People, Locations, Episodes

The Black Seminole Scouts are Formed

*On this date in 1870, Black Seminole Scouts are remembered.  Also known as the Seminole Negro Indian Scouts or Seminole Scouts, they were commissioned by the United States Army. Despite the name, the unit included both Black Seminoles and some Native Seminoles. However, because most of the Seminole scouts were of African descent, they were often attached to the Buffalo Soldier regiments to guide the troops through […]

The Enforcement Act of 1871 is Passed

*On this date in 1871, the 42nd United States Congress passed the Enforcement Act of 1871, and President Ulysses S. Grant signed it into law.   Also known as the Civil Rights Act of 1871, Force Act of 1871, Ku Klux Klan Act, Third Enforcement Act, or Third Ku Klux Klan Act, it empowered the President to suspend the writ of habeas corpus to combat the Ku Klux Klan and […]

The First Black Woman In America Is Admitted To Practice Law

On this date in 1872, Charlotte E. Ray became the first Black woman admitted to practice before the district Supreme Court (Washington D.C.).

AfricaTown, Alabama is Founded

*On this date, 1872, Africatown, Alabama, was founded.  This historic African community is located three miles north of downtown Mobile, Alabama. It was founded by a group of 32 West Africans, who, in 1860, were included in the last known illegal shipment of African slaves to the United States. The Atlantic slave trade had been banned since 1808, but 110 enslaved people held […]

Puerto Rico Abolishes Slavery

On this date in 1873, Puerto Rico abolished slavery.

Leaders of the Puerto Rican abolitionist movement, including José Jull6n Acosta, Francisco Mariano Quicones, Julio L. de Vizcarrondo, Ramón Emeterio Betances, and Segundo Ruiz Belvis, waged a long struggle to end slavery on the island.

The Spanish National Assembly was crucial in abolishing slavery in Puerto Rico. The owners were compensated with 35 million pesetas per slave, and slaves were required to continue working for three more years.

The Colfax Massacre Occurs

*On this date in 1873, the Colfax Massacre happened. Also called the Colfax Riot, the violence erupted in Grant Parish Courthouse in Colfax, Louisiana.

Brooklyn, Illinois, is Founded

*Brooklyn, Illinois, was incorporated on this date in 1873. It is one of the oldest towns incorporated by African Americans in the United States. The State name “Illinois” comes from a Native American word meaning “tribe of superior men.” Illinois became a state on December 3, 1818. The town of Brooklyn, also known as Lovejoy, […]

Buxton, Iowa, a story

*Buxton, Iowa, is celebrated on this date in 1873.  This predominately Black town in Monroe County, Iowa, was founded in the 19th century.  This Historic Townsite is a historical site located east of Lovilia, Iowa, in the rural middle of the state. The Chicago and Northwestern Railway founded and developed the unincorporated community as a coal mining company town to supply the railroad. It was […]

Julia Hayden, Teacher Murdered

*On this date, in 1874, Julia Hayden was murdered.  She was a seventeen-year-old Black girl set to begin her career as a teacher of young Black children in Tennessee.   August was back-to-school time for the kids. It was also when terrorist groups like the White League and Ku Klux Klan would burn schools, whip […]

The Battle of Liberty Place, a story

*On this date in 1874, White Democrats seized the Louisiana statehouse in a takeover. This White resistance and occupation has been called the Battle of Liberty Place.

Taking place in New Orleans, 3500 confederacy members took over the city hall, statehouse, and an arsenal. President Grant ordered the insurgents to disperse and sent in federal troops. Twenty-seven persons (sixteen whites and eleven Blacks) were killed. A great deal damage was done and the Whites were defeated.

The uprising was so severe that the federal army remained in Louisiana for a number of years.

The Order of The Eastern Star Begins

*On this date in 1874, the Order of the Eastern Star was created. This is the oldest sorority-based Black women’s organization in America.

Queen Esther Chapter No. 1, Order of the Eastern Star, was established at 708 O St. NW, Washington, DC in the home of Mrs. Georgiana Thomas. And so it was one hundred years after the founding of the first Black Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons, Queen Esther Chapter No. 1, Order of the Eastern Star, was officially instituted. The first Worthy Matron was Sister Martha Welch and the first Worthy Patron was Brother Thornton A. Jackson.

The Civil Rights Act of 1875 Is Passed

*On this date, the Civil Rights Act of 1875 was passed.  The Enforcement Act or the Force Act was a United States federal law enacted during Reconstruction in response to civil rights violations against Blacks. The bill was passed by the 43rd United States Congress and signed into law by United States President Ulysses S. Grant.  The act was designed to “protect all citizens in their civil and legal rights”, […]

Black Horse Jockey Wins The First Kentucky Derby

On this date in 1875, the first Kentucky Derby was run with a Black man as the winning jockey.

He (Oliver Lewis) rode three-year-old Aristide in record time winning the race.

Three Black Seminole Scouts Receive The Congressional Medal of Honor

*On this date, in 1875, three Black Seminoles received the Congressional Medal of Honor.   America’s highest military decoration was given to Isaac Payne, John Ward, and Pompey Factor for their actions during the Indian Wars. All three Black Seminoles were known as Seminole Negro Indian Scouts. Payne served as a trumpeter, Factor was a private, […]

The Clinton, Mississippi Race Riot Occurs

*On this date in 1875, White Democrats attacked Republicans at Yazoo City, Mississippi. The riot happened because of the pressure on White supremacy in the aftermath of the Civil War.

Southern defeat and Reconstruction gave Blacks more freedom and nearly all Whites resented the change. The result of the attack was one white and three Blacks were killed.