*Myrtle Elizabeth Picou Sengstacke was born on this date in 1914. She was a Black artisan, philanthropist, and activist. Myrtle Lorenza Picou was born to a New Orleans Creole family, including her father, Thomas W. Picou, Mother Mary E. Raggett (or Marie Raguette), Uncle Lewis W. Raggett, and brother Maurice (Morris) Picou. Her family moved […]
learn more*Charlotta Gordon Pyles was born on this date in 1806. She was a Black abolitionist and lecturer. Born into slavery in Tennessee, Pyles also lived on Hugh Gordon’s plantation near Bardstown, Kentucky, along with her children. After Gordon’s death, his daughter Frances inherited the Pyles family and moved from Kentucky to Iowa, where she freed Charlotta and some of […]
learn more*The Mississippi State Federation of Colored Women’s Clubs, Inc. (MSFCWC) is celebrated on this date in 1903. MSFCWC is an African American women’s club located in Mississippi. Educators Ursula J. Wade Foster, Mattie F. Rowan, and Lizzie Coleman created the club in 1903. They were inspired by visiting the annual session of the Southeastern Association […]
learn more*The Girl Friends, Inc. is celebrated on this date in 1927. The Girl Friends, Inc. is one of the oldest social organizations for African American women in the United States. It was founded in New York City by Eunice Shreeves, a Cheyney Normal School for Teachers student. It was her idea to “stay in touch” with her […]
learn more*Robert Hicks was born on this date in 1929. He was a Black laborer and activist in Bogalusa, Louisiana. Robert ‘Bob’ Hicks was born in Pachuta, Mississippi, the youngest child of Quitman and Maybell Crawford Hicks. He moved to Bogalusa, Louisiana, with his family as a child. In 1947, Hicks graduated from the segregated Central Memorial […]
learn more*Theresa Venable was born on this date in 1948. She is a Black educator, historian, and retired librarian. From Knoxville, TN, Theresa Evans Venable earned a B.S. in Elementary Education and an M.S. in Information Sciences from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN. For thirty years, she was an elementary and middle school reading and […]
learn more*Peter Meyerhoff was born on this date in 1925. He was a white Jewish American mechanical engineer and philanthropist. Born in Germany, he arrived in the United States as a teenager during World War II; he graduated from high school and then joined the Army, where he was made a citizen. When he returned, he […]
learn more*The Children’s Defense Fund (CDF) is celebrated on this date in 1973. CDF is an American nonprofit organization that focuses on child advocacy and research. Based in Washington, D.C., and created by Marian Wright Edelman. The CDF exists to improve federal policies concerning child welfare and public education systems. CDF has offices in several states: California, […]
learn more*The Haley Farm is celebrated on this date in 1994. This retreat is a 157-acre farm that once belonged to Pulitzer Prize-winning author Alex Haley. Purchased in April 1994 by the Children’s Defense Fund (CDF), Haley Farm is a heartfelt, welcoming countryside retreat consisting of guest cottages, a chapel, a meeting lodge, and a library. The […]
learn more*James W. Ford was born on this date in 1893. He was a Black labor activist and a politician. Ford was born in Pratt City, Alabama. His father, a former resident of Gainesville, Georgia, had come to Alabama in the 1890s to work in the coal mines and steel mills. He worked for 35 years […]
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