People, Locations, Episodes

Alston v. The School Board of Norfolk is Decided

*On this date in 1940, Alston v. The School Board of Norfolk was decided. This was a suit instituted by Melvin O. Alston, a Black school teacher of Norfolk, Va., and the Norfolk Teachers’ Association, an association composed of the Black school teachers of that city. From the beginning of segregated public schooling in Norfolk, […]

American Professional Tennis Integrates

On this date in 1940, American professional tennis integrated for the first time.

Interracial matches were played on the courts of the Cosmopolitan Tennis Club, an affiliate of the American Tennis Association (ATA), in New York City. Ed Hughes, a reporter for the “Brooklyn Daily Eagle,” wrote, “The color line was erased, at least temporarily, for the first time in the history of major American Tennis yesterday. Don Budge, greatest tennis player in the world, encountered Jimmy McDaniel, Negro National Champion, defeating him, 6-1 and 6-2.”

Hansberry v. Lee Case is Decided

On this date in 1940, the Supreme Court ruled in Hansberry v. Lee, which rules that whites cannot bar African Americans from white neighborhoods.

Black History, and the WW II Double V Victory

*On this date in 1941, the Double V Victory of Black history is celebrated. President Franklin Roosevelt gave his “Four Freedoms” speech on that date. During World War II, the black press and several prominent black leaders called for a “Double V” victory against fascism abroad and against Jim Crow at home.   It was easy […]

Ethiopia Gains Independence From Italy

*On this date in 1941, Ethiopia Regained Its Independence from Italy. This helped Black Africa repair the invasion of the 1884 Berlin Conference, the high point of white European competition for territory on the continent, a process commonly known as the Scramble for Africa.  The independence of Ethiopia was interrupted by the Second Italo-Ethiopian War, beginning […]

The American Marine Corps Integrates

On this date in 1941, the Marine Corps formally integrated. This was a result of President Roosevelt signing Executive Order 8802 months before Pearl Harbor.

Executive Order 8802 is Signed

*On this date in 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 8802, which prohibited ethnic or racial discrimination in the nation’s defense industry. It also established the Fair Employment Practice Committee, the first federal action, though not a law, to promote equal opportunity and prohibit employment discrimination in the United States. Many citizens of […]

The Cleveland Buckeyes Baseball Team is Formed

*The founding of the Cleveland Buckeyes is celebrated on this date in 1941.  They were a Negro League baseball team that played in the Negro American League.   They were based in Cincinnati for their first season and Louisville for their second-to-last season. The Buckeyes were established as the Buckeyes Baseball Club, initially in Cincinnati, […]

The National Negro Opera Company is Founded

On this date in 1941, opera singer Mary Cardwell Dawson founded the National Negro Opera Company.

Based in Pittsburgh, the Opera Company remained in the steel city until 1960 and lasted outright until 1962.

Black History and WW II’s Pearl Harbor, a story

African American Registry acknowledges the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor with 10 short facts that occurred during or after the incident.

The Hollywood Victory Committee Negro Division is Formed

*The Hollywood Victory Committee Negro Division was created on this date in 1941. Chaired by Hattie McDaniel, this was a Black subcommittee of the white Hollywood Victory Committee. Both committees were associated with the Screen Actors Guild to support American troops during World War II. It provided a means for stage, screen, television, and radio performers […]

The ‘Lee Street Riot’ Occurs

*On this date in 1942, the “Lee Street Riot” occurred. This confrontation was between Black soldiers stationed in Alexandria, Louisiana and the town’s white residents. This military regiment involved was the Army’s 367th, a Black regiment. Just one month after Pearl Harbor, violence burst into a pattern that would repeat itself many times in the […]

The Alcan Highway Construction Begins

*On this date in 1942 the building of The Alcan Highway in Canada began. This was an Army project during World War II that involved over 10,000 men of which over 30% were African American GI’s.

The Cabrini Green Homes (Chicago), a story

*The Cabrini Green Homes are affirmed on this date in 1942. They were a Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) public housing project on the Near North Side of Chicago, Illinois. The Frances Cabrini Rowhouses and Extensions were south of Division Street, bordered by Larrabee Street to the west, Orleans Street to the east, Chicago Avenue to […]

U.S. Merchant Ship, SS Booker T. Washington Launched

On this date in 1942, The SS Booker T. Washington was launched at Wilmington, Delaware.

It was the first U.S. Merchant Ship commanded by a Black captain, Hugh Mulzac. The SS Washington was the first of 17 Liberty Ships (out of 2,700) named for an African American. Marian Anderson christened the Washington as its first honor.

Under Mulzac’s command, the SS Washington made 22 round-trip voyages between 1942-47, carrying 18,000 troops to Europe and the Pacific through dangerous waters.