People, Locations, Episodes

Nathaniel Banks, Officer, and Politician born

*Nathaniel Banks was born on this date in 1816. He was a white-American politician and a military officer.   Nathaniel Prentice Banks was born in Waltham, Massachusetts, the first child of Nathaniel P. Banks, Sr., and Rebecca Greenwood Banks. His father worked in the textile mill of the Boston Manufacturing Company, eventually becoming a foreman. […]

The New England Anti-Slavery Society is Founded

*On this date in 1832 the New England Anti-Slavery Society was founded.

Originated in Boston, its preamble stated:

Samuel C. Armstrong, Soldier, and Educator born

*Samuel Armstrong was born on this date in 1839. He was a white-American soldier, educator, abolitionist, and administrator. The third son of Christian missionary Richard Armstrong, Samuel Chapman Armstrong was born in Wailuku, Maui, Hawaii, the sixth of ten children. His mother, Clarissa Chapman Armstrong, grew up in a Congregational family in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. His father […]

Adam Paine, Black Seminole Soldier born

*The birth of Adam Paine is celebrated on this date in 1843.  He was a Black Seminole who served in the United States Army.   Sometimes referred to as Adam Payne, he was born in Florida.  Paine enlisted in the Army at Fort Duncan, Texas, in November 1873 and joined other Black Seminoles known as the “Seminole-Negro Indian Scouts.”   Col. R. S. Mackenzie’s […]

Richard Greener, Legal, and Political Advisor born

*Richard Theodore Greener was born on this date in 1844. He was an African American administrator, politician, lawyer, and educator.

From Philadelphia, when Greener was about nine, his father left the family to pursue mining opportunities in California. Tragically, his father was presumed dead after efforts to locate him failed. His mother moved the family to Boston, then to Cambridge in search of educational opportunities for her son. Greener received his early education at the Broadway Grammar School until he was about 14, when he quit to support his mother.

Joseph Clovese, Union Soldier, born

*Joseph Clovese was born on this date in 1844. He was a Black soldier in the Union Army. Born a slave in Louisiana, Clovese worked as a child in the plantation house in St. Bernard Parish. Considered a favorite, he was taught reading and writing. A friend convinced him to run away just before he […]

Dexter Avenue Baptist Church is Founded

*On this date in 1877, we celebrate Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.  This is a Baptist church in Montgomery, Alabama, affiliated with the Progressive National Baptist Convention. Freedmen and free people of color organized the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church congregation. It was first known as the Second Colored Baptist Church. The church trustees paid $270 on […]

The Tuskegee Choir is Formed

*On this date in 1884, we celebrate the Tuskegee Choir.  Beginning as a quartet, this group was sent out by Booker T. Washington for several years to “promote the interest of Tuskegee Institutes” by acquainting benevolent audiences to the school and his philosophy. The original quartet consisted of students Hiram H. Thweatt, John F. McLeMore, […]

Roy Eldridge, Musician born

*On this date Roy Eldridge was born in 1911. He was an African American jazz musician.

A fiery trumpet player and a key figure in the instrument’s lineage, Roy Eldridge was an outstanding improvisational stylist. Eldridge was born in Pittsburgh, and after paying his dues with regional bands in the Midwest, moved to New York in 1930. In 1935 he joined Fletcher Henderson’s orchestra, then led his own group before joining Gene Krupa in 1941. Through extensive tours and recordings, the Krupa engagement brought him to prominence.

Ray Durem, Poet, and Activist born

*Ray Durem was born on this date in 1914. He was an African American activist and poet.

Ramón Durem was born in Seattle, Washington of mixed heritage.  Leaving home at fourteen, he briefly served in the U.S. Navy before suffering a leg injury that forced his discharge.  He then worked as a laborer until enrolling at the University of California in Berkeley where he joined the Communist Party in 1931 and volunteered to join the Loyalist cause in Spain.

The League of Women for Community Service is Formed

*On this date in 1920, the League of Women for Community Service was formed. The League was formed to undertake civic, social, educational, and charitable work for the benefit of Boston’s Black community. On that date, Florida Ruffin Ridley and her mother, Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin, purchased 558 Massachusetts Avenue from Eliza Farwell, widow of Nathaniel Farwell, […]

Dorothy Coates, Gospel Vocalist born

*Dorothy Coates was born on this date in 1928.  She was a Black gospel vocalist.  Born Dorothy McGriff in Birmingham, Alabama, she was one of seven children of a minister.  She sang in local churches and started a family group, the Royal Gospel Singers, as a teenager.  Coates joined the Gospel Harmonettes, a well-known Birmingham […]

Sharon Pratt, Policy Administrator born

*Sharon Pratt was born on this date in 1944.  She is a Black lawyer, politician, and administrator.  From Washington D.C., she was born to D.C. Superior Court judge Carlisle Edward Pratt and Mildred “Peggy” (Petticord) Pratt. Three years later, a sister, Benaree, was born. After she lost her mother to breast cancer at an early […]

The Billie Holiday Theatre Opens

*The Billy Holiday Theatre’s opening in 1968 is celebrated on this date. Serving some 30,000 people annually for more than 30 years, the Audelco and Obie award-winning Billie Holiday Theatre has garnered a well-earned reputation for providing outstanding professional theater productions at affordable prices. The 200-seat theater has a 40-week season and is training ground for aspiring theater professionals. It has nurtured the careers of Oscar-nominated actor Samuel L.

Baseball’s Upton Brothers Home Runs Tie and Win the Game in the Same Inning

*On this date in 2013, two African American professional baseball players (brothers) hit consecutive home runs to tie and win their game a first for Major League Baseball.