R. Kelly's former background dancer testifies she walked in on him and Aaliyah in 'sexual encounter'

Race riot

Race riot, East St. Louis, Illinois. Estimates of number killed ranged from forty to two hundred. Martial law was declared. A congressional investigating committee said, It is not possible to give accurately the number of dead. At least thirty-nine Negroes and eight white people were killed

fave

Source: Blackfacts.com

Jul

1

1917

DMX

Name at birth: Earl Simmons

fave

Source: Fact Monster - Black History

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

fave

Source: Black Past

Politician Oscar De Priest born

Birthday in Florence, Alabama, of Oscar De Priest, who became a politician after moving to Chicago. Elected in 1928, De Priest was the first African American from Illinois elected to the House of Representatives.

fave

Source: Blackfacts.com

Mar

9

1871

DePriest, Oscar (1871-1951)

A child of the early post-reconstruction south, Oscar DePriest was born in Florence, Alabama on March 9, 1871. In 1878 his family moved to Salina, Kansas. Sometime in the late 1880s DePriest moved to Chicago, Illinois where he found work as a house painter and decorator. DePriest created his own

fave

Source: Black Past

May

12

1951

(1838) James McCune Smith, “The Abolition Of Slavery And The Slave Trade In The French And British Colonies”

James McCune Smith (1813-1865) was a prominent physician and abolitionist. Smith was educated in the African Free School in New York City. When failing to be admitted to any American college, he enrolled in Glasgow University in Scotland in 1832 and earned three degrees including his medical

fave

Source: Black Past

Jun

9

1838

Langston, John Mercer (1829-1897)

John Mercer Langston, the youngest of four children, was born a free black in Louisa County, Virginia in 1829. Langston gained distinction as an abolitionist, politician, and attorney. Despite the prominence of his slaveowner father, Ralph Quarles, Langston took his surname from his mother, Lucy

fave

Source: Black Past

Nov

15

1897

Taylor, John (1952- )

John David Beckett Taylor, the Baron of Warwick, was born on September 21, 1952 in Birmingham, England. His parents, Derief, a professional cricket player, and Enid, a nurse, were originally from Jamaica. Taylor was educated at Moseley Grammar School and later studied English Literature and Law at

fave

Source: Black Past

Sep

21

1952

Arthur W. Mitchell

Born: 12/22/1883 Lafayette, AlabamaDied: 5/9/1968 Petersburg, VirginiaArthur W. Mitchell was a U.S. Representative from Illinois. Mitchell was the first African American to be elected to the United States Congress as a Democrat.Mitchell was elected to the House of Representatives in 1934, defeating

fave

Source: Blackfacts.com

African-American Firsts Quiz

African-American Firsts Quiz | FactMonster

fave

Source: Fact Monster - Black History

Al Sharpton

Al Sharpton is a religious leader and political activist. He was born on October 3, 1954, in Brooklyn, New York. His father left the family and Sharpton was raised by his mother. They had to move to the public housing projects, where his mother worked as a maid and supported the family on her

fave

Source: Black History Resources

Oct

3

1954

Towns, Edolphus (1934- )

Currently in his 13th term in Congress, Edolphus Towns is a Democratic Representative from the State of New York. Towns was born in Chadbourn, North Carolina on July 21, 1934, and attended the public schools of Chadbourn before graduating with a B.S. degree from North Carolina Agricultural and

fave

Source: Black Past

Jul

21

1934

Marion Perkins (Sculptor)

Sculptor, Marion Perkins, died on 12/17/61. During the Depression of the thirties, Marion Perkins sold papers at a newsstand on Chicagos South Side. In his free moments at the stand he busied himself whittling on bars of soap. Peter Pollack, then director of the Community Art Center Division of the

fave

Source: Blackfacts.com

Dec

17

1961

Curtis Mayfield, singer born

Curtis Mayfield was born on the 3rd of june 1942 in Chicago, Illinois, where he quickly

fave

Source: Blackfacts.com

Jun

3

1942

birthday, henry adams

Teacher and minister, Henry Adams was born, 1802

fave

Source: Blackfacts.com

Dec

17

1802

William H Heard

William H. Heard, AME minister and educator, named minister to Liberia.

fave

Source: Blackfacts.com

Feb

23

1895

Benin

This West African nation on the Gulf of Guinea, between Togo on the west and Nigeria on the east, is about the size of Tennessee. It is bounded by Burkina Faso and Niger on the north. The land consists of a narrow coastal strip that rises to a swampy, forested plateau and then to highlands in the

fave

Source: Fact Monster - Black History

Mar

13

2011

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

fave

Source: Black Past

Oct

3

1949

Aretha Franklin

Born: 3/25/1942 Memphis, TennesseeAretha Franklin is an American singer and musician. Franklin began her career singing gospel at her father, minister C. L. Franklins church as a child. In 1960, at the age of 18, Franklin embarked on a secular career, recording for Columbia Records but only

fave

Source: Blackfacts.com

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

fave

Source: Blackfacts.com

Henry Watson Furness last black minister of Haiti

Henry Watson Furness, an Indiana physician, named minister of Haiti. He was the last Black minister to Haiti in this period. Woodrow Wilson appointed a white minister in 1913.

fave

Source: Blackfacts.com

Nov

23

1905

Africa

Africa | FactMonster

fave

Source: Fact Monster - Black History

Nat Turner.

In Southampton County, Virginia, on August 21-22, 1831, Nat Turner, a brilliant minister and moody slave, led the first slave revolt of magnitude. The revolt was crushed, but only after Turner and his band had killed some sixty whites and threw the South into panic. After hiding out, Turner was

fave

Source: Blackfacts.com

Oct

30

1831

African-American History Quiz

African-American History Quiz | FactMonster

fave

Source: Fact Monster - Black History

Mary J. Blige

Mary Jane Blige is an American singer, songwriter and actress who has been making hit records for almost 25 years. She was born on January 11, 1971 in the Bronx, New York to Cora and Thomas Blige. She grew up in a very neglected and disastrous neighborhood and her childhood was marked by

fave

Source: Black History Resources

Jan

11

1971

Jonathan Gibbs

Jonathan Gibbs, minister and educator, appointed secretary of state by the Florida governor.

fave

Source: Blackfacts.com

Nov

6

1868

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

fave

Source: Black Past

Mar

6

1966

Grant Chapel AME Church, Albuquerque, New Mexico (1883- )

GrantChapel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church was the first black church in NewMexico and was organized during the state’s territorial period. Although New Mexico Territory had a few slavesbefore the Civil War, African Americans began arriving in the region insignificant numbers after

fave

Source: Black Past

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

fave

Source: Black Past

Jacqueline Joyner-Kersee, track legend born

Jacqueline Joyner-Kersee TRACK & FIELD Birthplace: East St. Louis, Illinois March 3, 1962 - Jacqueline Joyner-Kersee is part of a the Joyner family of Americantrack-and-field stars. Jackie first gained national attention by winning 4consecutive National Junior Pentathlon Championships. She set

fave

Source: Blackfacts.com

Mar

3

1962

BlackFacts Details

R. Kelly's former background dancer testifies she walked in on him and Aaliyah in 'sexual encounter'

United States Facts

Martin Luther King Jr. Facts

Recent Facts