People, Locations, Episodes

The University of Georgia Reinstates Hunter, and Holmes

On this date in 1961, racial rioting erupted on the campus of the University of Georgia.

Black students Charlayne Hunter and Hamilton Holmes were suspended for their involvement, but eventually reinstated by a federal court order. Hunter-Gault later became an Emmy award-winning journalist with the McNeil/Lehrer NewsHour.

100 Black Men of America is Formed

*On this date in 1963, we affirm 100 Black Men of America. They are a men’s civic organization and service club aiming to educate and empower African American children and teens.   100 Black Men has 110 chapters in different cities in the United States and worldwide. The mission statement is “to improve the quality of life within our communities and enhance educational […]

The University of Alabama Integrates

On this date in 1963, Vivian Malone and James Hood integrated the University of Alabama.

Accompanied by U.S. Deputy Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach, their attempt to register at the University of Alabama was temporarily blocked by Governor George Wallace. The governor (physically) bodily blocked their entrance to the University with his “stand in the schoolhouse door.” In 2003, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., gave a keynote address at The University of Alabama’s commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the first successful enrollment of African American students.

‘A Better Chance’ is Founded

*The founding of A Better Chance (ABC) in 1963 is celebrated on this date. They are a national non-profit talent search organization.

The National Museum of African Art in Washington D.C. Opens

This date in 1964 celebrates the National Museum of African Art (NMAA) in Washington, D.C. It was established as a private museum by diplomat Warren M. Robbins, and officially became a part of the Smithsonian Institution in August 1979.

The museum was originally housed in the Washington residence of African American abolitionist Frederick Douglass. It is a celebration of the visual arts and cultures of Africa. It opened in a new building on the National Mall on this date in 1989.

Freedom Schools in America Begin

This date in 1964 celebrates Freedom Schools. These were exclusive Black institutions of learning that helped shape the Civil Rights movement.

In the 1960s, the Congress on Racial Equality (CORE), Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) organized its Freedom Summer operation. Its main objective was to end the political disenfranchisement of Blacks in the Deep South. Volunteers concentrated their efforts in Mississippi.

Diversity Equity and Inclusion (D.E.I.) in America, a story

*Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (D.E.I.) in America is affirmed on this date in 1965. This is a policy that levels the presence of non-white, disabled, female, aged, and binary citizens. D.E.I. is in the private and public sectors of education and business. As educational subjects began to diversify more in the 1960s, student bodies did […]

The Amistad Research Center Opens.

*The Amistad Research Center (ARC) is celebrated on this date in 1966. The United Church Board for Homeland Ministries established the Amistad Research Center. Its first home was at Fisk University to house the historical records of the American Missionary Association. In 1969, Amistad became an independent non-profit organization, and the following year, it relocated […]

Maurice Ashley, Chess Grand Master born

*Maurice Ashley was born on this date in 1966. He is an African American chess player, educator and Grand Master.

From St. Andrew, Jamaica he moved to Brooklyn, NY with his family at age 12. His brother was the source of his learning the game of Chess. Ashley also got a great amount of inspiration from writings of former World Champion Paul Morphy. While attending Brooklyn Tech High School he gained proficiency in local tournaments. Ashley also sharpened his Chess competition with the Black Bear Chess Club.

Charles Drew University is Founded

*The founding of the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science happened on this date in 1966. Originally the Charles R. Drew Postgraduate Medical School (later Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science) has evolved and grown since it’s beginning.

The City, Inc., Youth Center Opens

The founding of The City, Inc., in 1967 is celebrated on this date. It was a community service and alternative school for at-risk youth grades 9 through 12 in Minneapolis, MN.

Alondra Nelson, Academic Policy Administrator born.

*Alondra Nelson was born on this date in 1968. She is a Black academic, policy advisor, nonprofit administrator, and writer. Raised in Southern California in 1994, Nelson earned a Bachelor of Science in anthropology from the University of California, San Diego. While there, she was an early leader in dialogue on Afrofuturism, was elected to […]

The Institute of the Black World (IBW) is Formed

*The Institute of the Black World (IBW) is celebrated on this date in 1969. IBW was a think tank based in Atlanta, Georgia, founded and directed by African diaspora intellectuals until 1983. Led primarily by Vincent Harding, it was originally a project of the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change. The historian Derrick E. […]

The Black Caucus of the American Library Association is Founded

*The Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA) is celebrated on this date in 1970. They are an affiliate of the American Library Association (ALA) that focuses on the needs of African American library professionals by promoting careers in librarianship, funding literacy initiatives, and providing scholarships. While work began to organize a Black Caucus […]

Medgar Edgar College Opens

*Medgar Evers College (MEC) was established on this date in 1970. It is the youngest of the four-year senior colleges in the City University of New York system. In the early 1960s, the Central Brooklyn community recognized the need for a local public college. Through various community organizations including, but not limited to, the Bedford-Stuyvesant […]