Black History Knowledge — September 23

What happened on this day. These are the September 23 moments in Black history worth knowing, remembering, and passing on.

1884 — Judy W. Reed becomes one of the first Black women to receive a patent

On September 23, 1884, Judy W. Reed of Washington, D.C., received a patent for an improved dough kneader and roller, becoming one of the first Black women granted a United States patent. Because so many Black inventors were denied credit or record, her signature by mark stands for countless innovators history never named.

1955 — Emmett Till’s murderers are acquitted

On September 23, 1955, an all-white Mississippi jury took about an hour to acquit Roy Bryant and J. W. Milam of murdering fourteen-year-old Emmett Till. Protected from retrial, the killers soon confessed to a magazine for money, and the verdict’s obscenity helped ignite the modern civil rights movement.

1957 — A mob forces the Little Rock Nine out of Central High

On September 23, 1957, the Little Rock Nine entered Central High School through a side door while a mob of a thousand raged outside, beating Black journalists including L. Alex Wilson. Police removed the students for their safety before noon, and the day’s violence forced President Eisenhower’s hand.

2020 — No officers are charged for killing Breonna Taylor

On September 23, 2020, a Kentucky grand jury announced that no officers would be charged for the death of Breonna Taylor, the twenty-six-year-old emergency room technician killed in her own home during a botched night raid; one officer was charged only for bullets that entered a neighboring apartment. The decision brought grief and protest across the country and intensified demands to end no-knock warrants.