Black History Knowledge — August 25

What happened on this day. These are the August 25 moments in Black history worth knowing, remembering, and passing on.

1619 — First documented Africans arrive in English Virginia

On Aug 25, 1619, the English privateer White Lion brought more than twenty kidnapped Africans to Point Comfort in Virginia after seizing them from a Portuguese slave ship. Their arrival is the earliest documented landing of Africans in English North America and became a defining marker in the history of American slavery.

1925 — Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters is organized

On Aug 25, 1925, A. Philip Randolph and Black Pullman workers organized the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters in Harlem. The union fought low wages and abusive conditions and became the first Black-led labor union chartered by the American Federation of Labor.

1908 — National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses is founded

On Aug 25, 1908, fifty-two Black nurses met at St. Mark’s Methodist Episcopal Church in New York City to establish the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses. Led by Martha Minerva Franklin, the organization fought discrimination, raised professional standards, and expanded leadership and employment opportunities for Black nurses.