Black History Knowledge — May 22

What happened on this day. These are the May 22 moments in Black history worth knowing, remembering, and passing on.

May 22, 1863 — War Department General Order 143 creates the United States Colored Troops

Category: Civil War / Black Military Service / United States Colored Troops

The War Department issued General Order 143, creating the Bureau of Colored Troops and organizing Black soldiers into what became the United States Colored Troops.

Why it matters: This is a major Black military-history event. It helped formalize Black service in the Union Army and gave Black men a path to fight directly for freedom, citizenship, and the destruction of slavery.

May 22, 1877 — Alexander Crummell addresses the American Geographical Society

Category: Black Intellectual History / Pan-African Thought / Public Scholarship

Alexander Crummell, a major Black intellectual, minister, educator, and early Pan-African thinker, delivered an address before the American Geographical Society in New York.

Why it matters: Crummell’s presence in that space matters because Black intellectual authority was being asserted in elite institutions that rarely welcomed Black thinkers as equals. His work connected African redemption, education, Christianity, Black self-determination, and global Black identity.

May 22, 1961 — A new group of Freedom Riders leaves Washington, D.C.

Category: Civil Rights / Freedom Rides / Interstate Travel / Direct Action

A new group of Black and white Freedom Riders left Washington, D.C., heading South as part of the continuing Freedom Rides.

Why it matters: This entry shows that the Freedom Rides did not stop after the violence in Alabama. New riders stepped forward, knowing the danger, and kept pressure on the federal government to enforce desegregation in interstate travel.