Black History Knowledge — May 10

What happened on this day. These are the May 10 moments in Black history worth knowing, remembering, and passing on.

May 10, 1872 — Frederick Douglass is named as Victoria Woodhull’s running mate

Category: Reconstruction Politics / Electoral History / Suffrage / Black Political Symbolism

Victoria Woodhull was nominated for president by the Equal Rights Party, and Frederick Douglass was named as her running mate. Douglass did not acknowledge the nomination and supported Ulysses S. Grant.

Why it matters: This is useful because Reconstruction-era politics were forcing conversations about race, gender, citizenship, and voting rights into public view.

May 10, 1910 — Women’s Fortnightly Club established in Paterson, New Jersey

Category: Black Women’s Clubs / Local Institution Building / Community Leadership

The Women’s Fortnightly Club was established out of St. Augustine Presbyterian Church in Paterson, New Jersey.

Why it matters: Black women’s clubs were central to education, civic leadership, mutual aid, respectability politics, and community uplift.

May 10, 1919 — Charleston Race Riot begins

Category: Red Summer / Racial Violence / Black Resistance / Post–World War I America

White sailors and local whites attacked Black residents in Charleston, South Carolina, in one of the early outbreaks connected to the Red Summer of 1919.

Why it matters: This event shows how post–World War I racial tension, Black resistance, white mob violence, policing, and Black veterans’ return collided.

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