People, Locations, Episodes

Beale Street (Memphis, TN), a story

*On this date in 1841, Beale Street is celebrated. Beale Street is a historic street in Downtown Memphis, Tennessee, which runs from the Mississippi River to East Street, approximately 1.8 miles. Beale Street was created by entrepreneur and developer Robertson Topp, who named it for a forgotten military hero. (The original name was Beale Avenue.) […]

George Ruby, Politician, and Teacher born

*The birth of George Ruby is celebrated on this date in 1841. He was a Black teacher, journalist, and politician. George Thompson Ruby was born in New York City. His parents were the Rev. Ebenezer Ruby and Jemima Ruby, though their son would claim that his father was an aristocratic white man. He was mulatto. Ruby […]

Frederick Douglass Jr., Abolitionist, and Editor born

*Frederick Douglass Jr. was born on this date in 1842. He was an abolitionist, essayist, newspaper editor, and official recruiter of colored soldiers for the United States Union Army during the American Civil War. He was born in New Bedford, Massachusetts, the second son of Frederick Douglass and his first wife, Anna Murray Douglass. As a youngster while still […]

William Monroe Trotter, Publisher, and Activist born

*William Monroe Trotter was born on this date in 1872. He was an African American news publisher and activist and perhaps the most militant of the known civil rights activist of the 19th century.

Allen Allensworth, Municipal Administrator born

*On this date in 1842, Allen Allensworth was born. He was a Black minister, administrator and educator.

From Louisville, KY, born to slave parents, Phyllis and Levi Allensworth, Allen escaped from slavery at the age of twenty. During the Civil War, he became a civilian nurse in the 44th Infantry’s hospital corps serving in the Nashville campaign. A year later he joined the Navy serving on gunboat in the Ohio River. By 1865, he became a chief petty officer. Allensworth then returned to Louisville, where he converted to the Baptist faith in their Fifth Street Church.

Elijah McCoy, Engineer, and Inventor born

Elijah J. McCoy was born on this date in 1843. He was an African American inventor and his work may have been the beginning of the phrase the “Real McCoy.”

Thomas Henry Lyles, Businessman born

*The birth of Thomas Henry Lyles is celebrated on this date in 1843. He was a Black soldier, businessman, and activist. Born in Maryland, Lyles served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.  Around 1870, Lyles married  Amanda Lyles, and the couple arrived in St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1874. The 1880 Census shows Lyles […]

R. B. Fitzgerald, Businessman born

*This date celebrates the birth of R. B. Fitzgerald, a Black brickmaker and businessman, in 1843.   Richard Burton Fitzgerald was born in New Castle County, Delaware, to Thomas and Sarah (Burton) Fitzgerald. His father was Mulatto of African and Irish ancestry and emancipated from slavery by a white father and master. His mother was white and of English ancestry; she decided to raise […]

The Palladium of Liberty Newspaper is Published

*The Palladium of Liberty published its first issue on this date in 1843.  This was the first newspaper published by Black Ohioans to promote Black civil rights in Ohio. David Jenkins and other Black community leaders launched the Columbus-based weekly.   The Palladium of Liberty was established by the resolutions of two African American citizens’ conventions in 1843, which David […]

Charles Douglass, Government Administrator born

*Charles Douglass was born on this date in 1844. He was a Black soldier, journalist, government clerk, real estate developer, secretary, and treasurer. He was the third and youngest son of Frederick Douglass and his first wife, Anna Murray Douglass. Charles Remond Douglass was born in Lynn, Massachusetts, and named after a friend of his father and anti-slavery […]

Moses Rodgers, Mining Engineer born

*Moses Rodgers was born on this date in 1845. He was a Black miner and mining engineer pioneer of California.

James Napier, Businessman born

*James C. Napier was born on this date in 1845. He was an Black businessman and politician.

The ‘Anti-Slavery Bugle’ Newspaper is published

 *On this date in 1845, The Anti-Slavery Bugle started publication.  This abolitionist newspaper was first published in New Lisbon (later renamed Lisbon), Ohio, and moved shortly after five issues to Salem, Ohio. Salem was home to many Quaker families and an active station of the Underground Railroad, providing the paper with more subscribers. James Barnaby was the publisher and received support from the Anti-Slavery Society, such as Abby […]

Julian Carr, Segregationist, and industrialist born

*Julian Carr was born on this date in 1845. He was a white industrialist, pro-slavery advocate, philanthropist, segregationist, and Ku Klux Klan supporter. Julian Shakespeare Carr was the son of Chapel Hill merchant and slaveowner John Wesley Carr and Eliza P. Carr (née Eliza Pannell Bullock). He entered the University of North Carolina (today, the University of […]

James D. Bowser, Journalist born

*James Bowser was born on this date in 1846.  He was a Black journalist and educator.   James Dallas Bowser was born free in Weldon, North Carolina, to free people of color. When he was six years old, the family moved to Chillicothe, Ohio.  Henry Bowser’s father became one of the first Black teachers there. In […]