Black History Knowledge — August 4

What happened on this day. These are the August 4 moments in Black history worth knowing, remembering, and passing on.

1916 — Treaty is signed for the United States to acquire the Danish West Indies

On August 4, 1916, the United States and Denmark signed a treaty arranging the sale of the Danish West Indies, now the U.S. Virgin Islands. The transfer took place in 1917, placing the islands’ largely Black population under U.S. rule; residents gained U.S. citizenship in 1927 but still lack full voting representation in Congress.

1964 — Bodies of three murdered Freedom Summer workers are found

On August 4, 1964, federal investigators found the bodies of James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner beneath an earthen dam near Philadelphia, Mississippi. The three civil rights workers had been murdered by Ku Klux Klan members with help from local law enforcement while organizing Black voter registration during Freedom Summer.

1984 — Carl Lewis wins his first Olympic gold medal

On August 4, 1984, Carl Lewis won the 100-meter final at the Los Angeles Olympics in 9.99 seconds. It was the first of four gold medals he earned at those Games, matching Jesse Owens’s four-event achievement from the 1936 Berlin Olympics.