March 10, 1908 Vernon Ferdinand Dahmer, Sr., civil rights leader, was born in Forrest County, Mississippi. A successful businessman, Dahmer owned a store, sawmill, and a 200 acre farm. He served several terms as president of the Forrest County Chapter of the NAACP and led voter registration drives during the 1960s.
"Civil Rights Leader"
John Robert Lewis – February 21st in African American History
February 21, 1940 John Robert Lewis, civil rights leader and politician, was born in Troy, Alabama. Lewis earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in theology from the American Baptist Theological Seminary in 1961 and another Bachelor of Arts degree in religion and philosophy from Fisk University in 1963.
John Edward Jacob – December 16th in African American History
December 16, 1934 John Edward Jacob, civil rights leader, was born in Trout, Louisiana. Jacob earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in economics in 1957 and Master of Social Work degree in 1963 from Howard University. He was a social worker in Baltimore, Maryland from 1960 to 1965. In 1965, he joined the Washington, D.C. […]
March 17th in African American History – Bayard Rustin
March 17, 1912 Bayard Rustin, civil rights leader and the chief organizer of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, was born in West Chester, Pennsylvania. In 1942, Rustin assisted in the founding of the Congress of Racial Equality. A declared pacifist, he was imprisoned from 1944 to 1946 for violating the Selective […]
March 12th in African American History – Andrew Jackson Young
March 12, 1932 Andrew Jackson Young, pastor, politician, diplomat and civil rights leader, was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. Young earned his Bachelor of Science Degree in Pre-Dentistry at Howard University in 1951 and a Bachelor of Divinity degree from Hartford Seminary in 1955. In 1960, he joined the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and in […]
March 9th in African American History – Floyd Bixler McKissick
March 9, 1922 Floyd Bixler McKissick, lawyer and civil rights leader, was born in Asheville, North Carolina. McKissick earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from North Carolina College and in 1951 became the first African American to earn his Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Law School.
February 25th in African American History – Carl J. Murphy
February 25, 1967 Carl J. Murphy, journalist, civil rights leader and educator, died. Murphy was born January 17, 1889 in Baltimore, Maryland. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Howard University in 1911 and his Master of Arts degree from Harvard University in 1913.