People, Locations, Episodes

Algernon J. Cooper, Jr., Lawyer and Administrator born.

*Algernon J. Cooper, Jr. was born on this date in 1944. He is a Black politician and lawyer. Algernon Johnson Cooper, Jr., his sister Peggy, and brother Gary were born in Mobile, Alabama, to Gladys Catherine Mouton and Algernon Johnson Cooper, Sr. Cooper attended St. Peter Claver Elementary School in Mobile, Alabama, until he attended […]

The VLA, ‘Very Low Altitude’ Barrage Balloon Battalion, a story

*On this date in 1944, The Normandy landing operations commenced. Termed D-Day, this was the Allied invasion of Normandy, France in Operation Overlord during World War II. This was the largest seaborne invasion in modern history and began the liberation of German-occupied northwestern Europe from Nazi control, and contributed to the Allied victory on the Western Front.

The G.I. Bill, and Black History, a story

*On this date in 1944, the G.I. Bill was signed into American law. Officially titled the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944 was signed into law by President Franklin Roosevelt. During World War II, politicians wanted to avoid the postwar confusion about veterans’ benefits that became a political football in the 1920s and 1930s. Veterans’ organizations […]

The Port Chicago Disaster Occurs

The Port Chicago Disaster occurred on this date in 1944, an explosion where over 60 percent of the casualties were African American enlisted men.

The “Red Ball Express,” American Army Project Begins

On this date in 1944, The American Army started the “Red Ball Express,” a huge trucking operation to supply World War II troops in Europe with provisions.

The First Black Women Are Admitted To Navy WAVES

On this date in 1944, the Navy integrated their Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service better known as WAVES.

Up to that time, black women were barred from the WAVES. The efforts of Mildred McAfee and Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune helped the Secretary of the Navy push through the admittance of African American women into military service.

The first two black WAVES officers, Harriet Ida Pikens and Frances Wills, were sworn in December 22 of that year. Of the 80,000 WAVES in the World War II, 72 Black women served, normally under integrated conditions.

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, […]

Morgan v. Virginia is Ruled

On this date in 1946, the U. S. Supreme Court decided Morgan v. Virginia, a landmark case in which the United States Supreme Court ruled that segregation in interstate bus travel was unconstitutional.

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 […]