People, Locations, Episodes

Franklin McCain, Activist born

*Franklin McCain was born on this date in 1941. He was an African American Chemical Administrator, Civil Rights leader and one of the Greensboro Four.

The Arkansas State Press Newspaper is Published

*On this date in 1941, we celebrate the publication of the Arkansas State Press newspaper.  Founded by Lucious and Daisy Bates, they used their savings to purchase the Black-operated Twin City Press, later renamed Arkansas State Press.  The newspaper was modeled on African American newspapers from the north and helped to promote civil rights activism […]

Sue Sojourner, Writer, Activist, and Journalist born

*Sue Sojourner was born on this date in 1941. she is a white Jewish-American author, activist, and historian. Susan Hasalo was born in Chicago, Ill. Her mother, Bess, Father, Bernard, sister Muriel, and brother Bud moved around, but Sue always looked back fondly on her high school days in Marblehead, Massachusetts, Class of 19. Sojourner’ […]

Stokley Carmichael, 20th Century Activist born

Stokely Carmichael, also known as Kwame Ture, one of the most effective and best-known activists in the 20th century Civil Rights movement, was born on this date in 1941.

Randall Robinson, Founder of TransAfrica born

*Randall Robinson was born in Richmond, Virginia, on this date in 1941. He is an African American activist, nationalist, and administrator.

Maulana Karenga, Educator, and Activist born

*Maulana Karenga was born on this date in 1941. He is an African American educator, writer and activist.

Emmett Till, Teenage ‘Hate Crime’ Victim born

Emmett Till was born on this date in 1941. He was a young African American boy whose murder is still a graphic reminder of the volume of 20th century white racial hate in America against Black people.

Emmett Louis “Bobo” Till was from Chicago, the son of Mamie Carthan and Louis Till. His parents separated in 1942, and Mamie largely raised him. His father was drafted into the United States Army to fight in World War II in 1943. He was accused of and executed by the U.S. Army for raping two Italian women and murdering a third.

Hollis Watkins, Activist born

*Hollis Watkins was born on this date in 1941. He is an African American Civil Rights activist and administrator.

From Natchez, MS., Watkins is the son of John and Leona Watkins. He comes from a family with 5 sisters and 6 brothers. Watkins attended McNulty elementary school and Lincoln County Training school in Mississippi. He also attended Tugaloo College.

Bernie Sanders, Activist, and Politician born

*On this date in 1941, Bernie Sanders was born.  He is a white Jewish-American (former) civil rights activist and politician from Brooklyn, New York City. Bernard Sanders’ father, Elias Ben Yehuda Sanders, was born to a Jewish family in Słopnice, Galicia, in Austria-Hungary (now part of Poland). In 1921, Elias immigrated to the United States to become a paint […]

Winonah Beamer Myers, Health Practitioner born

*Winonah Beamer Myers was born on this date in 1941.  She was a white-American civil rights activist and Mental health practitioner.   Born in Cleveland, OH, Margaret Winonah Beamer was a student at Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio; she joined the Freedom Riders in the summer of 1961.   Beamer joined four other activists on a train from Nashville, Tennessee, to Jackson, […]

Mae Jackson, Social Worker, and Mayor born

*Mae Jackson was born on this date in 1941. She was a Black social worker. Mae Allison Jackson was born in the east-central Texas town of Teague. Despite the difficulties of growing up in a Jim Crow Southern town during the 1940s and 1950s, Jackson determined a successful course for her life. Jackson learned the value of […]

Minnijean Brown-Trickey, Policy Administrator and Activist

*Minnijean Brown-Trickey was born on this date in 1941. She is a Black public policy figure who was a member of the Little Rock Nine. Minnijean Brown was born to Willie and Imogene Brown in Little Rock, Arkansas. Her father was an independent mason and a landscaping contractor, while her mother was a homemaker and a […]

Ernest Green, Lawyer and Activist born

*Ernest Green was born on this date in 1941. He is a Black lawyer, administrator, and one of the Little Rock Nine. Ernest Gideon Green was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, to Lothaire and Ernest Green, Sr. Ernest had a brother, Scott, and a sister, Treopia Washington. As a child, Green attended church and was a […]

George Jackson, Activist born

This date marks the birth of George L. Jackson in 1941. He was an African American activist.

Elizabeth Eckford, Education Activist born

*Elizabeth Eckford was born on this date in 1941. She is a Black news reporter, teacher, and activist. Elizabeth Ann Eckford was born in Little Rock, Ark; she is one of 6 children. Her father, Oscar, was a dining car maintenance worker, and her mother, Birdie, was a teacher at a segregated school for the […]