People, Locations, Episodes

The Mangrove Nine Incident Occurs

*On this date in 1970, The Mangrove Nine incident began in the UK.  These were 150 Black protesters who marched peacefully on the police station in Notting Hill to demonstrate against racial harassment by the police. They were met by 500 officers, whose heavy-handed policing was designed to antagonize them. Nine protesters were charged with […]

The Wilmington Ten, a story

*On this date in 1971, the Wilmington Ten are remembered. Nine young men and a woman were wrongfully convicted in Wilmington, North Carolina, of arson and conspiracy.   On February 6, 1971, a white-owned business, Mike’s Grocery, was firebombed. Firefighters responding to the fire said snipers shot at them from the nearby Gregory Congregational Church […]

The Southern Poverty Law Center is Founded

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) was founded on June 30, 1971 as a legal activist center in the fight for justice and tolerance.

SPLC began as a small civil rights law firm. Today, the Center is internationally known for its tolerance education programs, its legal victories against white supremacists and its tracking of hate groups. The Center was founded by Morris Dees and Joe Levin in Montgomery, AL. Its first president was civil rights activist Julian Bond. Through the years, the Center has worked to make America’s Constitutional ideals a reality.

The Rainbow/PUSH Organization is Formed

*On this date in 1971, we celebrate the founding of Rainbow/PUSH, a nonprofit organization formed as a merger by Jesse Jackson.   Operation PUSH (People United to Save Humanity) and the National Rainbow Coalition. The organizations pursue social justice, civil rights, and political activism. 1971, Jackson resigned from Operation Breadbasket after clashing with Ralph Abernathy […]

Leymah Gbowee, Activist born.

*Leymah Gbowee was born on this date in 1972. She is a Black Liberian peace activist and administrator. Leymah Roberta Gbowee was born in central Liberia. At the age of 17, she was living with her parents and two of her three sisters in Monrovia when the First Liberian Civil War erupted in 1989 until 1996. […]

The Black People’s Convention is formed.

*The Black People’s Convention (BPC) was formed on this date in 1972. This group was a national coordinating body for the Black Consciousness movement in South Africa. With the influence of the growing South African Students’ Organization (SASO), Black Consciousness leaders called for forming a new Black Consciousness political organization to engage and mobilize a broader civil society outside […]

The Coalition of Black Trade Unionists is Formed

*The Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU) began on this date in 1972. It is a nonprofit organization of African American trade union members affiliated with the AFL-CIO. The CBTU began when more than 1,200 black union officials and rank-and-file members from 37 national unions met at the LaSalle Hotel in Chicago, Illinois, to discuss […]

Alexis McGill Johnson, Women’s Rights Activist born

*This date in 1972 is celebrated as the birth date of Alexis McGill Johnson. She is a Black academic, Women’s Rights Activist, and social justice advocate. McGill Johnson was born in New York City. Raised by both parents, her mother worked her way up from a secretary to an executive-level position at AT&T. McGill Johnson’s […]

MOVE, (the organization), a story

*On this date in 1972, we affirm the MOVE organization.  MOVE is a Black militant anarcho-primitivist group founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The name is not an acronym. The group lived in a communal setting in West Philadelphia, abiding by philosophies of anarcho-primitivism. The group combined revolutionary ideology, similar to that of the Black Panthers, with work […]

Ben Jealous, Administrator, and Activist born

*Benjamin Jealous was born January 18, 1973. He is an African American Administrator, Journalist and Civil rights Activist.

The Children’s Defense Fund, Activist For Our Future

*The Children’s Defense Fund (CDF) is celebrated on this date in 1973. CDF is an American nonprofit organization that focuses on child advocacy and research. Based in Washington, D.C., and created by Marian Wright Edelman. The CDF exists to improve federal policies concerning child welfare and public education systems. CDF has offices in several states: California, […]

Tarana Burke, Woman’s Rights Activist born

*Tarana Burke was born on this date in 1973. She is an advocate for Black racial justice and women’s rights. Burke has worked in social justice, black arts, and culture in New York City for over 30 years.  Her long and varied professional career started in Selma, AL, where, for over a decade, she worked […]

Stacey Abrams, Politician, Lawyer, and Activist born

*Stacey Abrams was born on this date in 1973. She is a Black politician, lawyer, voting rights activist, and author.  Stacey Yvonne Abrams is the second of six siblings; she was born to Robert and Carolyn Abrams in Madison, Wisconsin, and raised in Gulfport, Mississippi. The family moved to Atlanta, Georgia, where her parents pursued graduate degrees at Emory University and later became Methodist ministers. Her siblings include […]

The Combahee River Collective Begins

*The Combahee River Collective (CRC) is celebrated on this date in 1974. The CRC was a Black feminist lesbian organization active in Boston from 1974 to 1980. Their name commemorated an episode at the Combahee River organized and led by Harriet Tubman on June 2, 1863, in the Port Royal region of South Carolina. The […]

Robin Rue Simmons, Reparations Activist born.

*Robin Rue Simmons was born on March 12, 1976. She is a Black former politician and national leader for local reparations for African Americans. Rue Simmons was born and raised in the largely segregated 5th Ward of Evanston, Illinois. From 2017 to 2021, Simmons was the alderman of the 5th Ward. As an alderman, she […]