People, Locations, Episodes

The National Colored Teachers Association is Formed

*The National Colored Teachers Association was celebrated on this date in 1907. and National Association of Teachers in Colored Schools was a professional association and teachers’ union representing teachers in Black schools in the American South during legal segregation. In 1906, Joseph S. Clark, and others, at a Negro Young Peoples Christian and Educational Congress […]

Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority is Formed

On this date in 1908, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority became America’s first Greek-letter organization established by Black college women.

Alpha’s roots date back to Howard University, Washington, D.C., where Ethel Hedgeman Lyle of St. Louis, MO, conceived the idea for the organization. She saw the sorority as an instrument for enriching social and intellectual college life by providing mental stimulation through interaction with friends and associates.

Irene Dobbs Jackson, Pianist, and Educator born

*Irene Dobbs Jackson was born on this date in 1908.  She was a Black educator, pianist, and community activist.  From Atlanta, GA, Irene Dobbs was the first of Irene and John Wesley Dobbs’ six daughters. Growing up in the thriving atmosphere of Atlanta’s Auburn Avenue, she was a gifted pianist and scholar.  Known as “Renie,” […]

Oseola McCarty, Domestic worker, and Philanthropist born

*Oseola McCarty was born on this date in 1908. She was an African American domestic and philanthropist.

Dorothy Hall McFarland, Early Childhood Educator born

*Dorothy McFarland was born on this date in 1908. She was a Black teacher (music and early childhood) and community activist. Dorothy Hall was born at 996 Iglehart Avenue in St. Paul, Minnesota.  Raised in the Rondo community, her home was later added to the National Register of Historic Places due to her father’s civic […]

Ernst Manasse, Philosopher and Professor born

*Ernst Manasse was born on this date in 1908. He was a white Jewish German American philosopher and classical philologist. Ernst Moritz Manasse was born in Dramburg, Pomerania Prussia. His ancestors lived in Dramburg as early as 1813, according to local documents proving that Aron and Moses Manasseh received civil rights that year. Manasse’s father, […]

Zenobia Powell Perry, Composer and Professor born

*Zenobia Powell Perry was born on October 3, 1908.  She was a Black composer, professor, and civil rights activist. She was born Zenobia Powell in Boley, Oklahoma, to physician Calvin B. Powell and Birdie Thompson Powell (of some Creek Indian heritage). Her family was well-educated and middle-class. Her grandfather, who had been a slave, sang […]

Donella Brown Wilson, Voting Rights Advocate born

*Donella Brown Wilson was born on this date in 1909.  She was a Black educator and voting rights advocate.  Donella Roberta Brown Wilson on the Peterkin Plantation in Fort Motte, SC, her grandparents and great-grandparents had worked as slaves. She was the only child of the late Henry Brown and Minnie Bryant Brown Logan.  She […]

The Piney Woods Country Life School Opens

*This date in 1909 celebrates the founding of Piney Woods Country Life School. Also referred to as The Piney Woods School, it is a co-educational independent historically Black boarding school for grades 9-12.  Located in Piney Woods, unincorporated Rankin County, Mississippi, 21 miles south of Jackson, it is one of four remaining historically Black boarding schools in the United States. It is currently the largest […]

L. Alex Wilson, Teacher, News Journalist, and Activist

*The birth of L. Alex Wilson is celebrated on this date in 1909. He was a Black teacher, school principal, journalist, activist, and editor. Lucious Alexander Wilson was born in Florida. After being confronted by members of the Ku Klux Klan when he was younger and fleeing, he decided he would never run from racism again. As […]

Willa B. Player, Teacher born.

*Willa B. Player was born on this date in 1909. She was an African American educator and civil rights activist.

Frances Baard, South African Teacher and Union Activist born

*Frances Baard was born on this date in 1909. She was a South African activist, and trade unionist, organizer. Frances Goitsemang Maswabi was born Frances Maswabi in Green Point, Beaconsfield, Kimberley, South Africa. Her father was Herman Maswabi from Ramotswa in Botswana, and her mother, Sarah Voss, was a Tswana person from Kimberley. She attended the […]

William Fontaine, Philosopher born

The birth of William T.V. Fontaine in 1909 is celebrated on this date. He was an African American educator and philosopher.

Lawrence Reddick, Professor and Activist born

*Lawrence Reddick was born on this date in 1910. He was a Black historian, activist, and professor. Born in Jacksonville, Florida, Lawrence Dunbar Reddick earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in history from Fisk University in 1933. In 1939, he married Ella Ruth Thomas and received his Ph.D. in history from the University of Chicago, where he […]

Oran Eagleson, Psychologist, and Professor born

*Oran Eagleson was born on this date in 1910. He was a Black professor and psychologist. Oran Wendle Eagleson was born in Unionville, Indiana. He worked shining shoes and shoe repair finisher from high school through his graduate years. He earned a bachelor’s degree in 1931 and a master’s in 1932, both in Indiana. In […]