People, Locations, Episodes

Black History, And The Weather Underground Organization in America, a story

*Black history and the Weather Underground Organization (WUO) in America are affirmed on this date in 1969. The Weather Underground was a radical left militant organization active in the late 1960s and 1970s, founded on the campus of the University of Michigan. It was initially called the Weathermen. The WUO was organized that year as […]

South African Students Organization is formed.

*On this date in 1969, we celebrate the South African Students’ Organization (SASO).   SASO was a body of black South African university students who resisted apartheid through non-violent political action. The organization was formed under the leadership of Steve Biko and Barney Pityana and made vital contributions to the ideology and political leadership of the Black Consciousness […]

Norris McDonald Jr., Environmental Activist

*This date is Earth Day which began in 1970, Therefore the Registry celebrates the birth of Norris McDonald Jr. in 1958 is on this date. He is a Black activist for environmental justice.  McDonald was born to parents Sandy Norris McDonald Sr. and Katie Louvina Best in Thomasville, North Carolina. His father was a high school principal […]

The Black Liberation Army is Formed

*The Black Liberation Army (BLA) is celebrated on this date in 1970.  This underground Black Power revolutionary organization operated in the United States from 1970 to 1981. Composed of Black Panthers (BPP) and Republic of New Afrika (RNA) members who served above ground before going underground, the organization’s program was one of war against the United States […]

Mariame Kaba, Activist born

*Mariame Kaba’s birth is celebrated on this date in 1970. She is a Black activist, grassroots organizer, and educator. Mariame Kaba was born in New York City to parents who had immigrated from Guinea and the Ivory Coast. She grew up in the Lower East Side of Manhattan and attended Lycée Français. As a child, […]

The Mangrove Nine Incident Occurs

*On this date in 1970, The Mangrove Nine incident began in the UK.  These were 150 Black protesters who marched peacefully on the police station in Notting Hill to demonstrate against racial harassment by the police. They were met by 500 officers, whose heavy-handed policing was designed to antagonize them. Nine protesters were charged with […]

The Wilmington Ten, a story

*On this date in 1971, the Wilmington Ten are remembered.  Nine young men and a woman were wrongfully convicted in Wilmington, North Carolina, of arson and conspiracy.   On February 6, 1971, a white-owned business, Mike’s Grocery, was firebombed. Firefighters responding to the fire said snipers shot at them from the nearby Gregory Congregational Church […]

The Southern Poverty Law Center is Founded

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) was founded on June 30, 1971 as a legal activist center in the fight for justice and tolerance.

SPLC began as a small civil rights law firm. Today, the Center is internationally known for its tolerance education programs, its legal victories against white supremacists and its tracking of hate groups. The Center was founded by Morris Dees and Joe Levin in Montgomery, AL. Its first president was civil rights activist Julian Bond. Through the years, the Center has worked to make America’s Constitutional ideals a reality.

The Rainbow/PUSH Organization is Formed

*On this date in 1971, we celebrate the founding of Rainbow/PUSH.  This is a nonprofit organization formed as a merger by Jesse Jackson.   Operation PUSH (People United to Save Humanity) and the National Rainbow Coalition. The organizations pursue social justice, civil rights, and political activism.  1971, Jackson resigned from Operation Breadbasket after clashing with […]

Leymah Gbowee, Activist born.

*Leymah Gbowee was born on this date in 1972. She is a Black Liberian peace activist and administrator. Leymah Roberta Gbowee was born in central Liberia. At the age of 17, she was living with her parents and two of her three sisters in Monrovia when the First Liberian Civil War erupted in 1989 until 1996. […]

The Black People’s Convention is formed.

*The Black People’s Convention (BPC) was formed on this date in 1972. This group was a national coordinating body for the Black Consciousness movement in South Africa. With the influence of the growing South African Students’ Organization (SASO), Black Consciousness leaders called for forming a new Black Consciousness political organization to engage and mobilize a broader civil society outside […]

The Coalition of Black Trade Unionists is Formed

*The Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU) began on this date in 1972.  The Coalition of Black Trade Unionists is a nonprofit organization of African American trade union members affiliated with the AFL-CIO. The CBTU began when more than 1,200 black union officials and rank-and-file members from 37 national unions met at the LaSalle Hotel […]

Alexis McGill Johnson, Women’s Rights Activist born

*The birth of Alexis McGill Johnson is celebrated on this date in 1972. She is a Black academic, Women’s Rights Activist, and social justice advocate. McGill Johnson was born in New York City. Raised by both parents, her mother worked her way up from a secretary to an executive-level position at AT&T. McGill Johnson’s childhood […]

MOVE, (the organization), a story

*On this date in 1972, we affirm the MOVE organization.  MOVE is a Black militant anarcho-primitivist group founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The name is not an acronym. The group lived in a communal setting in West Philadelphia, abiding by philosophies of anarcho-primitivism. The group combined revolutionary ideology, similar to that of the Black Panthers, with work […]

Ben Jealous, Administrator, and Activist born

*Benjamin Jealous was born January 18, 1973. He is an African American Administrator, Journalist and Civil rights Activist.