Marvin Pentz Gay Jr. was born April 2, 1939, He was a singer-songwriter-producer who helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960, earning him the nickname "Prince of Motown" and "Prince of Soul". Gaye’s father was a preacher; his mother w…
For over a century, African American filmmakers have sought to be represented in the film industry. As Hollywood developed in the early 1900s, Black directors sought to challenge the stereotypes that were pervasive in the industry. One of the most…
On March 28, 1958, a 22-year-old Black man named Jeremiah Reeves was executed by the state of Alabama after being convicted of the SA of a white woman. This is the Legal Lynching of Jeremiah Reeves In July 1951, Jeremiah, who was a 1…
On March 25, 1931, nine Black teenagers riding a freight train through Alabama and were arrested after being falsely accused of raping two white women. Consequently, the National Guard was called in to protect the youngsters from poten…
Kwame Ture was born June 29, 1941 in Port of Spain, Trinidad, He was a civil rights activist, leader of Black nationalism in the United States in the 1960s and originator of the slogan, “Black power.” Stokely Carmichael immigrated to Ne…
April 15th 1889, Asa Philip Randolph was born. He was civil rights activist. who founded the first Black labor union, helped organized to end segregation in defense industries and the U.S. armed forces. Randolph was instrumental in organizing of t…
Josephine Baker died 12 April, 1975. She was a American-born French entertainer, French Resistance agent, and civil rights activist. Baker became wildly popular during the 1920s and her career symbolized the beauty and vitality of Black American's…
March 10 1913, Harriett Tubman passed away. Harriet Tubman was an escaped enslaved woman who became a “conductor” on the Underground Railroad, she was also a nurse, and Union spy. Harriett Tubman is one of the most recognizable Black w…
On March 6, 1857, in Dred Scott v. Sandford, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Black people were not American citizens and could not sue in courts of law. The Court ruled against Dred Scott, an enslaved Black man who tried to sue for his freedom…
March 3, 1968, The FBI sent a memorandum to their field offices with a set goals for a their counterintelligence program "COINTELPRO" against African American Nationalist groups. The goal was to block attempts to coalesce, grow and ex…
March 2, 1955. Claudette Colvin was arrested for challenging segregation on the Montgomery bus line, the act preceded Rosa Parks' by nine months. Claudette Colvin and her classmates were let out from school early, They would take the …
February 23, 1868, William Edward Burghardt Du Bois was born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. He was a sociologist, historian, civil rights activist author, editor of the Crisis magazine and one of the founders of the NAACP. Du Boi…
February 21, 1965, Malcolm X was assassinated in the Audubon Ballroom. He was a Muslim minister, activist, and key member of the civil rights movement. Malcolm was a prolific orator, with a charismatic personality. He expressed the an…
Huey P. Newton was the cofounder of the Black Panther Party for Self Defense. The Black Panther Party at its height in 1969 had around 10,000 members but accurate numbers impossible to prove. The Black Panther Party was created 19…
February 14, 1817, Frederick Douglass was born, He was a prominent activist, author, public speaker, and was the civil rights leader of African Americans till his death in 1895. Born into slavery his birth name was Frederick Augustus Wa…
In February 12, 1909, the NAACP was founded. The NAACP is a civil rights organization created as an interracial endeavor to fight for injustice against African Americans. The NAACP is the largest and one of most widely recognized civil rights organi…
On Feb. 7, 1926, Carter G. Woodson launched the first celebration of Negro History Week which was the predecessor to Black History Month, The idea was intended to expand the education and understanding of African American history. Car…
February 4, 1913, Rosa Louise McCauley Parks was born. She was an activist in the civil rights movement known for her role in the Montgomery bus boycott. December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks was commuting home from her job at a local department store…
February 3, 1870, The 15th amendment was ratified granting African American men the right to vote. In 1867, following the Civil War, the Republican led Congress passed the First Reconstruction Act. The act divided the South into f…
January 2, 1970, The first celebration of Black History Month took place at Kent State from January 2 to February 28 1970. The precursor to Black History Month (Negro History week) was created in 1926 by Carter G. Woodson and the Asso…
January 1, 1863, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. The Emancipation Proclamation assure the freedom for nearly 4 million enslaved people of African descent. Slavery was one of the major factors in the Civil War, So throughout the …
When Joseph McNeil, Franklin McCain, Ezell Blair Jr. and David Richmond sat down at a "whites-only" Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro, N.C. Woolworth's official policy was to refuse service to anyone but whites, after being denied servic…
January 31, 1919, Jack Roosevelt Robinson was born. He was an professional baseball player who became the first African American to play in MLB for the Brooklyn Dodgers in April 15, 1947. In 1941, Branch Rickey had also begun investig…
January 26, 1944, Angela Yvonne Davis was born. Angela Davis is a black activist, professor and author, Who has authored over 10 books on race, class and feminism Davis rose to prominence during her imprisonment and trial on conspiracy charge…