*On this date in 1933, the ‘Black Cabinet’ is celebrated. This was an unofficial group of Black advisors to President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Beginning in 1933, Secretary of the Interior (and former Chicago NAACP president) Harold Ickes led an effort to open high-level civil servant positions to Black professionals. The first group of these professionals, […]
learn more*The birth of Rufus Buck is affirmed on this date in 1876. He was a Black Indigenous Indian outlaw who terrorized Arkansas and Oklahoma in the summer of 1895. Born to a Black mother and Creek father in about 1875, Rufus was in trouble from a young age, and by the time he was 18, […]
learn more*Truman Gibson was born on this date in 1912. He was a Black businessman, attorney, government advisor, and boxing promoter. Truman Kella Gibson, Jr., the son of an insurance executive, was born in Atlanta, Georgia. While still young, he moved with his family to Columbus, Ohio. He graduated from the University of Chicago in 1932 […]
learn more*The Rufus Buck Gang was formed on July 30, 1895. They were American Creek Indian and African outlaw criminals. Their only crime spree occurred in the Indian Territory of Arkansas and Oklahoma in the summer of 1895. Rufus Buck formed the gang of Lewis Davis, Sam Sampson, Maoma July, and Lucky Davis. The gang began […]
learn moreDanny Shackleford was a retired businessman and Vietnam veteran. In this segment, he shares several episodes from the US Army that felt racially motivated.
learn more*Melanie Lomax was born on this date in 1950. She was a Black civil rights lawyer and former head of the Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners. Melanie Elizabeth Lomax was the daughter of Lucius W. Lomax, Jr., an attorney, and Hallie Almena Davis Lomax, a civil rights activist and editor of the Los Angeles […]
learn more*On June 29, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down affirmative action in admissions decisions at public and private universities. The opinion reversed longstanding precedent that allowed universities some leeway to consider an applicant’s race to balance student bodies better. The court’s conservative majority effectively overturned cases that lasted 45 years, invalidating admissions plans at […]
learn more*The birth of Aubrey Lewis is celebrated on this date in c. 1935. He was a Black athlete and government investigator. Born in Glen Ridge, New Jersey, Lewis grew up in nearby Montclair and attended Montclair High School, from which he graduated in 1954. During his high school career at Montclair, Lewis played basketball and […]
learn more*Arthur Gregg was born on May 11, 1928. He was a Black laboratory technician and military officer. Arthur J. Gregg was born about 10 miles from Florence, South Carolina. He went to an elementary school near Florence. He attended high school in Newport News, Virginia, where he lived with his eldest brother and family. After […]
learn more*On this date in 1865, the 104th U.S. Colored Troops Infantry Regiment was formed. It was partially organized in Beaufort, South Carolina, by Orindatus Wall. The 104th had garrison and guard duty at various points in South Carolina till it was mustered out on February 5, 1866. To Have a Military Career
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