Black History Knowledge
Black History Knowledge — November 13
Nov
What happened on this day. These are the November 13 moments in Black history worth knowing, remembering, and passing on.
1894 — Albert C. Richardson patents a casket-lowering device
On November 13, 1894, Albert C. Richardson of South Frankfort, Michigan, received patent No. 529,311 for a casket-lowering device, built to fit in the grave and lower a casket gradually. Richardson is listed among 19th-century Black inventors.
1951 — Janet Collins dances at the Metropolitan Opera’s opening night
On November 13, 1951, Janet Collins made her Metropolitan Opera debut, dancing in ‘Aida’ on the opening night of the season. She became the first African American prima ballerina at the Met and danced with the company until 1954. She had earlier won the Donaldson Award as Broadway’s best dancer.
1956 — Supreme Court affirms Browder v. Gayle, ending bus segregation in Montgomery
On November 13, 1956, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed a federal court ruling in Browder v. Gayle that Alabama and Montgomery bus segregation laws were unconstitutional. The plaintiffs were Aurelia Browder, Susie McDonald, Claudette Colvin and Mary Louise Smith. The Montgomery bus boycott ended in December 1956, when the order reached the city.
1957 — Texas police threaten to jail NAACP leaders who refuse to turn over member lists
On November 13, 1957, the police chief of Longview, Texas, telephoned four NAACP officers and told them he would jail them unless they produced the chapter’s membership records. Southern states and cities used such demands to expose members to firing and violence. The Supreme Court protected NAACP membership lists in NAACP v. Alabama the following year.
2001 — Wilton Gregory elected first Black president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
On November 13, 2001, Bishop Wilton Gregory of Belleville, Illinois, was elected to a three-year term as president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the first Black bishop to lead it. He later became archbishop of Washington and, in 2020, the first African American cardinal.
