Born on this day. These are the birthdays we celebrate on June 13 — the people whose lives added to the story of Black history. Bobby Freeman Born June 13, 1940 — Died January 23, 2017 Title: R&B, soul, and rock-and-roll singer-songwriter Bobby Freeman was a Bay Area singer and songwriter whose music connected early […]
Frances Ellen Watkins Harper “We are all bound up together in one great bundle of humanity.” Abolitionist, poet, and women’s rights activist; spoke and wrote on justice for all. Harper reminds us that justice is connected, and humanity rises or suffers together.
Honoring those we lost on June 12 — remembered for what they gave, and for what they left behind. Medgar Evers Born July 2, 1925 — Died June 12, 1963 Title: Civil rights activist, NAACP field secretary, and voting rights organizer Medgar Evers was a civil rights leader in Mississippi who fought segregation, voter suppression, […]
What happened on this day. These are the June 12 moments in Black history worth knowing, remembering, and passing on. 1945 — Niecey Brown dies after being beaten by a white police officer On June 12, 1945, Niecey Brown, a 74-year-old Black woman in Selma, Alabama, died after an off-duty white police officer forced his […]
Born on this day. These are the birthdays we celebrate on June 12 — the people whose lives added to the story of Black history. Hugh M. Browne Born June 12, 1851 — Died October 30, 1923 Title: Educator, civil rights activist, minister, and inventor Hugh Mason Browne was an educator and civil rights thinker […]
Claude McKay “If we must die, let it not be like hogs hunted and penned in an inglorious spot.” Harlem Renaissance poet whose militant verse challenged racial violence. McKay’s words turn survival into resistance, dignity, and defiance.
Honoring those we lost on June 11 — remembered for what they gave, and for what they left behind. Ruby Dee Born October 27, 1922 — Died June 11, 2014 Title: Actress, writer, poet, playwright, and civil rights activist Ruby Dee was a pioneering actress whose work stretched across stage, film, television, and radio. Alongside […]
What happened on this day. These are the June 11 moments in Black history worth knowing, remembering, and passing on. 1963 — The University of Alabama is desegregated On June 11, 1963, Vivian Malone and James Hood registered for classes at the University of Alabama after Governor George Wallace tried to block their entrance. Their […]
Born on this day. These are the birthdays we celebrate on June 11 — the people whose lives added to the story of Black history. Hazel Scott Born June 11, 1920 — Died October 2, 1981 Title: Pianist, singer, actor, and television pioneer Hazel Scott was a Trinidad-born pianist and singer raised in Harlem, where […]
Crispus Attucks “He is the first to defy, the first to die.” First American killed in the Boston Massacre; a Black patriot and symbol of revolution. This tribute line remembers Attucks as a symbol of Black presence in America’s freedom struggle.