People, Locations, Episodes

Julius W. Waring, Judge born

*Julius Waring was born on this date in 1880.  He was a white-American lawyer and judge who played an important role in the early legal battles of the American Civil Rights Movement.    Julius Waties Waring was born in Charleston, South Carolina, to Edward Perry Waring and Anna Thomasine Waties. He graduated second in class […]

Gertrude Rush, Iowa Lawyer born

The birth of Gertrude E. Rush, an African American attorney and activist, in 1880 is celebrated on this date.

She was born in Texas, the daughter of a Baptist minister. Her family also lived in Kansas before landing in Oskaloosa, Iowa. Gertrude attended Des Moines University and studied the law under her attorney-husband James B. Rush. She further studied at Drake and LaSalle universities. Rush was admitted to the Iowa Bar in 1918 as the state’s first Black female lawyer.

Bonifacio Pinedo, Bolivian Royal born

*The birth of Bonifacio Pinedo is celebrated on this date in c 1880. He was an Afro Bolivian king. This monarchy was one of the few traditional African kingdoms that survived the changes of the middle passage and slavery. Born in the tropical regions of Yungas in Bolivia, he succeeded Uchicho, of Congo and Senegalese origin. He was brought as a […]

The Minnesota Women’s Sufferage Association is Founded

*The Minnesota Woman Suffrage Association (MWSA) was founded on this date in 1881. MWSA was an organization devoted to women’s suffrage in Minnesota. After the American Civil War and the fall of Reconstruction, activism from Blacks and women found common ground against voter suppression. Created at the Presbyterian Church in Hastings, Minnesota, the MWSA members organized marches, wrote petitions […]

John Wesley Dobbs, Atlanta Civic Leader born

The birth of John Wesley Dobbs in 1882 is celebrated on this date. He was an African American postal clerk, civic leader, and activist.

Often called the Unofficial “Mayor” of Auburn Avenue,
Dobbs was born in Marietta, Georgia. In 1897, he went to Atlanta, worked at a drugstore, and attended Atlanta Baptist College (Morehouse College). In 1903, Dobbs passed the U.S. postal exam to become a postal clerk and assumed a highly respected position for a Black man at the turn of the century. Three years later he married Irene Ophelia Thompson, and together they would have six daughters.

Violette Neatley Anderson, Lawyer and Judge born

On this date, Violette Anderson was born in 1882. She was an African American attorney and judge/magistrate.

She was born in London, England, the daughter of Richard E. and Marie (Jordi) Neatley. When Anderson was young, the family moved to the United States, where she attended North Division High School in Chicago, graduating in 1899. She then attended Chicago Athenaeum in 1903, and soon after, she married Albert E. Johnson. Anderson was a Republican and an active Episcopalian. She worked as a court reporter from 1905 to 1920, which sparked her interest in law.

Arthur W. Mitchell, Politician born

On this date, Arthur Wergs Mitchell was born in 1883. He was an African American teacher, administrator, and politician. He was the first Black representative elected as a Democrat in the United States.

Lena O. Smith, Minnesota Lawyer born

*This date marks the birth of Lena O. Smith in 1885. She was an African American attorney and civil rights advocate.

Dorsie Willis, Solider born

*Dorsie Willis was born on this date in 1886. He was an African American soldier, and activist.

Hugo L. Black, Judge, and Politician born

*Hugo Black was born on this date in 1886.  He was a white-American lawyer, politician, and judge.   Hugo LaFayette Black was the youngest of the eight children of William Lafayette Black and Martha (Toland) Black. He was born in a small wooden farmhouse in Ashland, Alabama, a poor, rural Clay County town in Appalachia.   Black descended from Hugh and Mary Spencer […]

Hugh Mulzac, Merchant Marine Captain born

*Hugh Mulzac was born on this date in 1886. He was an African American merchant marine Captain.

From Union Island, St. Vincent Island Group, British West Indies, Mulzac entered the Swansea Nautical College in South Wales to prepare for a seaman’s career while in his youth. He became an American citizen in 1918, and continued his instruction at the Shipping Board in New York. He earned his captain’s rating in the merchant marines that same year, but racism denied him the right to command a ship.

William L. Dawson, Politician born

*William Levi Dawson was born on this date in 1886 in Albany, Georgia. He was the first African American to chair a regular House of Representatives committee.

Wendell Green, Lawyer and Judge born

*Wendell Green was born on this date in 1887. He was a Black Lawyer and Judge. Wendell Elbert Green was born in Topeka, Kansas; his father was a native of Bermuda. Green graduated from the University of Kansas in 1908 with a degree in chemistry. In 1910, he worked as a druggist in a St. […]

The Dawes Act is Passed

*On this date, in 1887, The Dawes Act was passed.   Named after white-American Senator Henry L. Dawes of Massachusetts, it is also known as the General Allotment Act or the Dawes Severalty Act.   The intersectionality between African Americans and Native Americans was affected by this legal episode.  It authorized the President of the United States to subdivide Native American tribal landholdings into allotments for Native American heads of […]

Norma Boyd, Teacher, and Administrator born

*Norma Boyd was born on this date in 1888. She was a Black teacher, public policy activist, and administrator. Norma Elizabeth Boyd was born and educated in public schools in Washington, D.C. In September 1906, Boyd attended Howard University’s College of Arts and Sciences, majoring in math. It was when only 1/3 of 1% of […]