*Mary Edwards Hunter was born on this date in 1885. She was a Black teacher; extension agent and women and children advocate. Mary Evelyn Virginia Edwards was born in Finchburg, Alabama, the fifteenth of seventeen children of Elijah E. and Frances (Moore) Edwards. While still a girl, she became the bookkeeper for her father’s store, […]
learn more*Artemisia Bowden was born on this date in 1879. She was a Black school administrator and civil rights, activist. Artemisia Bowden was born in Albany, Georgia to former slaves Milas and Mary Bowden. She was the oldest of four children and in her early life, she grew up in Brunswick, Georgia. There she attended Athanasius’ […]
learn more*The birth of Opothleyahola is celebrated on this date in c. 1778. He was a Muscogee Creek Indian chief, noted orator, and slave owner. Also known as Opothle Yohola, he was from Florida and a Speaker of the Upper Creek Council and supported traditional culture. Although known as a diplomatic chief, as a Red Stick […]
learn more*Melvin Alston was born on this date in 1911. He was a Black educator and activist. From Norfolk, Virginia, Melvin Ovenus Alston’s father was Sonny Alston, and his mother was Elizabeth Smith and who was born in Long Island, New York. Alston had many brothers and sisters and the family attended First Calvary or First […]
learn more*The Way Opportunities Unlimited was incorporated on this date in 1966. This was a non-profit Minneapolis northside community center. It was established following the racial and economic urban north Minneapolis riots of 1966. Black city leaders came together to create a space in the neighborhood devoted to cultivating racial stability among Black youths. Syl Davis […]
learn more*The birth of Gullah Jack is celebrated on this date in c 1800. He was an African conjurer and abolitionist. Little was known about his background, except that he was from Angola and was shipped from Zanzibar to America under Zephaniah Kingsley’s direction. He was sent first to Florida, to the Kingsley Plantation. Also known as Couter Jack and […]
learn more*Beulah Webb of Sioux City was born on this date in 1895. She was a Black community service leader. In 1927, she organized the Sioux City Association of Colored Women to promote culture, education, literature, and art and to alleviate racial problems. She was selected to attend the National Federation of Colored Women’s Clubs Convention in 1938. […]
learn more*Fred Hampton was born on this date in 1948. He was a Black activist, Marxist-Leninist, and revolutionary socialist. Fredrick Allen Hampton was born in present-day Summit Argo, Illinois, and moved with his parents to Maywood, Illinois, 10 years later, where he grew up. Both are suburbs of Chicago. His parents had moved north from Louisiana, […]
learn more*Mark Clark was born on this date in 1947. He was a Black activist and member of the Black Panther Party. Mark Clark was born in Peoria, Illinois, to Elder William Clark and Fannie Bradley Clark. Family members said Clark enjoyed reading and art and was good at drawing portraits. He attended Manual High School […]
learn more*The birth of Samuel Sharpe is celebrated on this date in 1801. Also known as Sam Sharpe, he was an enslaved Black Jamaican preacher and abolitionist. Samuel Sharpe was born into slavery in the parish of St James, Jamaica. He was raised on a plantation owned by Samuel and Jane Sharpe. The 1817 slave records of […]
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