People, Locations, Episodes

The Slave Trade Act of 1788 is Enacted

*On this date, 1788, the Slave Trade Act of 1788 was enacted. Also known as Dolben’s Act, it was an Act of Parliament that limited the number of people that British slave ships could transport based on tonnage.   It was the first British legislation passed to regulate slave shipping. In the late 18th century, […]

Solomon Northup, Abolitionist, and Author born

*Solomon Northup was born on this date in 1807. He was a Black musician, abolitionist, and author. Born in Rhode Island, he was taken with the Northup family when they moved to Hoosick, New York, in Rensselaer County.   His father, Mintus, was a freedman who had been a slave in his early life in […]

James Pennington, Author, and Abolitionist born

The birth of the Reverend James William Charles Pennington in 1807 is celebrated on this date. He was a Black educator, clergyman, orator, author, and abolitionist.

The 7th Louisiana Regiment Infantry is formed.

*The 7th Louisiana Regiment Infantry (African Descent) was formed on this date in 1863. This regiment was in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The regiment was first organized and was on duty in New Orleans, Louisiana, until August 6, 1863. In December 1863, it was organized in Memphis, Tennessee, Holly Springs, Mississippi, and […]

James Westley Hurse, Minister born

*James Wesley Hurse was born on this date in 1866.  He was a Black minister. Born in Collierville, Tennessee, he spent his early years on a farm near Mason, Tennessee. As a teenager, he left home and worked at various odd jobs in Memphis before moving to Kansas City at 21. He enrolled at the […]

Mary McLeod Bethune, Educator, and Activist born

Mary McLeod Bethune, African American civil rights administrator and educator was born on this date in 1875.

Noble Sissle, Lyricist born

Noble Sissle, an African American musician and lyricist, was born on this date in 1889.

Nicolas Guillen, Afro Cuban Poet born

Nicolas’ Guillen was born on this date in 1902. He was an Afro Cuban poet, writer, journalist, and social activist.

From Camageuey, Cuba, he was the sixth child of Argelia Batista y Arrieta and Nicolas’ Guillen y Urra, both of whom were of mixed African-Spanish decent. Guillen’s fathe, a journalist, introduced him to Afro-Cuban music when he was very young. His father was assassinated by the Cuban government, and as Nicolas and his brothers and sister finished school in pre-revolutionary Cuba, they encountered the same racism Black Americans lived with before the 1950s.

The St. Paul Colored Gophers Baseball Team is Formed

The St. Paul Colored Gophers of 1907 are celebrated on this date. They were a small club of African American baseball players formed in St. Paul, MN, 40 years before Jackie Robinson broke Major League Baseball’s color barrier.

Marguerite DeMond, Archivist born.

*Marguerite DeMond was born on this date in 1907. She was a Black archivist and curator. Born in Buxton, Iowa, her father was Abraham Lincoln DeMond, and her mother was Lula Irene Watkins. She lived in Macon, Bibb, Georgia, in 1910 and Charleston, Charleston, South Carolina, in 1920.  Marguerite Lula DeMond attended Avery Normal Institute. She also […]

Clayton Bates, Dancer born

The birth of Clayton Bates, an African American tap dancer, is marked on this date in 1907.

He was born in rural Fountain Inn, S.C., where his mother, Emma, raised him alone after his father abandoned them. He loved to dance and started dancing at the age of five. When he was 12, he lost his left leg after it was mangled in the conveyor belt of a cotton separator at a mill where he was working. With no hospital nearby for Black people, his leg was amputated on the table in his mother’s kitchen. After the mill accident, people said he would never dance again.

Edgar Sampson, Musician, and Lyricist born

*Edgar Sampson was born on this date in 1907.  He was a Black musician and arranger.  Edgar Melvin Sampson was born in New York City.   As a young man, he played alto saxophone and violin in several bands during the 20s and 30s, including Duke Ellington, Rex Stewart, and Fletcher Henderson.   His most notable period […]

The ‘African Times And Orient Review’ is Published

*On this date in 1912, we celebrate the publication of African Times and Orient Review. This was a pan-Asian and Pan-African journal launched by Duse Mohamed Ali, a Black British actor and journalist, with the help of John Eldred Taylor.   The first Universal Races Congress, held in 1911 in the United Kingdom, inspired it and wrote of the global […]

The Longview Race Riot, a story

*The Longview race riot occurred on this date in 1919. This was a weak episode of violent incidents in Longview, Texas. From July 10 to July 17, whites attacked Black areas of town, killed one Black man, and burned down several properties, including the houses of a black teacher and a doctor. It was one […]

David Dinkins, Lawyer, and Politician born

*On this date, in 1927, David Dinkins was born.  He was a Black politician, lawyer, and author.  who, from 1990 to 1993, served as the 106th Mayor of New York City. He was the first African American to hold that office.   David Norman Dinkins was born in Trenton, New Jersey, the son of Sarah “Sally” Lucy and William Harvey Dinkins Jr.  His mother was a […]