*On this date in 1968, we celebrated the founding of Blackside Productions. Now called Blackside, Inc., it was founded by the late Emmy award-winning documentary filmmaker Henry Hampton. It is a production company dedicated to raising awareness about America’s social progress and history. The films that have resulted from this quest have set a higher standard […]
learn more*On this date in 1968, Eartha Kitt addressed racism in America at a White House luncheon hosted by Lady Bird Johnson. In early 1968, the First Lady hosted the first “Women Doer” luncheons to gather women leaders from around the country to address various growing or endemic problems. The first was titled “What Citizens Can […]
learn more*The Republic of New Africa was founded on this date in 1968. The Republic of New Afrika (RNA) is a black nationalist organization and black separatist movement in the United States popularized by black militant groups. The New Afrika movement has three goals: · Creation of an independent Black-majority country situated in the Southeastern United […]
learn more*The founding of the British Black Panthers is celebrated on this date in 1968. (BBP) The British Black Panther movement (BPM) was a Black Power organization in the United Kingdom that fought for the rights of Black people and people of color. The American Black Panther Party, though they were unaffiliated with them. Malcolm X […]
learn more*Van Jones was born on this date in 1968. He is an African American environmental and civil rights activist, and attorney.
learn moreOn this date in 1969, students took over Morrill Hall at the University of Minnesota.
The Morrill Hall takeover was the result of many decades of neglect and discrimination of Black students by the University. Despite an increase in Black students at thre University and in colleges and universities nationwide, the faculty and administration had remained indifferent to their cultural and racial needs. The two-day siege, orchestrated by nearly 70 people, was spearheaded by the African American students at the school.
learn more*Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf was born on this date in 1969. He is a former Black professional basketball player and activist. Born Chris Jackson in Gulfport, Mississippi, the son of Jacqueline Jackson. He was raised in a single-parent family with his two brothers, Omar and David. His childhood was characterized by poverty, as there were times when […]
learn more*The Panther 21 episode is affirmed on this date in 1969. They were twenty-one Harlem Chapter Black Panther members arrested and accused of a planned, coordinated bombing and long-range rifle attacks on two police stations and an education office in New York City. Among the defendants were Afeni Shakur, Lumumba Shakur, Ali Bey Hassan, Michael Tabor, […]
learn moreOn this date in 1969 more than 80 members of the Afro American Society took over Willard Straight Hall, Cornell University’s student union.
The takeover had been prompted by a reprimand of three Black students for an incident the previous December and a cross burning (both incidents occurred the previous day) in front of the Black women’s cooperative and other cases of alleged racism. A deal was eventually cut between protesters and Cornell administrators, and the students left the building a day later.
learn more*Black history and the Weather Underground Organization (WUO) in America are affirmed on this date in 1969. The Weather Underground was a radical left militant organization active in the late 1960s and 1970s, founded on the campus of the University of Michigan. It was initially called the Weathermen. The WUO was organized that year as […]
learn more*On this date in 1969, we celebrate the South African Students’ Organization (SASO). SASO was a body of black South African university students who resisted apartheid through non-violent political action. The organization was formed under the leadership of Steve Biko and Barney Pityana and made vital contributions to the ideology and political leadership of the Black Consciousness […]
learn moreOn this date in 1969, Los Angeles police raided the Black Panther headquarters, in L.A., four days after police assassinated Black Panthers Fred Hampton and Mark Clark in Chicago.
During the battle, the Panthers withstood the police attacks, including a bomb dropped on the roof of the building. Frustrated, the police arrested Elmer Geronimo Pratt, the Panther’s Deputy Minister of Defense, on a fabricated robbery and murder charge that was later dismissed.
learn more*This date is Earth Day which began in 1970, Therefore the Registry celebrates the birth of Norris McDonald Jr. in 1958 is on this date. He is a Black activist for environmental justice. McDonald was born to parents Sandy Norris McDonald Sr. and Katie Louvina Best in Thomasville, North Carolina. His father was a high school principal […]
learn more*The Black Liberation Army (BLA) is celebrated on this date in 1970. This underground Black Power revolutionary organization operated in the United States from 1970 to 1981. Composed of Black Panthers (BPP) and Republic of New Afrika (RNA) members who served above ground before going underground, the organization’s program was one of war against the United States […]
learn more*Mariame Kaba’s birth is celebrated on this date in 1970. She is a Black activist, grassroots organizer, and educator. Mariame Kaba was born in New York City to parents who had immigrated from Guinea and the Ivory Coast. She grew up in the Lower East Side of Manhattan and attended Lycée Français. As a child, […]
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