People, Locations, Episodes

The 761st Tank Battalion, a story

*The 761st Tank Battalion saw combat on this date in 1944. It was a Black segregated tank battalion of the United States Army during World War II. The 761st were known as the Black Panthers after their distinctive unit insignia, which featured a black panther’s head. The unit’s motto was “Come out fighting.” The battalion […]

Mickey Leland, Politician born

“Mickey” Leland was born this date in 1944. He was an African American politician and activist.

Born in Lubbock, Texas, George Thomas “Mickey” Leland grew up in Houston. In 1970, he received a B.S. in pharmacy from Texas Southern University and was an instructor of clinical pharmacy at the same school. He also was involved in the civil rights movement while he was a student.

Harold Ford Sr., Politician born

*Harold Ford Sr. was born on this date in 1945. He is a Black politician and lobbyist. Harold Eugene Ford Sr. grew up on Horn Lake Road in the West Junction neighborhood of South Memphis. He is the eighth of fifteen children born to Newton, Jackson Ford, and Vera (Davis) Ford, prominent African American community […]

Alan Page, Athlete, and Judge born

*Alan Page was born on this date in 1945. He was an African American football player and is a lawyer and state Supreme Court Judge, and education activist.

Barney Pityana, African Policy Advocate born

*Barney Pityana was born on this date in 1945. He is a Black South African human rights lawyer, activist, and theologian. Nyameko Barney Pityana was born in Uitenhage and attended the University of Fort Hare. He was one of the founding members of the South African Students’ Organisation (SASO) of the Black Consciousness Movement with Steve Biko […]

Graça Machel, Policy Humanitarian born.

*Graça Machel was born on this date in 1945. She is a Black Mozambican politician and humanitarian. Graça Sembène was born 17 days after her father’s death, the youngest of six children, in rural Incadine, Gaza Province (modern-day Mozambique). She attended Methodist mission schools before gaining a scholarship to the University of Lisbon in Portugal, […]

Bobby Rush, Politician born

*Bobby Rush was born on this date in 1946. He is a Black politician, activist, and pastor. Bobby Lee Rush was born in Albany, Georgia. When He was seven years old, his parents separated, and his mother took him and his siblings to Chicago, Illinois. In 1963, Rush dropped out of high school and joined […]

Jerry Rawlings, Soldier and Politician born.

*Jerry Rawlings was born on this date in 1947. He was a Black Ghanaian military officer, aviator, and politician. Jerry John Rawlings was born in Accra, Ghana, to Victoria Agbotui, an Anlo Ewe from Dzelukope, Keta, and James Ramsey John, a British chemist from Scotland. His father never lived with him and his mother and […]

Alexis Herman, Politician born

*Alexis Herman was born this date in 1947. She is an African American administrator, and politician.

The United Gold Coast Convention is Formed

*The United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC) was formed on this date in 1947. The UGCC was a political party that aimed to bring about Ghanaian independence from its British colonizers after the Second World War. In the 1940s, African merchants, like George Alfred Grant and Joseph Danquah wanted to finance a political movement to ensure their […]

Carole Moseley Braun, Politician born

*Carol Moseley Braun was born on this date in 1947.  She is a Black diplomat, politician, and lawyer.  Carol Elizabeth Moseley was born in Chicago, Illinois.  Her father, Joseph J. Moseley, was a Chicago police officer and jail guard; her mother, Edna A. (Davie), was a medical technician in a hospital. Both her parents were […]

Mamphela Ramphele, Academic, and Activist born

*Mamphela Ramphele was born on this date in 1947. She is a Black South African activist, doctor, academic, and businesswoman. Mamphela Aletta Ramphele was born in the Bochum District in Northern Transvaal (now Limpopo, South Africa. Her mother, Rangoato Rahab, and her father, Pitsi Eliphaz Ramphele, were primary school teachers. In 1955, Ramphele witnessed a conflict […]

Bennie Thompson, Politician born

*Bennie Thompson was born on this date in 1948. He is a Black politician serving as the U.S. representative for Mississippi. His district includes most of Jackson and is the only majority-black district in the state. It is about 275 miles long and 180 miles wide, bordering the Mississippi River. The Mississippi Delta comprises most […]

Black History and the American Korean War, a story

*Black History and the American-Korean War are affirmed on this date in 1948. U.S. President Harry Truman signed Executive Order 9981, desegregating the armed forces on that date. Although he ordered the desegregation of the military, several all-Black units participated in the early stages of what some call “the forgotten war.” Highpoints of all-Black units […]

Kweisi Mfume, Policy Advocate born

*Kweisi Mfume was born on this date in 1948. He is a former African American politician and current administrator, and activist.