One of the nation’s best sprinters, Terrell Robinson chooses HBCU

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Oct

17

1956

Ashley, Maurice (1966- )

Maurice Ashley, the first African American chess grandmaster, was born in St. Andrew, Jamaica on March 6, 1966. At age 12, his family moved to Brooklyn, New York, where Ashley began to develop an interest in chess. Although he spent several hours a day playing and studying the game, he did not play

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Source: Black Past

Mar

6

1966

Denzel Washington Born

Actor Denzel Washington was born on this day in Mount Vernon, NY. Washington will star in such films as Malcolm X, Glory, Much Ado about Nothing, and A Soldiers Story. He will have a start in television in his role on popular show St. Elsewhere. He will win an Academy Award for best supporting

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Dec

28

1954

Nine Black students started Little Rock high school, 1957

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Sep

24

1957

General William T. Sherman's Special Field Order No. 15 (1865)

On January 16, 1865, Union General William T. Sherman issued Special Field Order No. 15 which confiscated as Federal property a strip of coastal land extending about 30 miles inland from the Atlantic and stretching from Charleston, South Carolina 245 miles south to Jacksonville, Florida. The order

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Source: Black Past

Jan

16

1865

University of Arkansas Pine Bluff (1873- )

The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff was created by the Arkansas Legislative Act of 1873. The University was established for the convenience and well-being of the poorer classes” which meant African Americans in the state. The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff is the oldest

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Source: Black Past

Texas As a Slave State

President John Tyler signed the joint resolution of Congress to admit Texas as a slave state.

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Mar

5

1845

Race, Gender, Jazz & Local 493: Black Women Musicians in Seattle: 1920-1955

During its brief and rocky tenure from 1918 to 1924, pianist Gertrude Harvey Wright was one of four women in Seattle’s first black musicians’ union, the American Federation of Musicians’ Local 458. Wright, Virginia Hughes, a “Mrs. Austin,” and (Edythe) “Turnham,” all

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Source: Black Past

The Arsenio Hall Show premieres.

The Arsenio Hall Show premieres. It is the first regularly scheduled nightly talk show to star an African American.

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Jan

3

1989

Poitier, Sidney (1927 - )

After two years in the Army, Poitier decided on an impulse to audition at the American Negro Theatre. Although he was initially rejected, Poitier was now determined to become an actor. He worked on getting rid of his Bahamian accent and improving his theatre performance for six months. On his

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Source: Black Past

Supreme Court decision

Supreme Court decision (Nixon v. Herndon) struck down Texas law which barred Blacks from voting in white primary.

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Mar

7

1927

(1875) Congressman James T. Rapier, “Half Free, Half Slave”

On February 4, 1875, Congressman James T. Rapier of Alabama, rose on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives to support the Civil Right bill then before Congress which when enacted later that year became the Civil Rights Act of 1875. His speech appears

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Source: Black Past

Feb

4

1875

James Weldon Johnson

James Weldon Johnson was a prominent African American leader born on June 17, 1871 in Jacksonville, Florida. He was brought up in a liberal environment where his parents encouraged him to acquire an education and pursue his dreams. His mother taught him and his brother the works of classical

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Source: Black History Resources

Jun

26

1938

Samuel L. Jackson

Actor Samuel Jackson was born on this day in Washington, DC. Jackson will begin his acting career as a student at Morehouse College. He will star in over 40 movies including box office hits The Long Kiss Goodnight, Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown, and A Time to Kill.

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Dec

21

1941

Sugar Ray Robinson

Sugar Ray Robinson, born Walker Smith Junior, was an American Professional Boxer. A member of the international boxing hall of fame, Robinson is believed by many to be the greatest boxer of all time; owing mostly to his 91 fight unbeaten streak, and his remarkable

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Source: Black History Resources

Oct

4

1940

Baseball player Darryl Strawberry born

New York Mets controversial star outfielder Darryl Strawberry was born in Los Angeles.

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Mar

12

1962

Julia premieres on NBC with Diahann Carroll in the title role. It is the first

Julia premieres on NBC with Diahann Carroll in the title role. It is the first modern television show to star an African American woman since Beulah in the 1950s.

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Sep

17

1968

Although the Emancipation Proclamation was issued in 1863, slavery continued i

Although the Emancipation Proclamation was issued in 1863, slavery continued in Texas until June 19, 1865, when word reached Galveston, Texas that all slaves in Texas were free. One third of the people in Texas were slaves at that time.Juneteenth was celebrated annually with picnics and barbecues

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Jun

19

1865

Busta Rhymes

Busta Rhymes is an American rapper and actor. His birth name is Trevor Tahiem Smith, Jr. He was born on May 20, 1972 to Geraldine Green and Trevor Smith, who were Jamaican immigrants. He moved to Long Island at the age of 12, where he attended Uniondale High School. After graduating from high

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Source: Black History Resources

May

20

1972

Garey Coleman born

Diminutive actor Gary Coleman was born in Zion, Illinois. Despite a childhood of medical troubles, Coleman went on to become a television star in numerous situation comedies.

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Feb

8

1968

Florence Griffith Joyner, track legend born

Delorez Florence Griffith Joyner

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Dec

21

1959

Ray Charles

Born: 9/23/1930 Albany, GeorgiaDied: 6/10/2004 Beverly Hills, CaliforniaRay Charles Robinson, professionally known as Ray Charles, was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and composer. He was sometimes referred to as The Genius, and was also nicknamed The High Priest of SoulAwards

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Bert Williams--a Leading Comedian

At the turn of the century Bert Williams was one of Americas top comedians. Comedian Eddie Cantor called him a comic genius, W.C. Fields, a comic genius himself, once described Williams as the funniest man I ever

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Mar

4

1922

Emory O. Jackson, the Birmingham World, and the Fight for Civil Rights in Alabama

In the article below, Kimberley Mangun, an associate professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Utah, describes her ongoing research on the Birmingham (Alabama) World and its longtime editor, Emory O. Jackson. Mangun is writing a cultural biography of Jackson and the

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Source: Black Past

George Gervin

Born on April 27, 1952 in Detroit, Michigan, George Gervin is a retired professional basketball player who is known to be one of the greatest shooting guards in NBA

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Source: Black History Resources

Apr

27

1952

Britton, Theodore R., Jr. (1925- )

Ambassador Theodore Roosevelt Britton, Jr. was born on October 17, 1925 in North Augusta, South Carolina. In 1936, he and his family migrated to New York City, New York. Britton was drafted into the U.S. Marine Corps out of high school soon after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Although he was unaware

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Source: Black Past

Florence Price, composer born

Florence Beatrice Smith Price COMPOSER Birthplace: Little Rock, Arkansas April 9, 1888- June 3, 1953 Florences mother was a music teacher, so naturally, she learned how to play the piano at an early age.She had her first recital by the age of four and had composed and published her first musical

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Apr

9

1888

Reynolds, Melvin Jay “Mel” (1952- )

Politician, scholar and professor, Mel Reynolds was born on January 8, 1952, in Mound Bayou, Mississippi, to parents J.J. and Essie May Reynolds. Reynolds attended John Marshall High School on the Westside of Chicago where he developed impressive academic credentials. He then enrolled in Chicago

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Source: Black Past

Oct

1

1995

Coachman, Alice Marie (1923-2014)

Alice Coachman became the first African American woman from any country to win an Olympic Gold Medal when she competed at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, UK. Born November 9, 1923, in Albany, Georgia, to Evelyn and Fred Coachman, Alice was the fifth of ten children. As an athletic child of the

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Source: Black Past

(1963) Martin Luther King, Jr., “Letter From a Birmingham Jail”

My Dear Fellow

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