People, Locations, Episodes

George Woodson, Lawyer born

*The birth of George H. Woodson in 1866 is celebrated on this date. He was an African American lawyer.

The Civil Rights Act of 1866 is Passed

On this date in 1866, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act over the veto of President Andrew Johnson.

J. Frank Wheaton, Minnesota Lawyer born

*John Frank Wheaton was born on this date in 1866. He was an African American politician and lawyer.

The Reconstruction Acts are Decided

*The Reconstruction Acts were decided on this date in 1867. The 40th United States Congress passed four statutes during the Reconstruction Era, which addressed the requirement for Southern States to be readmitted to the Union. The initial legislation, called the Military Reconstruction Acts, was passed on March 4, 1867. The title was “An act to provide for the […]

Robert Russa Moton, Lawyer, and Educator born

This date marks the birth of Robert Russa Moton in 1867. He was an African American educator, lawyer, and successor to Booker T. Washington as president of Tuskegee Institute.

Born in Amelia County, Virginia, on August 26, Robert Moton enrolled in the Hampton Institute in 1885. After his junior year, he taught and obtained a license to practice law, then returned to Hampton and finished his senior year. In 1900, Moton was elected president of the National Negro Business League and was reelected for the next 20 years.

The 14th Amendment is Adopted

*On this date in 1868, the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was adopted.   Approved as one of the Reconstruction Amendments, it is one of the most essential American amendments to the present day. The amendment addresses citizenship rights and equal protection under the law and was proposed in response to issues related to former slaves following the American Civil […]

William Lewis, Athlete, and Scholar born

On this date, we remember, the birth of William H. Lewis, born in 1868. He was an African American lawyer and football player.

Born to former slaves in Berkley, Virginia, William Henry Lewis worked to pay for his education at Virginia Normal Institute (now Virginia State University). He later attended Amherst College in Massachusetts. Excelling as an orator and athlete, Lewis was one of the first Black men to play collegiate football, serving as team captain in 1890 and 1891. He met his future wife (Elizabeth Baker) at his graduation.

William T. Francis, Minnesota Lawyer born

On his date, we mark the birth of William T. Francis in 1869. He was an African American politician and lawyer.

Francis was born in Indiana and went to Minnesota at an early age. After completing his education, he served in the legal department of Northern Pacific Railroad. Francis opened his own law firm in St. Paul before World War II.

In 1920, he was president-elector at the Republican State Convention. Francis and his wife were instrumental in getting an anti-lynching law passed in the Minnesota State Senate in the 1920s.

The 15th Amendment is Ratified

*On this date in 1870, the Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified. This guaranteed African American men the right to vote.

The 15th Amendment maintains “the right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by a State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” The text also gives Congress the power to enforce the amendment.

Louis B. Anderson, Lawyer born

*Louis B. Anderson was born on this date in 1870. He was a Black journalist and politician who served as alderman of Chicago’s 2nd ward from 1917 to 1933. Born in Petersburg, Virginia, Louis Bernard Anderson moved to Washington, D.C., in 1889 to work in journalism as an exchange reader and journalist. At some point, […]

The Enforcement Act of 1870 is Passed

*On this date, the Enforcement Act of 1870 was passed.   It is also known as the Civil Rights Act, the First Ku Klux Klan Act, or the Force Act. It was an American federal law written to empower the President with the legal authority to enforce the first section of the Fifteenth Amendment throughout the United States. The act was the first of three Enforcement Acts passed by the United States Congress from […]

The Enforcement Act of 1871 is Passed

*On this date in 1871, the 42nd United States Congress passed the Enforcement Act of 1871, and President Ulysses S. Grant signed it into law.   Also known as the Civil Rights Act of 1871, Force Act of 1871, Ku Klux Klan Act, Third Enforcement Act, or Third Ku Klux Klan Act, it empowered the President to suspend the writ of habeas corpus to combat the Ku Klux Klan and […]

The Supreme Court Rules On The Slaughterhouse Cases

On this date in 1873, the Slaughterhouse cases were decided by the Supreme Court. These had a profound affect on former Black slaves and the Fourteenth Amendment of the American Constitution.

The Civil Rights Act of 1875 Is Passed

*On this date, the Civil Rights Act of 1875 was passed. The Enforcement Act or the Force Act was a United States federal law enacted during Reconstruction in response to civil rights violations against Blacks. The bill was passed by the 43rd United States Congress and signed into law by United States President Ulysses S. Grant. The act was designed to “protect all citizens in their civil and […]

Samuel J. Brown, Lawyer, and Activist born

*Samuel Joe Brown was born on this date in 1875. He was a Black lawyer and activist. Samuel “Joe” Brown was born in Keosauqua, Iowa, to Elizabeth (Henderson) Brown and Lewis Brown. Lewis, a teamster, traced the family lineage to the original 20 slaves brought to Jamestown, Virginia, in 1619. Moving north from Missouri, his […]