21 Black Facts for 1909

Track star Wilma Rudolph born
Wilma Glodean Ruduolph Ward was born in Clarksville, Tennessee. Winner of three gold medals in the 1960 Olympics in Rome, Ward was named Athlete of the Year in 1960 and 1961.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by Association of Latino Professionals For America (ALPFA) Boston Professional Chapter
Jun
23
1909
Presidential Assistant E. Frederic Morrow born
Presidential Assistant E. Frederic Morrow was born in Hakensack, New Jersey. A graduate of Rutgers University, Morow was a vice president for Bank of America before being appointed an administrative assistant to President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Apr
20
1909
(1909) Ida B. Wells, “Lynching Our National Crime”
By 1909 Ida B. Wells was the most prominent anti-lynching campaigner in the United States.  From the early 1890s she labored mostly alone in her effort to raise the nation’s awareness and indignation about these usually unpunished murders.  In 1909, however, she gained a powerful ally in the newly
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Source: Black Past
Jun
1
1909
Knights and Ladies
Knights and Ladies of St. Peter Claver organized in Mobile, Alabama, by four Posephite priests and three Catholic laymen.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Nov
7
1909
Disturbance Investigation
President Roosevelt appointed a committee, including Emmet J. Scott, to investigate disturbances in Liberia.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Mar
18
1909
Matthew Henson
In 1909 Matthew Henson an ex-seamen became the first American to journey to the North Pole and claim it for the United States.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by Center for Critical Race and Digital Studies
Jan
1
1909
James Agee - Birthday
James Agee , (born November 27, 1909, Knoxville, Tennessee, U.
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Source: Brittanica
Nov
27
1909
Henson, Matthew (1866-1955)
Matthew Henson was an American explorer who accompanied Robert Peary, most famously on an expedition intended to reach the Geographic North Pole in 1909. Subsequent research and exploration has revealed that Peary and Henson did not reach the North Pole but their failed attempt is still recognized
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Source: Black Past
Aug
18
1909
Fax, Elton (1909-1993) - Birthday
Elton Clay Fax, a prolific African-American cartoonist, author, and illustrator, was born on October 9, 1909, in Baltimore, Maryland.
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Source: Black Past
Sponsored by Christo Rey New York High School
Oct
9
1909
NAACP founded
Founded in 1909 in New York City by a group of black and white citizens committed to social justice, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is the nations largest and strongest civil rights
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by National Association of Black Accountants (NABA) Boston Metropolitan Chapter
Feb
12
1909
Lester Young - Birthday
Lester Willis Young was a famous jazz saxophonist born in Woodville, Mississippi on August 27, 1909.
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Source: Black History Resources
Aug
27
1909
Lionel Hampton, musician, born
Lionel Hampton, vibraphonist, drummer and band leader is born.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Apr
20
1909
Some three hundred Blacks and whites met at the
Some three hundred Blacks and whites met at the United Charities Building in New York City at the first NAACP conference, May 31 and June 1.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by APEX Museum
May
31
1909
Katherine Dunham was born on this day.
Katherine Dunham was born on this day.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) Boston Professional Chapter
Jun
22
1909
W. C. Handy (1873-1958)
1909 Memphis Blues, by W[illiam] C[hristopher] Handy, composer, cornetist, band leader, and publisher, was the first written blues composition. Handy is known as the Father of the Blues.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Jan
1
1909
The New York newspaper Amsterdam News is founded.
The New York newspaper Amsterdam News is
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by NSBE Boston
Dec
4
1909
Chester Himes, crime novelist, born
Chester Himes, crime novelist, born
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Jul
29
1909
Matthew Henson
Matthew Henson reached the North Pole. Traveling with the Admiral Peary Expedition, Henson, with his exceptional navigational skills managed to reach the North Pole almost 45 minutes before Peary and the rest of the men.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Apr
6
1909
Awolowo, Obafemi (1909-1985) - Birthday
Nigerian nationalist, politician, lawyer, statesman, and chancellor, Chief Jeremiah Obafemi Awolowo was born on March 6, 1909 in Ogun State, Nigeria, where he commenced his political career.
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Source: Black Past
Mar
6
1909
White firemen on Georgia Railroad struck to
White firemen on Georgia Railroad struck to protest employment of Blacks.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
May
17
1909
Chester Himes
Chester Himes , in full Chester Bomar Himes (born July 29, 1909, Jefferson City, Mo., U.S.—died Nov. 12, 1984, Moraira, Spain), African-American writer whose novels reflect his encounters with racism. As an expatriate in Paris, he published a series of black detective
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Source: Brittanica
Sponsored by Concerned Black Men of Massachusetts
Jul
29
1909
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