*William Darity Sr. was born on January 15, 1924. He was a Black public health advocate, academic administrator, and activist. William Alexander (Bill) Darity Sr. was born in East Flat Rock, N.C. Neither of his parents, Aden Randall and Elizabeth Smith Darity, had been educated beyond the sixth grade. Still, they managed to provide a […]
learn more*John A. Lomax Jr. was born on this date in 1907. He was a white-American folklorist, performer, and land developer. John A. Lomax Jr. was born in Austin, Texas, United States. He was the son of John Avery Lomax and Bess Bauman Brown and the brother of Shirley Lomax, Alan Lomax, and Bess Lomax. He […]
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 Freedman’s Savings Bank opened on this date in 1865. It was the first federal bank in America. Also known as the Freedman’s Saving and Trust Company, it was a private savings bank chartered by the U.S. Congress to collect deposits from newly emancipated slaves. At the end of the American Civil War, the poor […]
learn more*The Black Mafia is affirmed on December 23, 1968. It was a Black Philadelphia-based organized crime syndicate. Also known as the Philadelphia Black Mafia (PBM), Black Muslim Mafia, and Muslim Mob, it began as a small criminal group known for holding up neighborhood crap games and dealing in illegal drugs. From its height of operation […]
learn more*Samuel Christian was born on this date in 1939. He was a Black mobster and the founder of the Philadelphia Black Mafia. Samuel Christian was a former member of the Black Panther Party from Philadelphia, PA. Christian was added to the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list as a suspect in the 1972 murder of Tyrone […]
learn more*Eunice Walker Johnson was born on April 4, 1916. She was a Black businesswoman. Eunice Walker was born in Selma, Alabama, to Nathaniel Walker, a physician, and Ethel Walker (née McAlpine), a high school principal. She was one of four children. She graduated with a degree in sociology from Talladega College in 1938. During college, […]
learn more*On December 20, 1934, we celebrate Grace’s Little Belmont. This was a jazz music bar and lounge in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Located at 37 North Kentucky Avenue, it was one of the four popular Black nightclubs between the mid-1930s and mid-1970s. The Little Belmont was located across the street from Club Harlem, where it […]
learn more*The Ebony Fashion Fair is celebrated on this date in 1958. (also known as the Ebony Traveling Fashion Fair) was an annual fashion event created by Eunice Johnson, co-founder of Johnson Publishing Company. In 1956, John H. Johnson, founder of the Johnson Publishing Company, was approached by Jessie Dent (the wife of the president of […]
learn more