What happened on this day. These are the September 4 moments in Black history worth knowing, remembering, and passing on. 1781 — Los Angeles is founded by settlers of African descent On September 4, 1781, forty-four pobladores founded El Pueblo de Los Ángeles under the Spanish flag. More than half of the founding settlers were […]
What happened on this day. These are the September 3 moments in Black history worth knowing, remembering, and passing on. 1838 — Frederick Douglass escapes from slavery On September 3, 1838, twenty-year-old Frederick Douglass boarded a northbound train in Baltimore disguised as a free Black sailor and carrying borrowed seaman’s papers. Within twenty-four hours he […]
What happened on this day. These are the September 2 moments in Black history worth knowing, remembering, and passing on. 1957 — Governor Faubus surrounds Central High with the National Guard On September 2, 1957, Arkansas governor Orval Faubus ordered the National Guard to surround Little Rock Central High School to block nine Black students […]
What happened on this day. These are the September 1 moments in Black history worth knowing, remembering, and passing on. 1773 — Phillis Wheatley publishes the first book of poetry by a Black American On September 1, 1773, Phillis Wheatley’s Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral was published in London. Kidnapped from West Africa […]
What happened on this day. These are the August 31 moments in Black history worth knowing, remembering, and passing on. 1836 — Henry Blair receives a patent for a cotton planter On Aug 31, 1836, Maryland inventor Henry Blair received U.S. Patent No. 15 for a mechanical cotton planter. Already recognized as the second known […]
What happened on this day. These are the August 30 moments in Black history worth knowing, remembering, and passing on. 1800 — Gabriel’s planned rebellion against slavery is thwarted On Aug 30, 1800, a severe storm disrupted an uprising planned by the enslaved Virginia blacksmith Gabriel and hundreds of co-conspirators seeking freedom. Informants exposed the […]
What happened on this day. These are the August 29 moments in Black history worth knowing, remembering, and passing on. 1957 — Strom Thurmond ends record filibuster against civil rights On Aug 29, 1957, South Carolina senator Strom Thurmond ended a twenty-four-hour, eighteen-minute filibuster against the Civil Rights Act of 1957. The Senate passed the […]
What happened on this day. These are the August 28 moments in Black history worth knowing, remembering, and passing on. 1833 — Slavery Abolition Act receives royal assent On Aug 28, 1833, Britain’s Slavery Abolition Act received royal assent, providing for emancipation across much of the British Empire beginning the following year. The law excluded […]
What happened on this day. These are the August 27 moments in Black history worth knowing, remembering, and passing on. 2020 — Virtual March on Washington begins On Aug 27, 2020, the NAACP and civil rights partners opened two days of Virtual March on Washington programming during the COVID-19 pandemic. Activists, artists, and political leaders […]
What happened on this day. These are the August 26 moments in Black history worth knowing, remembering, and passing on. 1920 — Nineteenth Amendment is formally certified On Aug 26, 1920, Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby certified the Nineteenth Amendment, barring denial of voting rights on the basis of sex. Black women had helped win […]