Category Archives: Black Knowledge Today

Birthday Celebrations — October 26

Judy Johnson

Born on this day. These are the birthdays we celebrate on October 26 — the people whose lives added to the story of Black history. Judy Johnson Full name: William Julius Johnson Born October 26, 1899 (records disagree on the day and year) — died June 15, 1989 Negro Leagues baseball player, manager, and scout. […]

Those We Lost — October 25

Joseph Charles Price

Honoring those we lost on October 25 — remembered for what they gave, and for what they left behind. Joseph Charles Price Born February 10, 1854 — died October 25, 1893 Educator, college founder and president, AME Zion minister, orator, and civil-rights leader Born in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, Price raised money on a speaking […]

Black History Knowledge — October 25

1940 — Benjamin O. Davis Sr. became the U.S. Army’s first Black general

What happened on this day. These are the October 25 moments in Black history worth knowing, remembering, and passing on. 1940 — Benjamin O. Davis Sr. became the U.S. Army’s first Black general Benjamin O. Davis Sr. was promoted to brigadier general on October 25, 1940, becoming the first Black general officer in the U.S. […]

Birthday Celebrations — October 25

William Dominick Matthews

Born on this day. These are the birthdays we celebrate on October 25 — the people whose lives added to the story of Black history. William Dominick Matthews Born October 25, 1827 (some sources give 1829) — died March 2, 1906 Abolitionist, Civil War officer, and civic leader. Matthews organized within Kansas’s free Black community […]

Those We Lost — October 24

Betsey Stockton

Honoring those we lost on October 24 — remembered for what they gave, and for what they left behind. Betsey Stockton Born c. 1798 — died October 24, 1865 Educator, missionary, writer, and formerly enslaved woman After emancipation from the household of Princeton president Ashbel Green, Stockton traveled as a missionary to Hawai’i, helped establish […]

Black History Knowledge — October 24

1882 — A white mob lynched Charles Thurber in Grand Forks, Dakota Territory

What happened on this day. These are the October 24 moments in Black history worth knowing, remembering, and passing on. 1882 — A white mob lynched Charles Thurber in Grand Forks, Dakota Territory On October 24, 1882, a white mob broke Charles Thurber, a Black man in his 30s, out of the Grand Forks courthouse […]

Birthday Celebrations — October 24

Sonny Terry

Born on this day. These are the birthdays we celebrate on October 24 — the people whose lives added to the story of Black history. Sonny Terry Full name: Saunders Terrell Born October 24, 1911 — died March 11, 1986 Blues harmonica player and singer. Terry developed a vivid harmonica style that combined musical lines […]