R.I.P. Rafer Johnson, 86, Gold Medalist in the 1960 Olympic Decathlon

Keith, Kenton Wesley (1939- )

On May 26, 1992, career diplomat Kenton Wesley Keith was nominated by President George H.W. Bush to serve as U.S. ambassador to Qatar. After U.S. Senate confirmation, Keith arrived in Ad-Dawhah (Doha), the capital of Qatar and presented his credentials on September 2, 1992. He served until July

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Source: Black Past

Bolden Jr., Charles F. (1946-)

Charles Frank Bolden, Jr., NASA’s first permanent black administrator, was born to Charles Frank and Ethel Bolden, both teachers, on August 19th, 1946 in Columbia, South Carolina. He rose to the rank of Major General in the United States Marine Corps and was a National Aeronautics and Space

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Source: Black Past

Jul

17

2009

Blayton, Jesse B., Sr. (1879-1977)

Jesse B. Blayton, Sr., was a pioneer African American radio station entrepreneur. Blayton founded WERD-AM in Atlanta, Georgia on October 3, 1949 making him the first African American to own and operate a radio station in the United

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Source: Black Past

Oct

3

1949

Anti-Slavery Society started

American Anti-Slavery Society

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Dec

4

1833

James, Charles A. (1922- )

Ambassador Charles A. James was born in 1922 in Washington, D.C. and grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where he attended public schools. After high school, James enrolled at Westchester State Teachers College in Pennsylvania (now Westchester University) where he studied for one year before

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Source: Black Past

Sep

16

1976

La Tribune de la Nouvelle-Orléans (1864-1868)

The New Orleans Tribune was the first African American daily newspaper in the United States. Started in 1864 by Charles Louise Roudanez the Tribune was notable in that it was bilingual. Articles were written in both French, for the majority of African Americans in Louisiana, and English, in order

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Source: Black Past

Storm of 1928

The hurricane that hit Palm Beach County Florida, on September 16, 1928, has been identified as the third largest death total, caused by a natural disastor, in the United States.

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Sep

16

1928

Abolitionist Society Organized

First abolitionist society in United States organized in Philadelphia.

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Apr

14

1775

Davy, Gloria (1931-2012)

Gloria Davy, a rich-voiced (lirico-spinto) soprano who “sang for the sheer joy of singing” had a four decade career as a concert singer. Early in her career she replaced Leontyne Price as Bess in the 1954 international tour of Porgy and Bess. In 1958 she broke color barriers when she

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Source: Black Past

Wash., D.C. Slave Emancipation and Reparations

On April 16, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed a bill ending slavery in the District of Columbia. Passage of this act came

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Apr

16

1862

Simpson, Georgiana (1866-1944)

Georgiana R. Simpson was the second black women to be awarded a Ph.D. in the United States. She received her degree in German from the University of Chicago in 1921, the same year that Sadie Tanner Mossell became the first black woman to be awarded the degree (from the University of

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Source: Black Past

Sommersett, James (c1741-c1772)

James Sommersett was the subject of a landmark legal case in Great Britain, which was the first major step in imposing limits on Trans-Atlantic African slavery. Sommersett entered the pages of history when in 1771, he fled his North American owner, Charles Stewart, while both were living in

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Source: Black Past

Jun

22

1772

Barrow, Dean Oliver (1951- )

On February 7, 2008, Belize elected Dean Barrow as its first black Prime Minister. Born March 2, 1951, in Belize City, Barrow earned his LL.M. from the University of Miami in the United States and became partner at a Belizean law firm in 1977. Two years later he established his own

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Source: Black Past

Korematsu v. United States

Korematsu v. US

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Dec

18

1944

Tyra Banks

Born on the December 4, 1973, Tyra Lynne Banks is one of the most famous American television personalities. Better known for her flawless career as a model, she has also been a producer, actress and author. She appeared twice on the cover for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue and was one of

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Source: Black History Resources

Dec

4

1973

Baquet, Charles R., III (1941- )

Ambassador Charles R. Baquet III was born December 24, 1941 in New Orleans, Louisiana. He attended public schools in the city and in 1963 he earned his B.A. in history from Xavier University in New Orleans. In 1975, he earned his M.A. in public administration from the Maxwell School of Government

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Source: Black Past

Mar

25

1991

Fugitive Slave Act of 1850

? Approved, September 18, 1850 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the persons who have been, or may hereafter be, appointed commissioners, in virtue of any act of Congress, by the Circuit Courts of the United States,

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Source: Black Past

Sep

18

1850

Joe Louis

Born: 5/13/1914 La Fayette, AlabamaDied: 4/12/1981 Paradise, NevadaJoseph Louis Barrow, best known as Joe Louis, was an American professional boxer. He held the world heavyweight championship from 1937 to 1949, and is considered to be one of the greatest heavyweights of all timeAwards

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Source: Blackfacts.com

LeMelle, Wilbert J., Sr. (1931-2003)

Wilbert J. LeMelle, Sr., was a scholar, development specialist, and ambassador to Kenya and the Republic of Seychelles between 1977 and 1980. In both his academic and diplomatic work, LeMelle urged the United States to become more engaged in Africa, focusing on economic development and human

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Source: Black Past

Muhammad Ali.

On September 15, 1978, Muhammad Ali, was the first black prizefight to gross more than a five-million dollars gate in the bout at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans. Muhammad Ali won in a 13-round unanimous decision and became the first to win the heavyweight title three times.

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Sep

15

1978

James, G. Winston (1967- )

Poet, author, and essayist, G. Winston James was born in Kingston, Jamaica. He immigrated with his family to the United States in 1971 at the age of three, grew up in Paterson, New Jersey, and graduated from Paterson Catholic Regional High School. James, who has lived in New York and Florida for

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Source: Black Past

Malcolm X

Born: 5/19/1925 Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.Died: 2/21/1965 New York City, New YorkMalcolm Little and also known as el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz (Arabic: الحاجّ مالك الشباز), was an American Muslim minister and a human rights activist. To his admirers he was a courageous advocate for the rights of

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Arthur Ashe

Born: 7/10/1943 Richmond, VirginiaDied: 2/6/1993 New York City, New YorkArthur Ashe was an American World No. 1 professional tennis player. He won three Grand Slam titles, ranking him among the best tennis players from the United States.Ashe was the first black player selected to the United States

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Source: Blackfacts.com

The shoe-lasting machine invented by Jan Matzeliger not only revolutionized the

The shoe-lasting machine invented by Jan Matzeliger not only revolutionized the shoe industry but also made Lynn, Massachusetts, the shoe capital of the

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Mar

19

1883

Leontyne Price

Leontyne Price has achieved heights in the music world that many aspire to but that very few reach. As a singer she became famous all around the world. Mary Leontyne Price was born in Laurel, Mississippi, on February 10, 1927. As a youth, she sang in church choirs. Later, she attended Central State

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Feb

10

1927

(1963) Josephine Baker, “Speech at the March on Washington”

Josephine Baker is remembered by most people as the flamboyant African American entertainer who earned fame and fortune in Paris in the 1920s. Yet through much of her later life, Baker became a vocal opponent of segregation and discrimination, often initiating one-woman protests against racial

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Source: Black Past

Padmore, George (1901-1959)

A journalist, radical activist, and theoretician, George Padmore did more than perhaps any other single individual to shape the theory and discourse of Pan-African anti-imperialism in the first half of the twentieth

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Source: Black Past

(1841) Charles Lenox Remond, “Slavery As It Concerns The British”

Charles Lenox Remond (1810-1878), was one of the earliest black abolitionist speakers. Born in Salem, Massachusetts to free black parents, John and Nancy Remond, Charles became an agent of the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society in 1838 and traveled with William Lloyd Garrison to the World

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Source: Black Past

Jul

9

1841

Taylor, Ruth Carol (1931- )

Journalist and nurse Ruth Carol Taylor became the first African American airline flight attendant in the United States when she joined Mohawk Airlines in 1958. While she is most commonly known for her achievement in the airline industry, she spent much of her career as an activist for minority and

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Source: Black Past

Feb

11

1958

Jamaica

In September 2011, Prime Minister Bruce Golding resigned. Goldings political standing never recovered after his handling of the Christopher Coke case. For nine months, Golding resisted a request from the United States to hand over Coke. His resignation was seen as an effort to help the Jamaica

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Source: Fact Monster - Black History

Dec

29

2011

BlackFacts Details

R.I.P. Rafer Johnson, 86, Gold Medalist in the 1960 Olympic Decathlon

Women Facts

Conservative Amy Holmes Scorches Discriminatory 'Stop-And-Frisk'

Business Facts