People, Locations, Episodes

Marion Barry, Activist, and Politician born

*Marion Barry was born on this date in 1936. He was a Black activist and politician.   Marion Shepilov Barry Jr. was born in rural Itta Bena, Mississippi, the third child of Mattie Cummings and Marion Barry. His father died when he was four years old, and a year later, his mother moved the family to Memphis, Tennessee, where her employment prospects were […]

Clyde Bellecourt, Activist born

*Clyde Bellecourt was born on this date in 1936. He was an Ojibwe Native American Civil Rights organizer. Clyde Howard Bellecourt was the seventh of 12 children born to Charles and Angeline) Bellecourt on the White Earth Indian Reservation in northern Minnesota. Among his older siblings was his brother Vernon Bellecourt. White Earth was considered […]

Betty Shabazz, Administrative Activist born

This date marks the birth of Betty Shabazz in 1936. She was an African American administrator and the wife of Malcolm X.

Roger Banks, Non-Violent Activist born

*Roger Banks was born on this date in 1936. He was an African American educator and Public Policy Activist. Roger Ware Banks and his brother Robert were born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to Robert T. Banks and Violet Houston Banks.

Winnie Mandela, Anti-Apartheid Activist born

*Winnie Mandela was born on this date in 1936.  She was a Black African anti-apartheid activist and policy advocate. She was one of nine children from Bizana, Eastern Cape province. Her father, Columbus, was a local history teacher during her infant years. In later years, he was the minister of the Transkei Government’s Forestry and […]

James Bevel, Activist, and Minister born

*James Bevel was born on this date in1936. He was an African American Civil rights activist and minister.

Born in Itta Bena, Mississippi, James Luther Bevel after time in the military service he became a minister. He enrolled in the American Baptist Theological Seminary in Nashville, Tennessee. There, he joined the Nashville chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) led by the Reverend James Lawson. Bevel had grown up in part in Cleveland, Ohio

Bobby Seale, Black Panther Activist born

*Bobby Seale was born on this date in 1936. He is an African American political activist co-founder and national chairman of the Black Panther Party and author.

Leonard Jeffries Jr. Pan-Africanist born

*Leonard Jeffries Jr. was born on this date in 1937. He is a Black educator and pan-Africanist.   He was born and raised in Newark, New Jersey. Jeffries attended Lafayette College for his undergraduate work. While in Lafayette, Jeffries pledged and was accepted into Pi Lambda Phi, a fraternity with many Jewish members. In his senior year, Jeffries was elected […]

Roberta Flack, Singer born

*Roberta Flack was born this date in 1937. She is an African American singer and educator.

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 […]

Patricia Banks, Flight Attendant born.

*Patricia Banks was born on this date in 1937. She is a retired Black flight attendant, administrator, and counselor. Patricia Noisette Banks was born to parents Sadie and Joseph Banks in New York City. She graduated from Aquinas High School in 1955. Banks Edmiston attended Queens College for a year to study psychology. While attending, […]

Ruben ‘Hurricane’ Carter, Boxer born

*Rubin Carter was born on this date in 1937. He was an African American professional boxer and criminal justice advocate.

Charles Sherrod, Minister, and Educator born

*This date in 1937 is celebrated as the birth date of Charles Sherrod, a Black activist, educator, and minister.    Charles Sherrod was born in Surry, Virginia, and was raised by his Baptist grandmother. As a young boy, he sang in a choir and attended Sunday school at church. When he was older, he became a […]

Bruce Boynton, Lawyer, and Activist born

*Bruce Boynton was born on this date in 1937.  He was a Black lawyer and civil rights leader.  Bruce Carver Boynton grew up in Selma, Alabama. His parents were civil rights activists, known in their community as Mr. and Mrs. Civil Rights because of their participation.  He was named after his Godfather, George Washington Carver. He […]

Jean Augustine, Administrator born

*Jean Augustine was born on this date in 1937. She is a Black Canadian educational administrator, advocate for social justice, and politician. Jean Augustine was born in 1937 in Grenada but immigrated to Canada in 1960 under the West Indian Domestic Scheme. She studied at the University of Toronto, obtaining a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Education. After university, she […]