People, Locations, Episodes

Jean Dessalines, Haitian Leader born

*Jean-Jacques Dessalines was born on this date in 1758.  He was a Black Haitian soldier, leader of the Haitian Revolution, and the first ruler of an independent Haiti under the 1805 constitution.   Taking the last name of the owner who owned his mother then, Jean-Jacques Duclos was born into slavery on Cormier, a plantation near Grande-Riviere-du-Nord.  His father had adopted the surname from his owner Henri Duclose. The […]

Thomas-Alexandre Dumas, Military Officer born

*Thomas-Alexandre Dumas was born on this date in 1762. He was a Black French general in Revolutionary France. Born in Saint-Domingue (Haiti), Thomas-Alexandre Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie was the quarteron son of Marquis Alexandre Antoine Davy de la Pailleterie, a white French nobleman, and Marie-Cessette Dumas, an African slave. He was born into slavery […]

Abdul Rahman Ibrahima Sori, African Prince, born.

*The birth of Abdul Rahman Ibrahima Sori is celebrated on this date in 1762. He was a Black African royal and American slave. Abdul Rahman Ibrahima was a Torodbe Fulani Muslim prince from Guinea, West Africa. He was the son of Ibrahima Sori and a Moorish wife. Abdul Rahman studied in a madrasah, speaking several African languages and Arabic. […]

Maria Remedios, Abolitionist born

*The birth of María Remedios. is celebrated on this date in c1768. She was an Afro Argentine abolitionist and soldier. María Remedios del Valle was born in Buenos Aires in the second half of the eighteenth century. The details of her parentage are unknown, but according to her military record, she was a parda or pardo, one of the categories […]

Alexandre Pétion, Soldier, and Politician born

*On this date in 1770, Alexandre Pétion was born.  He was a Black politician, soldier, and the first President of the Republic of Haiti from 1807 until his death. Alexandre Sabès Pétion was born “Anne Alexandre Sabès” in Port-au-Prince. His father was Pascal Sabès, a wealthy white French father, and Ursula, a free mulatto woman. Like other […]

Somerset v. Stewart is Ruled

*On this date in 1772, Somerset v Stewart was ruled.  This was a British judgment of the Court of King’s Bench on labor law and human rights.   It held that chattel slavery was unsupported by the common law in England and Wales, although the position elsewhere in the British Empire was left ambiguous.  James Somerset, an enslaved African, was purchased by Charles Stewart or Stewart, a Customs officer when he was in Boston, Province of Massachusetts […]

Rose Fortune, Law Enforcement Officer born

*The birth of Rose Fortune in 1774 is celebrated on this date. She was a Black law enforcement officer and businesswoman.

Fortune was born into slavery in Virginia, owned by the Devone family. They escaped to New York City then the Nova Scotia (Canada) town of Annapolis Royal in 1783 when she was ten years old. Fortune came from a family of Black Loyalists, (escaped slaves and free Blacks who joined the British army during the American Revolution to find liberty). The British army promised any slave freedom in return for their loyalty.

Black Loyalist in Colonial America, a story

*Black Loyalists are celebrated on this date in 1775. They were African slaves who sided and fought with the British during the American Revolutionary War. They escaped the enslavement of Patriot masters and served on the Loyalist side because the Crown promised freedom. In November 1775, Lord Dunmore issued the controversial Lord Dunmore’s Proclamation. As […]

Blacks Are Barred From The Continental Army

On this date in 1775, the Continental Congress of the United States issued the order to bar Blacks from the army.

Jean-Pierre Boyer, Haitian Politician born

*On this date, in 1776, Jean-Pierre Boyer was born. He was a Black soldier and politician. Jean-Pierre Boyer was born in Port-au-Prince and was the mulatto son of a French tailor and an African mother, a former slave from Congo. He was sent to France by his father to become educated. During the French Revolution, he fought […]

The American Declaration of Independence is Adopted

On this date in 1776, the Declaration of Independence was adopted. This document affected Blacks in two significant ways distinct from other U.S. citizens:

Roger B. Taney, Lawyer, and Judge born

*Roger Brooke Taney was born on this date in 1777. He was a White American lawyer and judge who supported slavery.

Vermont Abolishes American Slavery

On this date in 1777, Vermont abolished slavery.

Vermont was an independent sovereign country that year and did not join the United States of America until 1791.

Vermont was the first country in the modern era to abolish slavery.

James Tallmadge, Abolitionist born

*James Tallmadge, Jr. was born on this date 1778. He was a White American politician and abolitionist.

Born in Stanford, Dutchess County, New York, he graduated from Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island in 1798, and was secretary to Governor George Clinton from 1798 to 1800. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1802, after which he practiced in Poughkeepsie and in New York City. He served in the War of 1812 and commanded a company of home guards in defense of New York.

Opothleyahola, Native American Chief, and Slave Owner born

*The birth of Opothleyahola is affirmed on this date in c. 1778. He was a Native American, Muscogee Creek Indian chief, noted orator, and slave owner. Also known as Opothle Yohola, he was from Florida, a Speaker of the Upper Creek Council, and supported traditional culture. Although known as a diplomatic chief and Red Stick […]