Jackie Robinson Day Baseball fans may find themselves doing double-takes while watching a major-league game on April 15, seeing the number “42” on the back of every uniform. The reason? April 15th is “Jackie Robinson Day,” marking the anniversary of Robinson’s debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, ending over six decades of racial segregation […]
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Thomas Turner – March 16th in African American History
March 16, 1877 Thomas Wyatt Turner, biologist, educator and civil rights activist, was born in Hughsville, Maryland. Wyatt attended local Episcopal schools because Catholic schools refused to admit him because of his race. He earned his Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees from Howard University in 1901 and 1905, respectively. From 1902 to […]
Selma to Montgomery March – March 7th in African American History
March 7, 1965 The first Selma to Montgomery march for civil rights. The March was led by John Lewis of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and the Reverend Hosea Williams of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), with approximately 600 marchers was attacked by state and local police with billy clubs and tear gas […]
Dred Scott v. Sandford – March 6th in African American History
March 6, 1857 The United States Supreme Court ruled in Dred Scott v. Sandford. Commonly referred to as the “Dred Scott decision,” that people of African descent imported into the United States and enslaved, or their descendants, enslaved or free, were not protected by the Constitution and could never be citizens of the United States. […]
Frederick Douglass – February 20th in African American History
February 20, 1895 Frederick Douglass, abolitionist, women’s suffragist, editor, author, and statesman, died. Douglass was born enslaved on February 14, 1818 in Tuckahoe, Maryland and named Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey. Douglass taught himself to read and write and in 1838 escaped from slavery. Douglass delivered his first abolitionist speech at the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society’s annual […]
Absalom Jones – February 13th in African American History
February 13, 1818 Absalom Jones, abolitionist and clergyman, died. Jones was born enslaved on November 6, 1746 in Delaware. By 1785, he had bought his and his family’s freedom. Together with Richard Allen, Jones was one of the first African Americans licensed to preach by the Methodist Church. In 1787, they founded the Free African […]
The Orangeburg Massacre – February 8th in African American History
February 8, 1968 The Orangeburg Massacre occurred in Orangeburg, South Carolina. Police fired into a crowd of approximately 200 mostly students who were protesting segregation at a local bowling alley. Samuel Hammond, Henry Smith, students at South Carolina State University, and Delano Middleton, a high school student, were killed and 27 other protesters were injured. […]