What happened on this day. These are the September 20 moments in Black history worth knowing, remembering, and passing on. 1830 — The first National Negro Convention gathers in Philadelphia On September 20, 1830, Bishop Richard Allen convened the first National Negro Convention at Mother Bethel AME Church in Philadelphia. Delegates from seven states organized […]
What happened on this day. These are the September 19 moments in Black history worth knowing, remembering, and passing on. 1865 — Atlanta University is founded On September 19, 1865, months after the Civil War’s end, Atlanta University was founded to educate freedpeople. It grew into a center of Black scholarship where W. E. B. […]
What happened on this day. These are the September 18 moments in Black history worth knowing, remembering, and passing on. 1850 — The Fugitive Slave Act turns the whole nation into slave country On September 18, 1850, President Millard Fillmore signed the Fugitive Slave Act, compelling citizens and officials in free states to help capture […]
What happened on this day. These are the September 17 moments in Black history worth knowing, remembering, and passing on. 1787 — The Constitution is signed with slavery embedded in it On September 17, 1787, delegates in Philadelphia signed the United States Constitution, which counted enslaved people as three-fifths of a person for white political […]
What happened on this day. These are the September 16 moments in Black history worth knowing, remembering, and passing on. 1940 — The first peacetime draft becomes law with segregation intact On September 16, 1940, President Franklin Roosevelt signed the Selective Training and Service Act, the nation’s first peacetime draft. The law barred discrimination in […]
What happened on this day. These are the September 15 moments in Black history worth knowing, remembering, and passing on. 1963 — The 16th Street Baptist Church is bombed in Birmingham On September 15, 1963, Klansmen dynamited the 16th Street Baptist Church during Sunday services, murdering Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Wesley, Carole Robertson, and Denise […]
What happened on this day. These are the September 14 moments in Black history worth knowing, remembering, and passing on. 1874 — The White League stages a coup in New Orleans On September 14, 1874, thousands of armed White Leaguers overwhelmed the integrated Metropolitan Police at the Battle of Liberty Place and seized control of […]
What happened on this day. These are the September 13 moments in Black history worth knowing, remembering, and passing on. 1962 — Ross Barnett vows that Mississippi will never integrate On September 13, 1962, Mississippi governor Ross Barnett delivered a statewide television address declaring that no school would be integrated while he was governor and […]
What happened on this day. These are the September 12 moments in Black history worth knowing, remembering, and passing on. 1958 — The Supreme Court rejects Little Rock’s delay in Cooper v. Aaron On September 12, 1958, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously in Cooper v. Aaron that Little Rock could not postpone school desegregation because […]
What happened on this day. These are the September 11 moments in Black history worth knowing, remembering, and passing on. 1851 — Black families resist slave catchers at Christiana On September 11, 1851, Black residents of Christiana, Pennsylvania, led by William Parker, took up arms to stop Maryland enslaver Edward Gorsuch from seizing four men […]