People, Locations, Episodes

The Phoenix Colored High School Opens

*The opening of Phoenix Colored H. S. in 1926 is celebrated on this date. Segregation was made legal in the Arizona Territory in 1909.

Jeanne Noble, Educator, and Author born

The birth of Dr. Jeanne L. Noble in 1926 is celebrated on this date. She was an African American educator and writer.

Earl Bowman Jr., Educator born

*Earl Bowman, Jr was born on this date in 1927.  He was a Black teacher, coach, and administrator.  Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Earl Wesley Bowman was the son of Earl W. Bowman and Edith Peery Bowman.  He had one brother, Henry, and two sisters, Alice and Harriet.  After graduating from Minneapolis Central High School, he […]

Texas Southern University Begins Classes

*Texas Southern University was founded on this date in 1927.  They are a public historically black university (HBCU) in Houston, Texas. The university is one of the nation’s largest and most comprehensive HBCUs, with over 10,000 students enrolled and over 100 academic programs. The university is a Thurgood Marshall College Fund member, accredited by the Southern […]

Gloria Blackwell, Activist, and Educator born

*Gloria Blackwell was born on this date in 1927. She was a Black activist and educator. Gloria Thomasina Blackwell was born in Little Rock in Dillon County, South Carolina, the second of three children to Harrison Benjamin Blackwell and Lurline Olivia Thomas Blackwell. She had two brothers. Her father was a businessman and barber, and […]

Betty Allen, Mezzo-Soprano and Teacher born

*Betty Allen was born on this date in 1927.  She was a Black operatic mezzo-soprano and teacher. She was born Elizabeth Louise Allen (or Betty Lou) in Campbell, Ohio, near Youngstown. Her father was a college-educated math teacher who worked in a steel mill as racial segregation during the 1930s. Her mother earned extra money […]

Sam Middleton, Artist born

*Sam Middleton was born on this date in 1927. He was a Black mixed-media artist.  Middleton was born in Harlem, New York City, and grew up there. As a young boy growing up in Harlem, he often visited the nearby Savoy Ballroom, and music – jazz and classical – became important inspirations for his artistic endeavors. Working at […]

Christine King Farris, Teacher, Author, and Professor born

*Willie Christine King Farris was born on this date in 1927. She was a Black teacher, author, and college professor. Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Christine King was the first child of Martin Luther King, Sr., and Alberta Williams King. She had two brothers, Martin Luther King Jr. and Alfred Daniel King. The three siblings spent their early years in […]

Bishop State Community College is Founded

Bishop State Community College (BSCC) was founded in 1927 on this date.

Located in Mobile, Alabama, BSCC is one of more than 100 Historical Black Colleges and Universities in America. Bishop State Community College began as the Mobile Branch of Alabama State Teachers’ College of Montgomery. At first, the college offered extension course for in-service teachers. In 1936, they established an year around two-year college. In 1965, the college was named officially Mobile State Junior College.

Barbara Sizemore, Educator born

Barbara Sizemore, an African American educator, was born on this date in 1927.

Barbara Laffoon was born in Chicago, the only child of Sylvester Walter Laffoon and Delila Alexander Laffoon. She grew up in Terre Haute, IN where she attended Booker T. Washington Elementary School. Her father died when she was 8 years old and her mother remarried a man named Aldwin E. Stewart.

After graduating from Wiley High School, she received both her undergraduate and graduate degrees from Northwestern University, and a Ph.D. in educational administration from the University of Chicago.

The Crockett State School of Texas is Founded

*The founding of the Crockett State School is celebrated on this date in 1927. This was a Texas Youth Commission juvenile correctional facility. Located in Crockett, Texas, students at the state school had committed various crimes, including truancy, property crimes, and crimes against persons. The Crockett State School was located on a 125-acre farm about […]

Christopher Edley, Sr., UNCF Administrator born

The birth of Christopher F. Edley in 1928 is marked on this date. He was an African American lawyer and administrator.

Lewis College of Business is Founded

The founding of Lewis College of Business (LCB) established in Detroit in 1928 is celebrated on this date. Violet T. Lewis founded the college at the beginning of the Great Depression.

Sylvia Wynter, Novelist and Philosopher born

*Sylvia Wynter was born on this date in 1928. She is a Black novelist, dramatist, critic, philosopher, and essayist. Sylvia Wynter was born in Cuba to Jamaican parents, actress Lola Maude (Reid) Wynter, and tailor Percival Wynter. At the age of two, she and her brother Hector and their parents returned to their home country of Jamaica. […]

Florence Saunders Farley, Psychologist and Educator born

*Florence Saunders Farley was born on this date in 1928.  She was a Black psychologist, educator, politician, and community activist. Florence Saunders was born in Roanoke, Virginia, to Neoda and Stacious Saunders. She attended Harrison Elementary School in Roanoke. After graduating as the salutatorian of her class from Lucy Addison High School in 1946, Farley […]