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A Brief History of the San Diego NAACP, 1917-2007
In 1917, realizing the hunger for social justice among the one thousand African American residents of San Diego, W. E. B. DuBois traveled from Los Angeles to San Diego as part of his western states tour on behalf of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).  Having
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Source: Black Past
Sponsored by Museum of African American History in Massachusetts
Henry Ransom Cecil McBay, chemist, is born
Henry Ransom Cecil McBay, chemist, Born May 29, 1914 in Mexia, Texas. He received a Bachelor of Science from Wiley College in 1934 and a Master of Science from Atlanta University in 1936. Henry McBay earned a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Chicago in 1945. McBay served as an Instructor
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Source: Blackfacts.com
May
29
1914
Hickman, George W., Jr. (1924–2012)
George Hickman was a Tuskegee airman during the World War II.  Later in his life, he was a fixture at Seattle sporting events, working as an usher at University of Washington games and Seattle Seahawk football
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Source: Black Past
Julia Child
Name at birth: Julia McWilliams
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Source: Fact Monster - Black History
James, Makila (1957- )
Makila James is currently serving as the U.S. Ambassador to Swaziland.  James was nominated by President Barack Obama early in 2012.  Following confirmation by the U.S. Senate on July 31, 2012, James arrived in Mbabane, the capital of Swaziland and presented her credentials to the King of Swaziland
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Source: Black Past
Buckroe Beach, Hampton, Virginia (1890- )
Buckroe Beach is one of the oldest recreational regions in Virginia. In 1619, the “Buck Roe” plantation was designated for public use for the newly arrived English settlers sent by the Virginia Company of London. By 1637, however, the plantation was converted into a commercial tobacco
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Source: Black Past
May
30
2009
Mitchell, Parren James (1922-2007)
Parren James Mitchell was a civil rights activist, the first African American elected to Congress from the South since 1898, and a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus.  Born in 1922, Mitchell grew up in Baltimore, Maryland, and attended public schools there.  His father was a waiter
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Source: Black Past
Greece and Egypt: How a Single Coin Reflects an Ancient and Enduring Relationship
A tiny object can rewrite history.  In this case, the small electrum coin featuring the head of an African pictured here reveals a fascinating link between Africa and Greece from antiquity to the present.  Unfortunately we know very little about the coin itself except that it is from the early
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Source: Black Past
Kay, Ulysses S. (1917-1995)
Ulysses Simpson Kay, Jr., was one of the leading black composers in the classical music industry in the 20th Century. Born in Tucson, Arizona, Kay grew up in a musically talented family. His mother, Elizabeth Kay, was a church pianist.  His step-brother played the violin and his step-sister played
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Source: Black Past
May
20
1995
Pitre, Clayton (1924- )
Clayton Pitre is a long time Seattle, Washington-based community activist, former Chief Housing Developer for the Central Area Motivation Project (CAMP), and a retired Montford Point
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Source: Black Past
Perry, June Carter (1943- )
Ambassador June Carter Perry was born November 13, 1943 in Texarkana, Arkansas.  After completing grade school, Perry was accepted at the Loyola University in Chicago, Illinois where in 1965 she earned her degree in history.  Two years later she earned a master’s degree in European History at the
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Source: Black Past
Sponsored by Christo Rey New York High School
Smythe, Hugh Heyne (1913-1977)
Diplomat, scholar and author Hugh Heyne Smythe was born on August 19, 1913 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His mother was a housemaid and his father, who died when Smythe was three years old, was a mailman. One of five siblings, at age six Smythe was forced to start work as a paperboy to help support
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Source: Black Past
Barnett, Powell S. (1883-1971)
Powell S. Barnett was a child when his father arrived in Roslyn to work in the coal mines.  Seeing no future in mining, Powell left for Seattle in 1906, and quickly found work. Years later, after working in construction and for hotels, he served as a clerk for State Senator Frank Connor.  Barnett
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Source: Black Past
Executive Order 9808
In the aftermath of World War II, mob violence and lynching of Black Americans, in conjunction with the continuing controversy about segregation in American society, led President Harry S. Truman to issue Executive Order 9808 on this day which set up a committee to study the protection of civil
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Dec
5
1946
Nat King Cole
Nathaniel Adams Cole was a world renowned Jazz musician, born on March 17, 1919 in Montgomery, Alabama. Starting off with an incredible skill with the organ, Cole became a multi-instrumentalist, later learning the piano as well as vocals. He was particularly known for his baritone voice, as is
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Source: Black History Resources
Feb
15
1965
Withers, John Lovelle, II (1948- )
In 2007, Ambassador John L. Withers II, a second generation diplomat, was appointed by President George H.W. Bush to serve as ambassador to Albania. Withers was born in 1948 in Guilford, North Carolina, to John L. Withers, Sr. and Daisy P. Withers. His father had briefly worked as a political
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Source: Black Past
Caldwell, Elvin R., Sr. (1919-2004)
Politician Elvin R. Caldwell Sr. was born on April 11, 1919 in Denver, Colorado. Raised in Five Points, Denver’s predominantly black community, Caldwell was one of 12 children in his family. After graduating from Eastside High School in 1937, Caldwell earned a track scholarship to the University of
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Source: Black Past
Egypt
Egypt, at the northeast corner of Africa on the Mediterranean Sea, is bordered on the west by Libya, on the south by the Sudan, and on the east by the Red Sea and Israel. It is nearly one and one-half times the size of Texas. Egypt is divided into two unequal, extremely arid regions by the
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Source: Fact Monster - Black History
Weaver, Robert Clifton (1907-1997)
Robert C. Weaver was a noted economist and administrator. From 1966 through 1968, he was the first African American cabinet official, serving as the Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Weaver was born and raised in Washington D.C. From 1929 through 1934, he attended
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Source: Black Past
Africans and African Americans in China: A Long History, A Troubled Present, and a Promising Future?
Africa and China have hadcontact for more than a thousand years. Some scholars assert that the contactsbegan as early as 4th century A.D. but convincing evidence issporadic or lacking. Beginning with the Tang dynasty (618 A.D. to 907 A.D.)documented evidence of contact and trade exists showing
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Source: Black Past
Afro-Uruguay: A Brief History
In the following account University of Pittsburgh historian George Reid Andrews provides an introduction to the history of the population of African ancestry in
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Source: Black Past
Dr. Cornelius Golightly (1917-1976): The Life of an Academic and Public Intellectual
In the following article Michigan State University professor John McClendon explores the remarkable life of  little know early 20th Century black intellectual Cornelius
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Source: Black Past
Arkansas Pioneers in Flight: African Americans in Aviation from the Natural State, 1932 to 1953.
Pioneering African-American Aviators Featuring the Tuskegee Airmen of Arkansas is a study of little known black women and men who participated in the first four decades of U.S. aviation history.  The book began originally in 2006 as a biography of Milton Pitts Crenchaw, a native of Little
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Source: Black Past
Sponsored by Eastern Bank
(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
Crossing Boundaries of Race, Crossing Boundaries of Love
In the following article, Dr. Gary B. Nash, Director, National Center for History in the Schools and Professor Emeritus of History at the University of California, Los Angeles, describes his new book, Forbidden Love: The Hidden History of Mixed-Race America.  His book provides a counter narrative
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Source: Black Past
Sammy Davis Jr.
Samuel George “Sammy” Davis, Jr. simply known as Sammy Davis Jr., was an acclaimed American entertainer of the 20th century. Born in Harlem, New York on December 8, 1925, Davis spent the better half of his life enjoying the rare skill of making other people happy. While he was primarily
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Source: Black History Resources
Sponsored by Center for Critical Race and Digital Studies
Andrew Young born
Andrew Young, former US United Nations ambassador, former congressman and former mayor of Atlanta, born in New Orleans, Louisiana.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by APEX Museum
Mar
12
1932
Winters, Lawrence (1915–1965)
Lawrence Winters was born Lawrence Whisonant on November 12, 1915, in Kings Creek, South Carolina, one of three sons of Eliza Whisonant (née Smith) and Marion Frank Whisonant, a farmer. He took private voice lessons before entering Howard University where he was coached by the distinguished African
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Source: Black Past
Sep
24
1965
Josephine Baker
Josephine Baker was a dancer and singer who later became a Civil Rights activist. Her birth name was Freda Josephine McDonald and she was born on June 3, 1906, in St. Louis, Missouri. Her mother used to be a dancer as well, but she gave up her aspirations in order to raise her children. Her father
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Source: Black History Resources
Jun
3
1906
James Baldwin
James Baldwin established his reputation with his first novel, Go Tell It On The Mountain (1953), an autobiographical tale of growing up in Harlem. He became one of the leading African-American authors of his generation, known for novels and essays that tackled black-white and hetero-homosexual
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Source: Fact Monster - Black History
Sponsored by Association of Latino Professionals For America (ALPFA) Boston Professional Chapter
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