Born on this day. These are the birthdays we celebrate on July 19 — the people whose lives added to the story of Black history. Teresa Edwards Born July 19, 1964 Basketball Hall of Famer, Olympic gold medalist, guard, coach, and women’s basketball legend. Edwards became one of the most decorated team-sport athletes in Olympic […]
Monthly Archives: July 2026
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Charlotte Hawkins Brown “Character may be manifested in the great moments, but it is made in the small ones.” Educator and founder of Palmer Memorial Institute. Brown teaches that character is developed through ordinary decisions long before it is revealed during a major test.
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Honoring those we lost on July 18 — remembered for what they gave, and for what they left behind. Willa Brown Chappell Birth name: Willa Beatrice Brown Born January 22, 1906 — died July 18, 1992 Aviator, educator, civil rights advocate, Civil Air Patrol officer, and Black aviation pioneer. Brown became the first African American […]
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What happened on this day. These are the July 18 moments in Black history worth knowing, remembering, and passing on. 1863 — 54th Massachusetts leads assault on Fort Wagner On July 18, 1863, the 54th Massachusetts Infantry, one of the most famous Black regiments of the Civil War, led a dangerous assault on Fort Wagner […]
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Born on this day. These are the birthdays we celebrate on July 18 — the people whose lives added to the story of Black history. Screamin’ Jay Hawkins Birth name: Jalacy J. Hawkins Born July 18, 1929 — died February 12, 2000 R&B singer, songwriter, musician, actor, boxer, and theatrical rock-and-roll pioneer. Hawkins turned blues […]
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Robert Smalls “My race needs no special defense, for the past history of them in this country proves them to be equal of any people.” Formerly enslaved Civil War hero who commandeered a Confederate ship and later became a U.S. Congressman. Smalls rejects claims of Black inferiority and points to Black history as evidence of […]
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Honoring those we lost on July 17 — remembered for what they gave, and for what they left behind. Cudjo Lewis Birth name: Oluale Kossola Born about 1841 — died July 17, 1935 Clotilda survivor, storyteller, Africatown resident, and witness to the last known slave ship to the United States. Lewis was among the Africans […]
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What happened on this day. These are the July 17 moments in Black history worth knowing, remembering, and passing on. 1862 — Second Confiscation Act expands the path toward emancipation On July 17, 1862, Congress passed the Second Confiscation Act. The law declared that enslaved people connected to Confederate supporters who came under Union control […]
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Born on this day. These are the birthdays we celebrate on July 17 — the people whose lives added to the story of Black history. Diahann Carroll Birth name: Carol Diann Johnson Born July 17, 1935 — died October 4, 2019 Actress, singer, model, Broadway performer, television pioneer, and civil rights-era screen trailblazer. Carroll broke […]
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Alain Locke “Art must discover and reveal the beauty which prejudice and caricature have overlaid.” Philosopher known as the “Father of the Harlem Renaissance.” Locke presents Black art as a way to uncover beauty and humanity buried beneath racist stereotypes.