People, Locations, Episodes

African American, (the term); an article

*The term African American is celebrated on this dates Registry.

In August of 2005, an Ethiopian-born activist named Abdulaziz Kamus seemed to melt into the crowd; a sea of black professors, health experts and community leaders considering how to educate blacks about the dangers of prostate cancer. But when he piped up to suggest focusing some attention on African immigrants, the dividing lines were quickly and pointedly drawn.

Lorenzo Barcala, Military Commander born

*Lorenzo Barcala was born on this date in 1793. He was an Afro Argentine military commander who participated in the Argentine civil wars on the side of the Unitarian Party. He was one of the few Black soldiers to reach the rank of colonel in that country. The son of slaves from Mendoza, Argentina, he […]

Henry Garnet, Abolitionist born

On this date in 1815, Henry H. Garnet was born. He was a Black theologian and abolitionist.

Joseph R. Holmes, Farmer and Politician born

*The birth of Joseph R. Holmes is celebrated on this date in 1838. He was a Black shoemaker, farmer, and politician. Holmes published various articles critical of conservatives after the American Civil War.  After being emancipated from Charlotte County, Virginia, he married Mary Clarke. They had three sons and one daughter. On October 23, 1867, Holmes and […]

Madame C.J. Walker, Businesswoman born

Madame C. J. Walker was born on this date in 1867. She was an African American businesswoman and philanthropist generally acknowledged as one of the first Black female millionaire in the United States.

Elder W. Diggs, Educator, and Officer born

*Elder Diggs was born on this date in 1883. He was a Black writer, soldier, and scholar. Elder Watson Diggs was born in Hopkinsville, Christian County, Kentucky, the eldest son of three children. Diggs and his brother (William Ellis) and sister (Effie) were reared by their mother, Cornelia. He received a one-room school education in […]

Fredi Washington, Actress born

*On this date in 1903, Fredi Washington was born. She was an African American actress, writer, dancer, and singer.

From Savannah, Georgia, Fredericka Carolyn Washington’s education began at St. Elizabeth Convent in Cornwells Heights, Pennsylvania. She then attended the Egri School of Dramatic Writing and the Christopher School of Languages, where her attractions included casting, writing, dancing, singing, and civil rights. Washington’s career began dancing in nightclubs. From 1922 to 1926, she toured with Sissle and Blake’s Shuffle Along.

Juan Pablo Sojo, Author born.

*Juan Sojo was born on this date in 1907. He was an Afro Venezuelan author and activist. Juan Pablo Sojo was born in the town of Curiepe, Brión Municipality, Miranda State. As a youth, he had his father, Juan Pablo Sojo B, as his primary teacher. His father was a musician and compiler of festivities […]

Frank Morgan, Saxophonist born

*Frank Morgan was born on this date in 1933. He was an African American musician.

Esther Phillips, Singer born

sther Phillips was born on this date in 1935. She was an African American singer.

Born Esther Mae Jones in Galveston, Texas, she began singing in church as a young child. When her parents divorced, she divided her time between her father in Houston and her mother in the Watts area of Los Angeles. It was in Los Angeles, in 1949, that her sister entered her in a talent show at a nightclub belonging to blues man Johnny Otis. So impressed was Otis with the 13-year-old that he brought her into the studio for a recording session with Modern Records and added her to his live revue.

The Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History Opens

*The Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History is celebrated on this date in 1965. It is also called ‘The Wright,’ a Museum of African American History in Detroit, Michigan. Charles H. Wright, a Detroit-based obstetrician and gynecologist, felt inspired to create a repository for African American history after he visited a memorial to […]

Irvin Mayfield Jr., Bandleader born

*Irvin Mayfield, Jr. was born on this date in 1977. He is an African American musician, bandleader and educator.

Mayfield is from New Orleans, Louisiana the youngest nine children of Joyce Alsanders and Irvin Mayfield, Sr. His mother was a schoolteacher in New Orleans’ Upper Ninth Ward. His father was a drill sergeant in the United States Army and a boxer who died in the flood after Hurricane Katrina.

Young Black Sniper Sentenced to Prison

On this date in 2003, a Virginia jury in the Washington-area sniper case sentenced Lee Boyd Malvo (a young African American) to life in prison.

This spared him from the death penalty, the fate awaiting his mentor John Allen Muhammad. Malvo’s lawyers had portrayed him as an impressionable boy who had fallen under Muhammad’s murderous spell. The two were convicted of a series of capital murders in a 2002 killing spree.