*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 […]
learn more*The Women’s Loyal Union, or WLU, was formed on this date in 1892 in New York. It started to advocate for women’s rights and, most importantly, the racial injustices that came with being a Black Woman during Reconstruction. WLU began with Maritcha Remond Lyons partnering with educator and activist Victoria Earle Matthews to host and […]
learn more*Phyllis A. Wallace was born on this date in 1921. She was a Black economist and activist. She was born Annie Rebecca Wallace in Calvert County, Maryland, the first of six children born to John Wallace, a craftsman, and Stevella Wallace. She attended a well-ranked yet segregated high school, Frederick Douglass High School, graduating first […]
learn more*William Darity Jr. was born on this date in 1953. He is a Black social scientist and economist. William A. ‘Sandy’ Darity Jr. was born in Norfolk, Virginia, and raised in Amherst, Massachusetts. His parents were William A. Darity Sr. and Evangeline Royal Darity. He has one sister. Darity Jr. graduated with a bachelor’s degree […]
learn more*The National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America (N’COBRA) was founded on this date in 1987. Founded in Washington, D.C., N’COBRA is an organization that advocates for financial compensation for the descendants of formerly enslaved people in the United States. The National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America spreads information and supports the […]
learn more*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 […]
learn more*Vivian ‘Buster’ Marshall was born on this date in 1911. She was a Black administrator and civil rights activist. Vivian Burey was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Vivian Burey grew up in a middle-class family; her parents, Christopher and Maud Burey, worked in catering in the city. She attended local schools. She met Thurgood Marshall at […]
learn moreDe Valera M. Botchway is a professor of history and pan-Africanist. In this segment, he recalls the history of a pan-African institution of higher learning in Africa.
learn more*Alfred King was born on this date in 1930. He was a Black Baptist minister and civil rights activist. Alfred Daniel King was born in Atlanta, Georgia. He was the son of Reverend Martin Luther King Sr. and Alberta Williams King. He was the youngest of their three children (the other two being Willie Christine […]
learn more*The Brotherhood of Liberty was formed on this date in 1885. Known as Mutual United Brotherhood of Liberty, it was in Baltimore, Maryland, that the organization sought to remove social injustices and protect the civil rights of Blacks against the structures of the Jim Crow Era. The Brotherhood of Liberty used legal means to protect […]
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