Black History Knowledge — September 6

What happened on this day. These are the September 6 moments in Black history worth knowing, remembering, and passing on.

1848 — Frederick Douglass leads the National Negro Convention in Cleveland

On September 6, 1848, Black leaders from across the free states convened the National Negro Convention in Cleveland with Frederick Douglass presiding. The gathering strengthened the organized Black political tradition of conventions that demanded abolition, suffrage, and full citizenship decades before emancipation.

1892 — George Dixon’s victory leads to a color ban in New Orleans boxing

On September 6, 1892, Black featherweight champion George Dixon defeated white challenger Jack Skelly at the New Orleans Olympic Club, insisting that seven hundred seats be reserved for Black spectators. White outrage at his dominant victory led the club to ban mixed-race bouts, a practice that spread nationwide and locked Black fighters out of title opportunities.

2018 — Botham Jean is killed in his own home

On September 6, 2018, off-duty Dallas police officer Amber Guyger entered the apartment of Botham Jean, a twenty-six-year-old accountant from Saint Lucia, and shot him dead in his own living room, claiming she mistook it for her apartment. His killing became a national symbol of the danger Black Americans face even at home, and Guyger was convicted of murder.

Wear the history: Frederick Douglass — from the Black Knowledge Wear collection.