People, Locations, Episodes

Black History And The American Labor Movement, a story

*Black history and the American labor movement are affirmed on this date in 1835. This article coincides with the Washington Navy Yard labor strike of 1835, the first strike of federal civilian employees. The strike ended on August 15, 1835. In the early nineteenth century, blacks played a dominant role in the caulking trade, and […]

The Detroit Anti-Slavery Society is Formed

*On this date, 1837, the Detroit Anti-Slavery Society was formed.  Before the American Civil War, activists in northern cities formed anti-slavery organizations to promote the abolitionist cause. Detroit’s Anti-Slavery Society was founded the same year Michigan became a state. The new state constitution included a ban on slavery. Abolitionists organized to fight the institution of […]

Helen Appo Cook, Women’s Rights Advocate born.

*Helen Appo Cook was born on this date in 1837. She was a wealthy, prominent Black community activist in the women’s club movement. Helen Appo was born to William Appo, a prominent musician, and Elizabeth Brady Appo, who owned a millinery business in New York. Due to William Appo’s music career, the family resided in […]

Jacob White Jr., Educator born

*The birth of Jacob C. White Jr. is celebrated on August 28th 1837. He was a Black educator, intellectual, and abolitionist. Jacob Clement White Jr. was the son of Jacob White Sr. and Elizabeth White. He was raised at 100 Old York Road in Philadelphia’s predominantly white Jenkintown neighborhoods. His father was a barber and physician who […]

Newton Knight, Confederate Abolitionist born

*Newton Knight ion was born on this date in 1837.  He was a white-American abolitionist, farmer, unionist, and Confederate soldier.  Knight was born near the Leaf River in Jones County, Mississippi, a region dominated by virgin longleaf pines, and wolves and panthers roamed the land.  Knight married Serena Turner in 1858, and they moved to […]

Susan Vashon, Teacher, and Abolitionist born

*Susan Paul Vashon was born in Boston, Massachusetts on this date in 1838. She was an African American teacher and abolitionist.

James M. Turner, Activist born

*This date in 1840 is celebrated as the birth date of James M. Turner, a Black Reconstruction Era politician, activist, educator, and diplomat.   James Milton Turner was born into slavery in St. Louis, Missouri. As a child, he was sold on the steps of the St. Louis US Courthouse for $50 (approximately $ 1,500 […]

William Monroe Trotter, Publisher, and Activist born

*William Monroe Trotter was born on this date in 1872. He was an African American news publisher and activist and perhaps the most militant of the known civil rights activist of the 19th century.

Julia Bullard Nelson, Educator, and Activist born

*Julia Bullard Nelson was born on this date in 1842. She was a white-American educator and activist for inclusive education and women’s right to vote. Born in High Ridge, Connecticut, Bullard moved to Minnesota with her family in 1857. Around 1862, she earned a teaching degree at Hamline University and then relocated to Red Wing. […]

Hester C Jeffery, Activist, Suffagist born

*The birth of Hester C. Jeffrey is celebrated on this date in c. 1842. She was a Black activist, suffragist, and community organizer. In Norfolk, Virginia, Hester C. Whitehurst was born to free Black parents Robert and Martha Whitehurst. She was educated and considered an accomplished musician. In 1860, Jeffrey, her brother, and her sister […]

Josephine Ruffin, News Publisher born

Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin, a Black journalist and civil rights leader, was born on this date in 1842.

Ruffin was born into one of Boston’s leading black families. In 1858, at the age of 15, she became the wife of George Lewis Ruffin, the first African American to graduate from Harvard Law School. During the Civil War, Ruffin was involved in various civil rights causes, charity work, and the women’s suffrage movement. In 1879, she established the Boston Kansas Relief Association, a charity organization that provided food and clothing to black Bostonians who were migrating to Kansas.

The Dawn Settlement is formed

*The Dawn settlement was formed on this date in 1842.  Often called Dawn, this was a Canadian refuge community and a place of work for former American slaves. Josiah Henson and Hiram Wilson formed it with 200 acres of property purchased. Henson also purchased an additional 200 acres of land adjacent to the community, later […]

Thomas Henry Lyles, Businessman born

*The birth of Thomas Henry Lyles is celebrated on this date in 1843. He was a Black soldier, businessman, and activist. Born in Maryland, Lyles served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.  Around 1870, Lyles married  Amanda Lyles, and the couple arrived in St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1874. The 1880 Census shows Lyles […]

The Palladium of Liberty Newspaper is Published

*The Palladium of Liberty published its first issue on this date in 1843.  This was the first newspaper published by Black Ohioans to promote Black civil rights in Ohio. David Jenkins and other Black community leaders launched the Columbus-based weekly.   The Palladium of Liberty was established by the resolutions of two African American citizens’ conventions in 1843, which David […]

Helen Villard, Activist, and Suffragist born

*Helen Villard was born on this date in 1844. She was a white-American women’s suffrage campaigner, pacifist, and racial activist.   Born in Boston, MA., Helen Frances Garrison, known to family and friends as “Fanny,” was the only surviving daughter of five sons and two daughters born to Helen Eliza Benson and William Lloyd Garrison. Her brother, William […]