People, Locations, Episodes

The Western Library of Louisville, Kentucky Opens

On this date in 1905, the Western Library of Louisville, KY, opened.

Founded by Albert Ernest Meyzeek, it was the first library to serve Louisville’s Black community, and one of the first of its kind in America. Western’s first librarian was Thomas Fountain Blue, Sr., who was assisted by Ms. Rachel Harris. Joseph S. Cotter, poet and playwright, was involved with its early programs and is credited with the early storytelling contests for young people.

Butler College (Texas) is Founded

*On this date in 1905, we celebrate the founding of Butler College. This was a coeducational Black school in Tyler, Texas. Established by the East Texas Baptist Association, the school was originally called the East Texas Baptist Academy and was initially a combined elementary and high school. The school introduced college-level courses in the 1920s. […]

Aline Black, Educator born

*Aline Black was born on this date in 1906. She was an African American educator and activist.

Aline Elizabeth Black was from Norfolk, VA; she attended Virginia Normal and Industrial Institute (later Virginia State University). Black began working in the local school system as a science instructor in 1924.   While teaching and continued her education at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, where she received an M.S. in 1935.

Theodora Boyd, Educator and Writer born

*Theodora Boyd was born on this date in 1906. She was an African American writer and educator.

Lena King Lee, Educator, and Lawyer born

*Lena King Lee was born on this date in 1906.  She was a Black educator and attorney who entered politics at 60 and became one of the first Black women elected to the Maryland General Assembly. She was born Lena King in Sumter County, Alabama, one of three children of Samuel Sylvester King and Lula Gully King.  Her father […]

Lawrence Knox, Chemist, and Teacher born

*Lawrence Knox was born on this date in 1906.  He was a Black Chemist and teacher.  Lawrence Howland Knox was born in New Bedford, Massachusetts, the son of William Knox.  He had four siblings, two sisters and two brothers.  In the 1820s, his grandfather, Elijah Knox, was born in North Carolina to a slave family. […]

Jay Saunders Redding, English Professor born

*Jay Saunders Redding was born on this date in 1906. He was an African American professor of English, an author, and literary critic.

The New York Times once called him “probably the most eminent Negro writer of nonfiction in the country.” From Wilmington, Delaware, he was the third of seven children growing up in a middle class predominantly white neighborhood. Redding went to Howard High School, doing extremely well in journalism, debate, basketball, drama, and speech. His mother died at this time and after graduating, he went to college in Pennsylvania.

Virgil Blossom, Education Administrator born.

*Virgil Blossom was born on this date in 1906. He was a white-American educator and administrator. Born in Brookfield, Missouri, the son of George N. Blossom and Fannie M. Blossom, Virgil T. Blossom had one sister. His father ran a construction business and served as the local tax collector. His mother was a homemaker. Blossom […]

Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity is Founded

Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity was founded on this date in 1906. The fraternity was the first intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity established for African Americans.

Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., has supplied voice and vision to the struggle of African Americans and people of color around the world. It was founded at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, by seven college men who recognized the need for a strong bond of brotherhood among African descendants in this country.

Corinthian Nutter, Teacher, Pianist, and Education Activist born

*Corinthian Nutter was born on this date in 1906. She was a Black teacher, musician, and education activist.  Corinthian Clay Ricks (her birth name) was born in Forney, Texas, to Robert R. and Roxie Anna (Ford) Ricks. Her father worked for the railroad. Her mother was an itinerant worker, and Nutter was frequently taken out […]

Hazel B. Williams, Kansas City Educator born

*Hazel Browne Williams was born on this date in 1907. She was an African American educator.

John Glover Jackson, Pan-Africanist born

*John Glover Jackson was born on this date in 1907. He was a Black Pan-Africanist historian, lecturer, teacher, and writer.    Jackson was born in Aiken, South Carolina, and raised Methodist.  At age 15, his family moved to Harlem, New York, where he enrolled in Stuyvesant High School. During this time, he became interested in African American history and culture and began writing […]

Hazel Harvey Peace, Educator, and Humanitarian born

*Hazel Harvey Peace was born on this date in 1907. She was a Black educator, activist, and humanitarian. She was born Hazel Bernice Harvey in Waco, Texas, to Allen H. and Georgia Mason Harvey; the family moved to Fort Worth as a baby. Peace’s father was a Pullman Porter on the Missouri and Pacific Railroad, and her […]

Purvis J. Williams, School Administrator born.

*Purvis J. Williams was born on this date in 1907. He was a Black educator and administrator. Purvis James Williams was born in Norfolk, Norfolk City, Virginia. He was the son of Bascom J. Williams and Nannie Williams. On November 23, 1938, Williams married Blanche Marie Kyles in the District of Columbia. They had no […]

Shirley Graham DuBois, Composer, Novelist, and Activist born

On this date in 1907, Shirley Graham DuBois was born. She was an African American author, playwright, composer, and activist.