Black History Knowledge — November 5

What happened on this day. These are the November 5 moments in Black history worth knowing, remembering, and passing on.

1868 — Howard University’s medical department holds its first opening exercise

On November 5, 1868, Howard University’s Medical Department held its first opening exercise at the First Congregational Church in Washington, D.C., with an address by Dr. Lafayette Loomis. The university was founded to be open to all races, both sexes and every social class. Howard’s College of Medicine went on to train a large share of the nation’s Black physicians.

1917 — Supreme Court strikes down Louisville’s residential segregation law in Buchanan v. Warley

In Buchanan v. Warley, decided November 5, 1917, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously struck down a Louisville, Kentucky, ordinance that barred Black residents from living on blocks where most homes were occupied by white residents. The NAACP brought the test case. Cities and real estate interests then turned to racially restrictive covenants and other tools to keep neighborhoods segregated.

1956 — The Nat King Cole Show premieres on NBC

The Nat King Cole Show premiered on NBC on November 5, 1956, making Cole one of the first Black Americans to host a network variety series. Guests included Ella Fitzgerald, Mahalia Jackson and Harry Belafonte, but the show never found a national sponsor. Cole ended it in December 1957, reportedly saying ‘Madison Avenue is afraid of the dark.’

1968 — Shirley Chisholm becomes the first Black woman elected to Congress

On November 5, 1968, Shirley Chisholm won New York’s new 12th District in Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant, defeating civil rights leader James Farmer. She became the first African American woman elected to Congress. In 1972 she became the first Black candidate to seek a major party’s presidential nomination.

1974 — Mervyn Dymally and George Brown are elected lieutenant governors

On November 5, 1974, voters elected Mervyn Dymally lieutenant governor of California and George L. Brown lieutenant governor of Colorado. Dymally became the first African American to win statewide office in California. He later served six terms in Congress.

1989 — The Civil Rights Memorial is dedicated in Montgomery

The Civil Rights Memorial, designed by Maya Lin for the Southern Poverty Law Center, was dedicated in Montgomery, Alabama, on November 5, 1989. Water flows across a black granite table engraved with the names of 40 people who died in the movement between 1954 and 1968. The wall behind it carries Dr. King’s words, ‘until justice rolls down like waters.’

2024 — Angela Alsobrooks and Lisa Blunt Rochester win U.S. Senate seats

On November 5, 2024, Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland and Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware were elected to the U.S. Senate. Each became her state’s first Black senator, and for the first time two Black women would serve in the Senate at once. Both took office in January 2025.