A Stunning Victory at the Olympic Games

*On this date in 1936, “the most daring move seen in track” happened at the Olympic games. It was here that African American John Woodruff won the 800-meters Gold Medal in Berlin.

The Southern Negro Youth Congress is Founded

*On this date in 1937, The Southern Negro Youth Congress (SNYC) was founded. Established in 1937 at a conference in Richmond, Virginia, the Southern Negro Youth Congress consisted of young leaders participating in the National Negro Congress.  The first gathering of the SNYC consisted of a wide range of individuals. Such individuals as representatives from almost all the HBCUs […]

The Homer G. Phillips Hospital Opens

*Homer G. Phillips Hospital is celebrated on this date in 1937. It was the first and only hospital for Blacks in St. Louis, Missouri.  Located at 2601 N. Whittier Street in The Ville neighborhood, it was the first teaching hospital west of the Mississippi River to serve Blacks. Between 1910 and 1920, the Black population […]

Baseballs Negro American League is Formed

*This date in 1937 celebrates the founding of the Negro American League. This was one of the several Negro Baseball Leagues created when organized white-American baseball was segregated.   From 1939 through 1942 and 1944 through 1947, the team in first place at the end of the season was declared the Pennant winner. Due to the unorthodox nature of the schedule […]

The Australian Aboriginal Affairs Conference is Held

*On this date in 1937, the Commonwealth Government held a national conference on Aboriginal affairs. The Conference agreed that Aboriginal people ‘not of full blood’ should be absorbed or ‘assimilated’ into the broader population. Assimilation aimed to make the ‘Aboriginal problem’ gradually disappear so Aboriginal people would lose their identity in the wider community. Protection and assimilation policies […]

Breedlove v. Suttles is Decided

*On this date in 1937, Breedlove v. Suttles, 302 U.S. 277 (1937), was decided. This case was an overturned United States Supreme Court decision that upheld the constitutionality of requiring the payment of a poll tax to vote in state elections. At the time, Georgia imposed a poll tax of $1.00 per year, generally levied on all inhabitants. […]

Provident Hospital, (Florida) Opens

*On this date in 1938, Provident Hospital opened in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.   Located at 1409 Sixth Avenue, it was founded by two African American physicians, Von D. Mizell and James Sistrunk. During Jim Crow in the South, none of the existing hospitals in Fort Lauderdale would accept Black patients. In 1937, a young Black […]

Thomas Blanton Jr., American Domestic Terrorist born

*Thomas Blanton Jr. was born on this date in 1938. He was a white-American terrorist and convicted felon. Thomas Edwin Blanton Jr. was born in Washington, D.C. He was the son of Thomas Edwin “Pops” Blanton Sr. The latter is described as a notorious racist in Birmingham, Alabama. Blanton had a tenth-grade education and served […]

Joe Louis Retains His Boxing Title Against Max Schmeling

On this date in 1938, Joe Louis knocked out Max Schmeling in a rematch of an earlier fight that Louis had lost.

When “The Brown Bomber” avenged his loss with the German boxer, viewed as a Nazi symbol of an alleged “superior race,” the entire country celebrated, not just Black Americans but many White Americans too. Joe Louis (pictured in the far right corner) floored Schmeling three times, winning their much-publicized rematch at Yankee Stadium in the first round.

The Fair Labor Standards Act becomes Law

*The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) became law on this date in 1938. Signed by President Franklin Roosevelt, it established a 25-cent minimum wage (that would rise to 30 cents beginning in October 1939), introduced a 44-hour maximum work week (that would first fall to 42 hours in October 1939 and would then fall to […]

Missouri ex rel. Gaines v. Canada is Decided

*On this date in 1938, Missouri ex rel. Gaines v. Canada, 305 U.S. 337, was decided.   This was a United States Supreme Court decision holding that states that provided a school to white students also had to provide in-state education to Blacks. States could satisfy this requirement by allowing blacks and whites to attend the same school or creating a second school for […]

The Harlem Ren’s (Basketball Team) Win the World Championship

*On this date in 1939, the “Harlem Rens” became the first all Black pro basketball team to win a World Championship.

Harlem Renaissance Big Five, one of the most successful all-Black professional basketball teams in the 1920s and 1930s, added grace and style to the game of American basketball. Robert L. Douglass who was a native of the Caribbean island of St. Kitts and a former professional basketball player with the New York Spartans created the Harlem Renaissance Big Five team in 1922.

Marian Anderson Sings at the Lincoln Memorial

*On this date in 1939, Marian Anderson sang before a (then) record crowd and radio audience on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

The First Black Person Is Seen On An American Television Show

*On this date in 1939, “The Ethel Waters Show,” a variety special appeared on NBC. The new medium then in development was called television.

The ‘Ida B. Wells Homes’ Are Built

*On this date in 1939, the Ida B. Wells Homes are celebrated.  It was a Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) public housing project. It was located in the heart of the Bronzeville neighborhood of the city.   Named for Black journalist and newspaper editor Ida B. Wells, the housing project was constructed between 1939 and 1941 […]