People, Locations, Episodes

Paul Trévigne Jr., Newspaper Editor born

*Paul Trévigne Jr. was born on this date in 1825. He was a Black Creole newspaperman and civil rights activist. From New Orleans, Louisiana, he was the biracial son of Paul Trevigne, a veteran of the 1815 Battle of New Orleans, and Josephine Marguerite Decoudreaux. Free men of color had served in the militia under French rule […]

John Rock, Lawyer, and Abolitionist born

*John Rock was born on this date in 1825.  He was a Black lawyer, teacher, and abolitionist.  From Salem County, New Jersey, at an early age, John Stewart Rock had an insatiable appetite for learning. Although his parents were poor, they committed to sending young Rock to school.  At eighteen, Rock began to teach at […]

William Howard Day, Editor, and Minister born

*On this date in 1825, William Day was born. He was a Black abolitionist, editor, educator and a minister.

Alexander G. Clark, Iowa Lawyer born

*Alexander G. Clark was born on this date in 1826. He was a Black laborer, barber, lawyer and activist.

He was born in Washington County, Pennsylvania, to John Clark, a former slave, and Rebecca Darnes Clark. At 13, he moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, to learn barbering from an uncle, who also made sure the boy was well-schooled in other areas. Clark left Cincinnati in October 1841, working for a few months as a bartender on the steamboat George Washington before arriving, at 16, in Muscatine (then called Bloomington, in Iowa Territory). It was May 22, 1842.

Ellen, and William Craft, Slaves Who Escaped to Freedom

The lives of Ellen and William Craft are celebrated on this date. They were two Black abolitionists who were known for William’s autobiographical slave narrative describing the couple’s dramatic escape from slavery.

Elizabeth Jennings Graham, Teacher born

*This date in 1827 is celebrated as the birth date of Elizabeth Jennings Graham. She was a Black teacher, church organist, and civil rights figure.   Elizabeth Jennings was born free in New York City. Her parents, Thomas L. Jennings and his wife, born Elizabeth Cartwright, had three children. Their names were Matilda Jennings Thompson, […]

Emily Howland, Educator and Abolitionist born

*Emily Howland was born on this date in 1827.  She was a white-American philanthropist, abolitionist, and educator.   Emily Howland was born in Sherwood, Cayuga County, New York.  She was the daughter of Slocum and Hannah Tallcot Howland, who were prominent in the Society of Friends.  Her brother, William Howland, served in the 106th New […]

The African Dorcas Association Begins

*On this date, 1828, the African Dorcas Association was founded. This was a Black women’s community aid society in New York City.   The women of this group sewed clothes for the city’s Black children so that they would have appropriate attire for school. They were also one of the first societies where “women met independently and without the supervision of men.” Through […]

Elizabeth Thorn Scott Flood, Educator born

*This date in 1828 is celebrated as the birth date of Elizabeth Thorn Scott Flood, a 19th-century Black educator and activist.    Elizabeth Thorn was born a free woman in New York State. She received a good education in New Bedford, Massachusetts, and married her first husband, Joseph Scott.  In 1852, Elizabeth and her husband moved […]

Osbourne Anderson, Abolitionist born

*Osborne Perry Anderson was born on this date in 1830.  He was a Black abolitionist.

Edward Walker, Lawyer born

*Edward Walker’s birth is celebrated on this date in 1830. He was a Black artisan and attorney.   Edward Garrison Walker was the son of Eliza and David Walker, an abolitionist who wrote an appeal in 1829 calling for the end of slavery.  Born in Edgefield, SC, he received training in working with leather as a young man. He […]

The First National Negro Convention Meets

*On this date in 1830, the first National Negro Convention met in Philadelphia, PA. This group gathered for the express purpose of abolishing slavery and improving the status of African Americans.

Mary Dickerson, Businesswoman, and Club Woman born

*Mary Dickerson was born on this date in 1830. She was a Black businesswoman and clubwoman. Mary H. Dickerson was born in Haddam, Connecticut, and grew up in New Haven, Connecticut. Around 1865, Dickerson and her husband, Silas, moved to Newport, Rhode Island. In the early 1870s, she opened a dressmaking shop on Bellevue Avenue. […]

The Liberator Newspaper Begins Circulation

*It was on the first day of January 1831 in Boston that William Lloyd Garrison published The Liberator newspaper, the official periodical of the antislavery movement.

Sarah J. Tompkins Garnet, Educator and Suffragist born.

*Sarah J. Tompkins Garnet was born on this date in 1831. She was a Black educator and suffragist. Sarah J. Smith was born on the Shinnecock Reservation of Long Island. She was the daughter of Sylvanus and Anne Smith, both of African, Native American, and European heritage. She was the oldest of 11 children; her […]