*Alexander Walters was born on this date in 1858. He was a Black clergyman and civil rights leader. Walters was born in Bardstown, Kentucky, the oldest son of Henry and Harriet Walters. He was educated at a private school taught by a number of teachers. In 1871 he moved to Louisville, Kentucky where he worked as a waiter […]
learn more*On this date in 1858, Anna Julia Haywood Cooper was born. She was a Black educator and activist.
learn more*Katharine Drexel was born on this date in 1858. She was a white-American heiress, philanthropist, catholic sister, and educator. Katharine Mary Drexel was born Catherine Mary Drexel in Philadelphia, the second child of investment bankers Francis Anthony Drexel and Hannah Langstroth. Her mother died five weeks after her baby’s birth. For two years, their […]
learn more*Clement G. Morgan was born on this date in 1859. He was a Black attorney, civil rights activist, and city official. Clement Garnett Morgan was born into slavery in Stafford County, Virginia. When the Emancipation Proclamation freed him and his parents in 1863, they moved to Washington, D.C., where Clement attended the M Street High School and trained […]
learn moreFlorence Kelley was born on this date in 1859. She was a White American activist for civil rights and social reform.
learn moreThis date in 1787 recalls the Rankin House, a pivotal point of shelter for many Black slaves escaping bondage before emancipation.
learn more*On this date in 1860, Charles Russell was born. He was a white-American journalist, opinion columnist, newspaper editor, and political activist. Charles Edward Russell was born in Davenport, Iowa, a transportation center on the Mississippi River on the far eastern border of the state. His father, Edward Russell, was editor of the Davenport Gazette and an abolitionist. The Russell family was staunchly religious […]
learn moreOn this date in 1860 we remember Henrietta Vinton Davis. She was an African American actress and an international leader of the Garvey movement.
learn more*Coralie Franklin Cook was born on this date in 1861. She was a Black activist, suffragist, orator and scholar. Descended from slaves owned by President Thomas Jefferson, Coralie Franklin was born in Lexington, Virginia, the younger of two daughters from Albert Barbour Franklin and Mary Elizabeth Edmondson. Her parents were enslaved by Southern First Families […]
learn more*Florida Ruffin Ridley was born on this date in 1861. She was a Black activist, suffragist, teacher, writer, and editor. Florida Yates Ruffin was born into a distinguished Boston family. Her father, George Lewis Ruffin, was the first Black graduate of Harvard Law School and the first Black judge in the United States. Her mother, Josephine St. […]
learn more*Nettie Langston Napier was born on this date 1861. She was an African American woman’s activist and administrator.
learn more*Butler Wilson was born on this date in 1861. He was a Black attorney, activist, and humanitarian. Butler Roland Wilson was born in Greensboro, Georgia, to Dr. John R. and Mary Jackson Wilson, free people of color. His father was a physician and civic leader in the Atlanta area. Wilson attended Clark/Atlanta University, where he was […]
learn more*The Freedmen’s Aid Society was celebrated on this date in 1861 during the American Civil War. Founded by the American Missionary Association (AMA), a group supported by the Congregational, Presbyterian, and Methodist churches in the American North. It organized a supply of teachers from the North and provided housing for them to set up and teach in schools in the South for freedmen (emancipated slaves) and […]
learn more*J.B. Stradford was born on this date in 1861. He was a Black businessman and community activist. John the Baptist (J.B.) Stradford was from Versailles, KY, the son of Julius Caesar (J.C.). His father was enslaved, and his owner never gave him the last name, though his owner’s daughter befriended him and taught him to […]
learn more*The Port Royal Experiment began on this date in 1861. This was an educational program where former slaves successfully worked on the land abandoned by white-American planters. It started during the American Civil War after the Union captured the Sea Islands off the coast of South Carolina and their main harbor, Port Royal. The whites fled, leaving behind 10,000 Black slaves. Several private Northern charity organizations stepped in to help […]
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