Black History Knowledge — October 31

What happened on this day. These are the October 31 moments in Black history worth knowing, remembering, and passing on.

1901 — A white mob lynched Silas Esters in Hodgenville, Kentucky

In the early morning of October 31, 1901, a white mob of more than 50 men took 18-year-old Silas Esters from the LaRue County Jail in Hodgenville, Kentucky, and killed him. Officers reportedly gave the mob the jail keys. The mob shot Esters as he tried to flee, then hanged his body at the courthouse. No one was held accountable. The killing illustrates how law enforcement complicity enabled racial terror lynchings.

1950 — Earl Lloyd became the first Black player to appear in an NBA game

On October 31, 1950, Earl Lloyd entered the Washington Capitols’ game against the Rochester Royals, becoming the first Black player to appear in a National Basketball Association game. Lloyd, Chuck Cooper, and Nat ‘Sweetwater’ Clifton integrated the NBA through different firsts: first to play, first drafted, and first to sign, respectively.

1979 — The Senate confirmed Alcee Hastings as Florida’s first Black federal judge

On October 31, 1979, the U.S. Senate confirmed Alcee Hastings, a civil rights lawyer and Broward County circuit judge, to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. He was the first African American federal judge in Florida. Hastings was impeached and removed from the bench in 1989, and he later served in Congress from 1993 until his death in 2021.