March 8, 1911 Clarence M. Mitchell, Jr., civil rights activist and chief lobbyist for the NAACP, was born in Baltimore, Maryland. Mitchell graduated from Lincoln University in 1931 and later earned a law degree from the University of Maryland. In 1945, he became the first labor secretary of the NAACP and in 1950 became head […]
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March 4th in African American History – Zenzile Miriam Makeba
March 4, 1932 Zenzile Miriam Makeba, singer and civil rights activist, was born in Johannesburg, South Africa. Makeba began her professional singing career in the 1950s with the Manhattan Brothers before she formed her own group, The Skylarks, singing a blend of jazz and traditional South African melodies.
February 26th in African American History – Jimmie Lee Jackson
February 26, 1965 Jimmie Lee Jackson, an unarmed civil rights protestor, was shot to death by an Alabama State Trooper. Jackson was born December 16, 1938 in Marion, Alabama. He was a deacon in his church who had unsuccessfully tried to register to vote for four years.
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.
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 21st in African American History – El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz (Malcolm X)
February 21, 1965 El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz (Malcolm X), Muslim minister and human rights leader, was assassinated. Malcolm X was born Malcolm Little on May 19, 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska but grew up in Lansing, Michigan.
February 18th in African American History – Audre Geraldine Lorde
February 18, 1934 Audre Geraldine Lorde, writer, poet, and activist, was born in New York City. Legally blind, Lorde wrote her first poem when she was in the eighth grade. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in library science from Hunter College in 1959 and her Master of Library Science degree from Columbia University […]