*The Berry Hotel in Ohio is celebrated on this date in 1882. The Berry Hotel was established by African American entrepreneur Edward C. Berry and his wife Mattie. The Berry Hotel began as an ice cream shop and later a restaurant the couple operated on a lot bought in 1880 for $1,300. In 1893, they expanded the […]
learn more*Ruby McCollum was born on this date in 1909. She was a wealthy married Black woman known for being arrested and convicted in 1952 for killing a white paramour, doctor, and politician. Ruby Jackson was born to Gertrude and William Jackson in Zuber, Florida. She was the second child and first daughter of six children. […]
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 birth of Manuel Lopes is celebrated on this date in 1812. He was a Black barber, businessman, and sailor. Lopes was born in the Cape Verde Islands of Africa. He was enslaved, kidnapped, and brought to America. He worked as a sailor in New England, first in Maine and then in the New Bedford area of […]
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 […]
learn more*The National Negro Congress (NNC) held its first convention on this date in 1936. The NNC was an American organization aiming to fight for black labor liberation. Historically, many black workers were segregated and racially discriminated in the labor force. To combat racism within their respective jobs, they had to establish a union. However, most […]
learn more*The first publication of Our World magazine was on this date in 1946. Our World was a magazine for African American readers founded by John P. Davis. Our World Magazine was a full-size, nationally distributed magazine. Their first issue, which featured singer-actress Lena Horne on the cover, arrived on the nation’s newsstands in the spring. Our World […]
learn more*On this date in 1925, the International Labor Defense (ILD) was formed. IDL was a diverse legal advocacy organization supporting American labor. Economic disputes have been legally contested since America’s 19th-century organized labor movement began. Sometimes an employer or government has gone to court to terminate strike actions or to seek prosecution for alleged malefactors for physical […]
learn more*The birth of Felix Battles is celebrated on this date in 1840. He was a Black soldier and barber. Born enslaved on a cotton plantation near Memphis, TN, he lived his childhood near Holly Springs, MS. Between 1856 and 1860, Battles escaped his enslavers. He is in the 1860 census in Dubuque, Iowa, with three […]
learn more*Carlotta Walls LaNier was born on this date in 1942. She is a Black realtor and youth administrator and was the youngest of the Little Rock Nine. Carlotta Walls was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, to Juanita and Cartelyou Walls. Her father was a brick mason and a World War II veteran; her mother was a […]
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