People, Locations, Episodes

America Elects Its First Muslim Congressman

On this date in 2006, Minneapolis, MN, elected the nation’s first Muslim member of Congress, and the state’s first nonwhite representative in Washington.

The African National Congress Elects Jacob Zuma as President

On this date in 2007, Jacob Zuma was elected leader of the governing African National Congress (ANC).

Zuma, a populist whose political career survived rape and corruption charges, received 2,329 votes, ahead of incumbent Thabo Mbeki’s 1,505 votes, following one of the most divisive campaigns the party has seen. The win put Zuma into a position to become South Africa’s president in 2009. As the results were announced, chaos erupted in the hall; then Mbeki and Zuma, both 65-year-old veterans of the ANC in exile, mounted the stage together and embraced.

The First Black Man Wins an American Presidential Nomination

On this date in 2008, Senator Barack Obama of Illinois won the Democratic presidential nomination.

This historic step made him the nation’s first Black president candidate. Obama defeated Hillary Rodham Clinton and set up a five-month campaign with Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona, a race between a 46-year-old opponent of the Iraq War and a 71-year-old former Vietnam prisoner of war and staunch supporter of the current U.S. military mission.

The U.S. Congress Apologizes For American Slavery

*On this date in 2008, The House of Representatives passed a resolution apologizing to African Americans for slavery and the era of Jim Crow.

America Elects Its First Black President

On this date in 2008 Barack Obama became the first Black man to be elected president of the United States of America.

Obama, the multiracial son of a white mother from Kansas and an African father from Kenya, was elected as the 44th president of the United States, writing a remarkable new chapter in American history with a campaign built on the theme of hope.

America Elects Its First Black Republican Woman to Congress

*On this date in 2014, the first Black Republican woman was elected to Congress in U.S. history.

Utah Voters sent Mia Love, the former small-town mayor in that state to Washington DC. She won a narrow victory in the state’s open Fourth Congressional District adding noticeable buzz to the Republican celebrations over their election-night shellacking of Democrats across the country.

The United Nations Urges Reparations From American Slavery

*On this date in 2016, A United Nations working group visiting the United States walks away “extremely concerned about the human rights situation of African Americans,” members said in a preliminary report released, in which they urged the US government to address the legacy of slavery with “reparatory justice,” a national human rights commission, and ongoing criminal justice reform.

Zimbabwe Elects a New President

*On this date in 2017, Zimbabwe elected Emmerson Mnangagwa as their president.  For the first time since the country gained independence from white minority rule in 1980, they have a new leader. At a packed stadium in the capital city of Harare, he promised not to “squander this moment” to change his country’s political culture.   […]

Vietnam Veteran Receives Medal of Honor

*On this date in 2018, the Medal of Honor to Sergeant Major John L. Canley, United States Marine Corps (Retired), for conspicuous gallantry.   Canley, a retired United States Marine, received the Medal of Honor for his actions in January/February 1968 during the Battle of Huế. During the Vietnam War.  At the time of this action, Canley was a gunnery […]

Ethiopia Elects Its First Female President

*On this date in 2018, Ethiopia elected the country’s first female president. Sahle-Work Zewde, a seasoned diplomat, assumed the largely ceremonial post, and many celebrated Africa’s only current female head of state. The continent’s first female president, Liberia’s Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, left office this year. “In a patriarchal society such as ours, the appointment of […]

World War 1 Ceremony Honors Alabama Soldiers

*On this date in 2018, Alabama State University (ASU) colleagues came to pay their respects to soldiers who died one hundred years ago.  They Gathered at Oakwood Cemetery in Montgomery, Ala. More than 350,000 Blacks served in segregated units during World War I.  They were fighting for rights they didn’t have in America then. Derryn […]

Chicago Elects Its First Black Woman Mayor

*On this date in 2019, the first Black woman was elected mayor of Chicago, Illinois. Former federal prosecutor Lori Lightfoot easily won the Chicago mayor’s race, earning support from every part of the city to defeat a longtime political insider.    She also became the first openly Gay person to lead the United States of America’s […]

Reparations Bill Passes in Evanston, Illinois

*On this date in 2021, the Chicago suburb of Evanston became the first U.S. city to offer reparation money. This will go to Black residents whose families suffered lasting damage from decades of segregation and discriminatory practices. The city council voted 8-1 to distribute $400,000 to eligible Black residents. This is through $25,000 grants for […]

Singer R. Kelly Found Guilty of Sex Trafficking

*On this date in 2021, R. Kelly was found guilty of charges including sexual exploitation of a child, bribery, racketeering, and sex trafficking involving five victims. After more than 25 years of accusations and a federal court trial in New York that lasted seven weeks, the R&B singer faced a possible sentence of 10 years […]

Misuzulu kaZwelithini Becomes AmaZulu King

*On this date in 2022, the South African government officially recognized Misuzulu kaZwelithini as the AmaZulu King. This was the first Zulu coronation since 1971. He has promised to unite his nation and protect tradition. KaZwelithini, 48, was crowned the king of South Africa’s largest Indigenous group in a customary celebration in August but required […]