People, Locations, Episodes

Edward P. McCabe, Land Agent born

*Edward McCabe was born on this date in 1850. He was a Black settler, attorney, and land agent. Edward P. McCabe was born in Troy, New York. As a child, he and his family moved from Troy to Fall River, Massachusetts, Newport, Rhode Island, and Bangor, Maine. When his father died, he left school and […]

Emanuel Hewlett, Lawyer, Judge, and Activist born

*Emanuel Hewlett was born on this date in 1850. He was a Black attorney, judge, and civil rights activist. Emanuel D. Molyneaux Hewlett was born in Brooklyn, New York, on November 15, 1850, the son of Aaron Molyneaux Hewlett and Virginia Josephine Molyneaux Hewlett. He had two sisters, Virginia Lind and Aaronella, and two brothers, […]

Strader v. Graham is Ruled

*On this date in 1851, we celebrate Strader v. Graham, 51 U.S. 82 court verdict.   This United States Supreme Court decision held that the status of three slaves who went from Kentucky to Indiana and Ohio depended on Kentucky law rather than Ohio law. The original plaintiff was Christopher Graham, whose three slaves had traveled […]

William Hardin, Administrator born

*The birth of William Hardin is celebrated on this date in c. 1831. He was a Black politician and barber.  William Jefferson Hardin was born in Russellville, Kentucky, to a white father and a mulatto mother. He claimed to be the nephew of Benjamin Hardin, but his claims were never proven. He was raised by […]

Ferdinand Barnett, Journalist, and Lawyer born

*Ferdinand Barnett was born on this date in 1852.  He was a Black journalist, lawyer, and civil rights activist.  Ferdinand Lee Barnett was born in Nashville, Tennessee.  His mother was a freewoman, Martha Brooks. Ferdinand Lee Barnett’s father was born in Nashville and worked as a blacksmith. He purchased his family’s freedom the year Ferdinand […]

The California Fugitive Labor Act is Passed

*On this date, 1852, the California Fugitive Labor Act was passed. Two years after California entered the union as a free state, this law lasted only three years.   Slavery in the territory of California had been a debated issue since Spanish conquistadors explored the region in the 18th century. The California Fugitive Labor Act was passed […]

William Feilds, School Principal born

*The birth of William A. Feilds is celebrated on this date in c. 1852.  He was a Black schoolteacher and principal.   born a slave in West Tennessee in 1874, Feilds married Elizabeth (Lizzie) Fields, age 20, in Shelby County, TN.  In 1882, Sholes’ Memphis City Directory listed Feilds as a “teacher 5th District school, r county.” According to […]

George White, Politician, and Schoolteacher born

On this date, George Henry White was born in 1852. He was a Black lawyer, politician, schoolteacher, and administrator.

White was born a slave in Rosindale, North Carolina. After working as a farm laborer, he studied at Howard University (1873-1877). This was followed by work as a schoolteacher and as a lawyer. As the last former slave to serve in Congress, White’s term in the House closed out the years of service of the first generation of black representatives.

José Martí, Cuban Nationalist and Journalist born

*José Martí was born on this date in 1853. He was an Afro Cuban nationalist, poet, philosopher, essayist, journalist, translator, professor, and publisher. Born in Havana, Spanish Empire, José Julián Martí Pérez began his political activism at an early age. In 1865, he enrolled in the Escuela de Instruction Primaria Superior Municipal de Varones, headed by Rafael […]

Holmes v. Ford, a story

*On this date in 1853, Holmes v. Ford was heard in the territorial court of Oregon.  This American court case in the Oregon Territory freed a slave family. The decision reaffirmed that slavery was illegal in the territory outlined in the Organic Laws of Oregon that continued once the region became a U.S. territory. In […]

George Murray, Farmer, and Congressman born

*This date spotlights the birth of George Washington Murray in 1853. He was a Black farmer, politician, teacher and inventor.

The Republican Party in America, a story

*The Republican Party was founded on this date, in 1854. Also referred to as the GOP (Grand Old Party), it is one of the two major political parties in the United States; the other is the Democratic Party.   The GOP was founded in Wisconsin at the Republican Schoolhouse, also known as Little White Schoolhouse. This historic former schoolhouse is at 305 […]

George Washington Fields, Lawyer born

*George Washington Fields was born on this date in 1854.  He was a Black Lawyer. Fields was the son of Washington Fields and Martha Ann Berkley, two enslaved people in Virginia. He grew up on a plantation in Hanover Courthouse, Virginia. During an American Civil War skirmish in July 1863, Fields and his family escaped the plantation […]

The Jennings v. The Third Avenue Railroad Incident is Ruled

*On this date in 1854, Elizabeth Jennings was refused a seat on public Streetcar, setting off the first racial transportation lawsuit in America.
It happened in downtown New York City.

Issac Payne, Army Scout born

*The birth of Isaac Payne in 1854 is celebrated on this date. He was a Black Seminole scout in the U.S. Army.