February 3, 1947 Percival Prattis became the first African American news correspondent admitted to the press galleries of the United States Senate and House of Representatives. A veteran of World War I, Prattis joined the Pittsburgh Courier in 1935, became editor in 1956, and retired in 1962.
January 31, 1925 Benjamin Lawson Hooks, attorney, minister and civil rights leader, was born in Memphis, Tennessee. After graduating from Howard University in 1944, Hooks joined the Army where he found that the prisoners he was responsible for guarding could eat in restaurants from which he was barred. Hooks graduated from DePaul University College of […]
January 17, 1990 Anna Arnold Hedgeman, educator, author and civil rights leader, died. Hedgeman was born July 5, 1899 in Marshalltown, Iowa. In 1918, she enrolled at Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota, becoming their first African American student, and earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in English in 1922.
January 11, 1966 Vernon Ferdinand Dahmer, Sr., civil rights leader, died from injuries received the prior day when his home was firebombed. Dahmer was born March 10, 1908 in Forrest County, Mississippi. A successful businessman, Dahmer owned a store, a sawmill, and a 200 acre farm. He served several terms as president of the Forrest […]
January 10, 2005 James Forman, civil rights leader, died. Foreman was born October 4, 1928 in Chicago, Illinois. He served in the United States Air Force in Okinawa during the Korean War and was discharged in 1952. Forman earned his undergraduate degree from Roosevelt University in 1957 and spent most of the late 1950s working […]
November 19, 1985 Lincoln Theodore Monroe Andrew Perry (Stepin Fetchit) died. Perry was born May 30, 1902 in Key West, Florida. He began entertaining in his teens as a comic character. Stepin Fetchit was his stage name and Perry parlayed his persona as “the laziest man in the world” into a successful film career, appearing […]
One of the many ways to help us understand the tremendous impact of our famous and most influential leaders is to look at their achievements throughout history. The awards, the championships, the organizations that have been built by individuals are part of the legacy of these trailblazers. African Americans have made their marks all around […]