What happened on this day. These are the August 20 moments in Black history worth knowing, remembering, and passing on. 1964 — Economic Opportunity Act launches major War on Poverty programs On Aug 20, 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Economic Opportunity Act. The law created programs including Job Corps, VISTA, and community action […]
What happened on this day. These are the August 19 moments in Black history worth knowing, remembering, and passing on. 1791 — Benjamin Banneker challenges Thomas Jefferson on slavery On Aug 19, 1791, Black mathematician and astronomer Benjamin Banneker sent Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson a forceful letter condemning slavery. By confronting the contradiction between […]
What happened on this day. These are the August 18 moments in Black history worth knowing, remembering, and passing on. 1920 — Nineteenth Amendment is ratified On Aug 18, 1920, Tennessee became the decisive thirty-sixth state to ratify the Nineteenth Amendment, constitutionally barring denial of the vote on the basis of sex. Black women helped […]
What happened on this day. These are the August 17 moments in Black history worth knowing, remembering, and passing on. 2016 — Elaine Thompson completes an Olympic sprint double On Aug 17, 2016, Jamaican sprinter Elaine Thompson won the 200-meter final at the Rio Olympics in 21.78 seconds. The victory, four days after her 100-meter […]
What happened on this day. These are the August 16 moments in Black history worth knowing, remembering, and passing on. 1967 — Louis Armstrong records “What a Wonderful World” On Aug 16, 1967, Louis Armstrong recorded “What a Wonderful World” during a late-night session in Las Vegas. Though initially underpromoted in the United States, the […]
What happened on this day. These are the August 15 moments in Black history worth knowing, remembering, and passing on. 1914 — Panama Canal opens after work by tens of thousands of Caribbean laborers On Aug 15, 1914, the Panama Canal officially opened to traffic with the passage of the steamship Ancon. More than 50,000 […]
What happened on this day. These are the August 14 moments in Black history worth knowing, remembering, and passing on. 1908 — The Springfield Race Riot begins in Illinois On August 14, 1908, a white mob began attacking Black residents, homes, and businesses in Springfield, Illinois. The three days of violence included two lynchings and […]
What happened on this day. These are the August 13 moments in Black history worth knowing, remembering, and passing on. 1906 — The Brownsville Affair begins in Texas On the night of August 13, 1906, gunfire in Brownsville, Texas, was blamed on Black soldiers of the Twenty-fifth Infantry despite conflicting evidence and their denials. President […]
What happened on this day. These are the August 12 moments in Black history worth knowing, remembering, and passing on. 1922 — Frederick Douglass’s Cedar Hill home is dedicated as a memorial On August 12, 1922, the restored Frederick Douglass Memorial Home at Cedar Hill was formally dedicated in Washington, D.C. Black women’s organizations, including […]
What happened on this day. These are the August 11 moments in Black history worth knowing, remembering, and passing on. 1965 — The Watts Rebellion begins in Los Angeles On August 11, 1965, the arrest of Marquette Frye after a traffic stop sparked six days of unrest in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles. The […]