People, Locations, Episodes

Viola Liuzzo, Activist born

*Viola Liuzzo Liuzzo was born on this date in 1925. She was a White American civil rights activist.

Cressworth Lander, Arizona Community Leader born

*Cressworth C. Lander was born on this date in 1925. He was a Black government administrator and community activist.   From Tucson, AZ., he was the second of five children, the son of Julia Belle Watson Lander and James Franklin Lander, who served with the Army’s 24th Buffalo Soldier infantry. He attended Dunbar School, graduating as valedictorian of his […]

Malcolm X, Activist, and Master Teacher born

This date marks the birthday of Malcolm X. in 1925. He was an African American activist leader who articulated concepts of race pride and Black Nationalism in the early 1960s.

Wilson O. Brooks, Teacher born

*This date in 1925 celebrates the birth of Wilson O. Brooks, a Black Canadian officer, teacher, and civil rights advocate. Born in Windsor, Ontario, he was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Oliver Brooks. He enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force in April of 1943 and trained at No. 5 Bombing and Gunnery School […]

Andrew Foster, Educator For The Deaf born

Andrew Foster was born on this date in 1925. He was an African American educator and administrator for the deaf.

Born in Ensley, Alabama, Foster lost his hearing at age 11 after suffering from spinal meningitis. Drawn to a career in education, he attended the Alabama School for the Negro Deaf in Talladega. In 1954, he was the first African American to graduate from Gallaudet College in Washington, D.C., and the first to earn a master’s degree from Eastern Michigan University.

The International Labor Defense (ILD) is formed

*On this date, in 1925, the International Labor Defense (ILD) was formed. IDL was a diverse legal advocacy organization supporting American labor. Economic disputes have been legally contested since the 19th-century organized labor movement in America began. Sometimes, an employer or government has gone to court to terminate strike actions or to seek prosecution for […]

Medgar Evers, Mississippi Activist born

Medgar Evers was born on this date in 1925 in Decatur, Mississippi. He was an African American civil rights leader whose assassination for his work as field secretary for the NAACP in Mississippi galvanized the Civil Rights Movement.

The West African Students’ Union is Formed

*The West African Students’ Union (WASU) was founded on this date in 1925. WASU was an association of students from various West African countries studying in the United Kingdom. WASU was founded in London, England, by twenty-one law students led by Ladipo Solanke and Herbert Bankole-Bright. The previous year, Solanke founded the Nigerian Progress Union […]

Ted Blakey, Community Activist born

*Ted Blakey was born on this date in 1925. He was an African American businessman. From Yankton, SD, his family migrated from Missouri to find a better life amid the horrors of American slavery.

Peter Meyerhoff, Business Equity Advocate born

*Peter Meyerhoff was born on this date in 1925.  He was a white Jewish-American mechanical engineer and philanthropist. Born in Germany, Pete arrived in the United States as a teenager during World War II. He graduated from high school and then joined the Army, where he was made a citizen. When he returned, he obtained […]

The American Negro Labor Congress Holds Its First Meeting

*On this date in 1925, the first meeting of the American Negro Labor Congress took place.   It was established by the Communist Party as a vehicle for advancing the rights of African Americans, propagandizing communism within the Black community, and recruiting Black members for the party.   The organization opened in Chicago. It attacked the segregationist practices of many unions affiliated with the American […]

Hosea Williams, Activist born

On this date, Hosea Williams was born in, 1926. He was an African American civil rights activist.

Williams was the son of blind Black parents, from Attapulgus, Georgia. After studying at Morris Brown College and Atlanta University, he found employment as a research chemist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Ralph Abernathy, Minister, and Activist born

*This date marks the birth of Ralph David Abernathy in 1926. He was an African American minister, and civil rights leader.

Lucille Anderson, Social Worker born

*Lucille Anderson was born on this date in 1926. She was a Black counselor, nurse’s aide, Probation officer, and social worker. From Minneapolis, MN., Lucille L. Majors was the daughter of Andrew and Ruth Majors. She graduated from North High School and received her B.A. from the University of Minnesota and her MSW from Boston […]

Aileen Hernadez, Union Activist born

*Aileen Hernandez was born on this date in1926. She was an African American union organizer, civil rights activist, and women’s rights activist.