People, Locations, Episodes

Nannie Mae Johnson, Educator born.

*Nannie Mae Johnson was born on this date in 1904. She was a Black teacher and sorority administrator. Johnson was a product of the Indianapolis Public School System and received both B.S. and M.S. degrees from Butler University. In 1922, she met the teachers who became her best friends and founders of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc.   In […]

The Sumner Academy of Arts and Science begins Classes

*On this date in 1905, the Sumner Academy of Arts and Science is affirmed.  This was a segregated high school, and now it is a magnet school in Kansas City, Kansas, operated by the Kansas City USD 500 school district. The original school was named Manual Training High School and was built at the corner of […]

Martin D. Jenkins, Educator born

*Martin D. Jenkins was born on this date in 1904. He was an African American educator and administrator, known for his pioneering work in the field of education.

Alberta Williams King, Teacher, and Activist born

*Alberta Williams King was born on this date in 1904. She was a Black educator, instrumentalist, and administrator. Alberta Christine Williams was born in Atlanta, GA. Her parents were Reverend Adam Daniel Williams, preacher of the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia, and Jennie Celeste (Parks) Williams. Williams graduated from high school at the Spelman Seminary and […]

Bethune-Cookman College is Founded

On this date in 1904, Bethune Cookman College was founded. It is one of more than 100 Historically Black Colleges and Universities in America.

Horace M. Bond, Educator, and Educator born

Horace M. Bond was born on this date in 1904. He was an African American teacher and administrator.

Bond was the grandson of slaves, the sixth of seven children. His mother was a schoolteacher, his father a minister, and both had attended Oberlin College. Bond excelled as a student, graduating from high school at the age of 14.

Leota O. Palmer, Music Teacher born

*Leota O. Palmer’s birth is celebrated on this date in 1904. She was a Black musician and music teacher. She and her twin brother were born in Oberlin to Columbus and Lelia Palmer, owners of a popular restaurant and bakery. She enrolled in the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in high school, studied piano, and graduated […]

Merze Tate, Michigan Educator born

*Merze Tate was born on this date in 1905. She was an African American teacher and administrator.

Vernie Merz Tate, daughter of Charles and Myrtle (Lett) Tate began her education at age 5 in a one-room framed building located on a corner acre of her family’s farm. From Blanchard, MI she walked eight miles a day to attend Battle Creek H.S. In 1927 Tate graduated first in her class from Western Michigan Teachers College in Kalamazoo, MI; the schools first Black to earn a B.A. degree.

Dorothy Hayne Whiteside, Educator born.

Dorothy Hayne Whiteside was born on this date in 1905. She was a Black teacher and sorority administrator. She was born in Indianapolis, IN, the daughter of Robert Hanley and Rhoda Samuels.  After graduating from Shortridge High School, Whiteside entered the Indianapolis City Normal School. In 1922, when training as a cadet teacher, she met the […]

Dorothy Porter Wesley, Librarian, and Writer born

On this date in 1905, Dorothy Porter Wesley was born. She was an African American writer and librarian.

Ruby M. Forsythe, Educator born

Ruby Middleton Forsythe was born on this date in 1905. She was an African American educator from Charleston, SC.

Middleton earned her license of education instruction certificate Avery Institute, which had been created in 1865, in 1921. Avery Institute for grammar and high school Avery epitomized excellence and provided its students with the best liberal education and cultural experience. She received her BS from South Carolina State College and started her teaching career in 1924 in Mount Pleasant’s Laing School, run by the American Missionary Society.

The Harlem YWCA is Founded

*The Harlem YWCA in New York City was founded on July 7, 1905.  The community’s founders were well connected to the networks of religious and practical organizations developed in Harlem, significantly as the number of Black citizens increased. During the Great Migration, this YWCA was essential in developing training and careers for young Black women […]

The Schomburg Center (New York) Opens

*On this date in 1905, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture opened. This is a research library of the New York Public Library (NYPL) and an archive repository for information on people of African descent worldwide.

Miles College Begins Classes

*This date celebrates its founding of Miles College in 1905. It is one of over 100 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) in America.

Located in Birmingham, Alabama it is a private liberal arts institution with a proud history of producing teachers, preachers, community leaders and politicians. Miles College is a Christian Methodist Episcopal Church-related, four-year institution that points to an emphasis on the personal development of all individuals, regardless of race. Former students possess an understanding of their own mission in a global society.

Miriam Matthews, Historian, and Librarian born

*Miriam Matthews was born on this date in 1905. She was an African American historian, activist and lecturer.

From Pensacola, Florida, she was one of three children born to Ruben and Fannie (Elijah) Matthews. Her family moved to Los Angeles when she was a baby. Matthews received her A. B. from the University of California in 1926 and her certificate of librarians hip one year later. She was the first African American librarian in the Los Angeles Public Library system where she worked from 1927 to 1960, both as a branch librarian and as a supervisor of 12 branch libraries.