March 24, 1912 Dorothy Irene Height, educator and social activist, was born in Richmond, Virginia. While in high school, Height was awarded a scholarship to Barnard College, but when she enrolled she was denied admittance because at that time Barnard only admitted two African Americans per academic year and they had already admitted two. Height […]
"Civil Rights Leader"
February 23rd in African American History – William Edward Burghardt Du Bois
February 23, 1868 William Edward Burghardt Du Bois, civil rights activist, historian and author, was born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. In 1888, Du Bois earned a bachelor’s degree from Fisk University and in 1895 became the first African American to earn a Ph. D. from Harvard University.
February 6th in African American History – Walter Edward Fauntroy
February 6, 1933 Walter Edward Fauntroy, pastor, civil rights activist and former Congressman, was born in Washington, D.C. Fauntroy earned his Bachelor of Arts degree Cum Laude from Virginia University in 1955 and earned his Bachelor of Divinity degree from Yale University in 1958.
January 15th in African American History – Martin Luther King, Jr.
January 15, 1929 Martin Luther King, Jr., clergyman, activist, and leader of the Civil Rights Movement, was born in Atlanta, Georgia. King entered Morehouse College at the age of 15 and earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology in 1948. He then earned his Bachelor of Divinity degree from Crozer Theological Seminary in 1951 […]
December 15th in African American History – Septima Poinsette Clark
December 15, 1987 Septima Poinsette Clark, “grandmother of the Civil Rights Movement,” died. Clark was born May 3, 1898 in Charleston, South Carolina. She graduated from high school in 1916, but could not afford to attend college. As an African American, she was barred from teaching in the Charleston public schools therefore she began teaching […]
December 14th in African American History – Aloyisus Leon Higginbotham, Jr.
December 14, 1998 Aloyisus Leon Higginbotham, Jr., civil rights advocate, author and federal judge, died. Higginbotham was born February 25, 1928 in Ewing, New Jersey. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1949 from Antioch College and his Bachelor of Laws degree from Yale University in 1952. From 1954 to 1962, he worked in […]
October 6th in African American History – Joseph Echols Lowery
October 6, 1921 Joseph Echols Lowery, minister and “the dean of the Civil Rights Movement,” was born in Huntsville, Alabama. Lowery earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Paine College and his Bachelor of Divinity degree from Paine Theological Seminary in 1950. He later completed a doctorate of divinity degree at the Chicago Ecumenical Institute.