People, Locations, Episodes

Thu, 09.21.1820

Augustus Washington, Photographer born

*Augustus Washington’s birth in 1820 is celebrated on this date. He was an African American abolitionist and photographer specializing as a Daguerreotypist.

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Sun, 12.03.1820

Nearest Green, Master Distiller born

*The birth of Nearest Green c.1820 is celebrated on this date.  He was a Black master distiller of alcohol.   Nathan “Nearest” Green was a Black slave owned by a business known as Landis & Green, who hired him out to Dan Call for a fee.  Dan Call was a preacher, grocer, slave owner, and distiller.  In the 1850s, Jack Daniel went to work […]

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Mon, 12.11.1820

Martin Becker, Sailor, and Printer born

On this date we celebrate the birth of Martin F. Becker in 1820. He was a Black sailor, printer, administrator, and barber.

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Sun, 09.23.1821

The Genius of Universal Emancipation Newspaper is Published

*On this date in 1821, we celebrate the Genius of Universal Emancipation newspaper.  This was an abolitionist newspaper from Baltimore, Maryland, established by Benjamin Lundy.   Originally, the Manumission Intelligencer became The Emancipator in 1820. 1821 Lundy bought the paper and renamed it Genius of Universal Emancipation from 1821 to 1839 under Lundy’s editorship and Elihu Embree. Lundy’s contributions reflected his Quaker views, condemning slavery on moral and religious grounds but advocating […]

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Wed, 06.11.1823

Louis C. Roudanez, Doctor, and Businessman born

The birth of Louis Charles Roudanez in 1823 is celebrated on this date. He was a Black Creole of color physician, civic leader, and news publisher.

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Sat, 07.24.1824

Sylvanus B. Lowry, Slave Owner and Politician born.

*Sylvanus B. Lowry was born on this date in 1824. He was a white-American 19th-century political boss, slave owner, newspaper publisher, and pioneer. Born in Princeton, Kentucky, Lowry’s father was David Lowry, a Scottish-American Cumberland Presbyterian minister and missionary to the Winnebago people in northeast Iowa. In 1847, the Lowry family followed the Winnebago as […]

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Sun, 08.29.1824

J. R. Winters, Lyricist, and Inventor born

*J. R. Winters was born on this date in 1824. He was a Black lyricist, abolitionist, and inventor Joseph Richard Winters was born in Leesburg, Virginia, to an African brickmaker and a Shawnee Indian mother, the daughter of an herbalist and medical practitioner called the “Indian doctor woman.” The family relocated to Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, around […]

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Mon, 01.24.1825

Paul Trévigne Jr., Newspaper Editor born

*Paul Trévigne Jr. was born on this date in 1825. He was a Black Creole newspaperman and civil rights activist. From New Orleans, Louisiana, he was the biracial son of Paul Trevigne, a veteran of the 1815 Battle of New Orleans, and Josephine Marguerite Decoudreaux. Free men of color had served in the militia under French rule […]

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Thu, 07.28.1825

James Presley Ball, Photographer born

*The birth of James P. Ball in 1825 is celebrated on this date. He was a Black Abolitionist, free Black man, photographer and businessman.

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Mon, 02.06.1826

Nathaniel Gordon, Slave Trader born

*Nathaniel Gordon was born on this date in 1826.  He was a white-American slave trader.  He was born in Portland, Maine. He went into shipping and eventually owned his ship, Erie.   On August 7, 1860, he loaded 897 slaves aboard his ship Erie at Sharks Point, Congo River, Angola, West Africa, “of whom only […]

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Wed, 07.19.1826

Judy W. Reed, Inventor born

*On this date in c.1826, Judy W. Reed’s birth is celebrated. She was a Black inventor during the 1880s. Little is known about Judy Woodford Reed or Reid. She first appears in the 1870 Federal Census as a 44-year-old seamstress in Fredericksviile Parish near Charlottesville, Virginia, in Albemarle County, along with her husband Allen, a […]

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Fri, 03.16.1827

Freedom’s Journal Newspaper is Published

*On this date in 1827, the Freedom’s Journal newspaper was founded. It was the first Black-owned and operated newspaper in the United States.

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Sun, 01.06.1828

Green Flake, Pioneer born

*Green Flake was born on this date in 1828.  He was a Black laborer and explorer.  Green Flake was born a slave on the Jordan Flake Plantation in Anson County, North Carolina. At the age of ten, Green was given to Jordan Flake’s son James as a wedding present. James and Agnes Flake, their three-year-old […]

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Sat, 02.14.1829

Solomon G. Brown, Administrator born

*Solomon G. Brown was born on this date in 1829. He was a Black laborer, telegraph assistant, poet, lecturer, scientific technician, and the first Black employee of the Smithsonian Institution. Solomon Galleon Brown was born in Washington, D.C., the fourth of six children to his parents, Isaac and Rachel Brown. His parents were former slaves, […]

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Sat, 01.09.1830

Mayer Lehman, Slave Owner, and Businessman born

*Mayer Lehman was born on this date in 1830.  He was a white Jewish-American businessman, banker, slave owner, and philanthropist. Mayer Lehman was born to a German-Jewish family in the small Franconian town of Rimpar near Würzburg. He was the son of a cattle merchant, Abraham Löw Lehmann. In 1850, Mayer emigrated to the United […]

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Poetry Corner

#1 The Gospel Truth is that The Blacman can not be destroyed. I sed The blacman can not be destroyed. He has a force, a Spirit honey That can not be killed. THE GOSPEL TRUTH #1 AND #2 by Jackie Earley.
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