*Hallie Almena Lomax was born on July 23, 1915. She was a Black journalist and activist. Hallie Almena Davis was born in Galveston, Texas. Her parents, Clifford and Geneva Davis, moved the family to Chicago and Los Angeles, where she graduated from Jordan High School in the Watts neighborhood. She briefly studied journalism at Los […]
learn more*On February 13, 1941, the first issue of the Los Angeles Tribune was published. Almena Lomax, a civil rights activist, published this newspaper between 1941 and 1960, principally for the African American residents of Los Angeles. The paper was known for its “fearless reporting,” including articles about racism in the Los Angeles Police Department. Erna […]
learn more*Erna P. Harris was born on this date in 1908. She was a Black journalist, businesswoman, and activist. Erna Prather Harris was born in Kingfisher, Oklahoma, to Frances A. “Frankie” and James E. Harris. Her father was a postman. As an admirer of Mahatma Gandhi, he influenced his daughter’s later activism. Unlike most men in […]
learn more*Nesuhi Ertegun was born on November 26, 1917. He was a white Turkish-American record producer and Atlantic Records and WEA International executive. Born in Istanbul in the Ottoman Empire, Nesuhi and his family moved to Washington, DC, in 1935 when their father was appointed the Turkish Ambassador to the United States that year. From an […]
learn more*George Levitan was born on this date in 1905. He was a white Jewish-American publisher and philanthropist. Born in Detroit, Michigan, George Theodore Levitan was the son of David Lewitański and Rachel Lewitański. He became a magazine publisher, the owner, and president of Good Publishing Co., which publishes Sepia and five other nationally distributed, Black-oriented […]
learn more*Wally Amos was born on this date in 1936. He was a Black talent agent, businessman, and author. Wallace Amos Jr. was born to Wallace and Ruby Amos and raised in Tallahassee, Florida until he was 12. When his parents divorced, he moved to New York City with his aunt, where he enrolled at the […]
learn more*Albert W. Dent was born on September 25, 1904. He was a Black academic business administrator and community leader. Albert Walter Dent was born in Atlanta, Georgia. His father was a day laborer who died shortly before Albert’s birth. His mother worked as a domestic servant to support Albert and his two sisters. The Dents […]
learn more*The first issue of the National Anti-Slavery Standard was published on June 11, 1840. The Standard was a weekly newspaper published concurrently in New York City and Philadelphia. This was the official weekly newspaper of the American Anti-Slavery Society; its editors were Lydia Maria Child and David Lee Child. It published essays, debates, speeches, events, […]
learn more*Anne Hampton was born on this date in 1808. She was a free Black domestic and chef. She was raised in Hudson Falls, New York, and was of African, Indigenous, and European ancestry. In 1829, she married Solomon Northup, and she gave birth to their children Elizabeth in 1831, Margaret in 1833, and Alonzo Northup […]
learn more*The Freedman’s Saving and Trust Company opened on this date in 1865. Known as the Freedman’s Savings Bank, it was a private savings bank chartered by the U.S. Congress to collect deposits from the newly emancipated communities. At the end of the American Civil War, the poor economic conditions of the formerly enslaved freedmen were […]
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