Honoring those we lost on August 9 — remembered for what they gave, and for what they left behind. Ruby Hurley Birth name: Ruby Ruffin Born Nov 7, 1909 — died Aug 9, 1980 Civil rights organizer, NAACP administrator, investigator, and voting-rights advocate. Hurley built the NAACP’s first permanent regional office in the Deep South […]
Honoring those we lost on August 8 — remembered for what they gave, and for what they left behind. William Augustus Hinton Born Dec 15, 1883 — died Aug 8, 1959 Bacteriologist, pathologist, medical educator, public health pioneer, and Harvard professor. Hinton developed a more accurate blood test for syphilis and wrote the first medical […]
Honoring those we lost on August 7 — remembered for what they gave, and for what they left behind. Ira Aldridge Full name: Ira Frederick Aldridge Born Jul 24, 1807 — died Aug 7, 1867 Actor, playwright, theater manager, abolitionist, and pioneering Black Shakespearean performer. After racism restricted his opportunities in the United States, Aldridge […]
Honoring those we lost on August 6 — remembered for what they gave, and for what they left behind. David Walker Born c. 1796 — died Aug 6, 1830 Abolitionist, writer, activist, and author of Walker’s Appeal. Walker’s 1829 Appeal to the Colored Citizens of the World condemned slavery, rejected claims of Black inferiority, and […]
Honoring those we lost on August 5 — remembered for what they gave, and for what they left behind. Ernest Whitman Born Feb 21, 1893 — died Aug 5, 1954 Stage and screen actor, vaudeville performer, radio personality, and minister. Whitman moved from ministry and vaudeville into Broadway, radio, and Hollywood during an era when […]
Honoring those we lost on August 4 — remembered for what they gave, and for what they left behind. Anna Murray Douglass Birth name: Anna Murray Born Mar 8, 1813 — died Aug 4, 1882 Abolitionist, Underground Railroad worker, organizer, and partner in the Douglass family’s freedom work. Murray helped finance and plan Frederick Douglass’s […]
Honoring those we lost on August 3 — remembered for what they gave, and for what they left behind. Letitia Woods Brown Full name: Letitia Christine Woods Brown Born Oct 24, 1915 — died Aug 3, 1976 Historian, educator, researcher, community activist, and Black academic pioneer. Brown became the first Black woman to earn a […]
Honoring those we lost on August 2 — remembered for what they gave, and for what they left behind. James Jamerson Full name: James Lee Jamerson Born Jan 29, 1936 — died Aug 2, 1983 Bassist, Funk Brothers member, Motown session musician, and modern bass innovator. Jamerson’s melodic, deeply rhythmic bass lines helped create the […]
Honoring those we lost on August 1 — remembered for what they gave, and for what they left behind. Joseph Rainey Full name: Joseph Hayne Rainey Born Jun 21, 1832 — died Aug 1, 1887 Reconstruction-era congressman, barber, businessman, and political trailblazer. Rainey became the first Black person to serve in the United States House […]
Honoring those we lost on July 31 — remembered for what they gave, and for what they left behind. Bill Russell Full name: William Felton Russell Born February 12, 1934 — died July 31, 2022 Basketball Hall of Famer, civil rights activist, NBA champion, coach, and sports icon. Russell became one of the greatest winners […]