February 17, 1938 Mary Frances Berry, the first black woman to head a major research university, was born in Nashville, Tennessee. Berry earned her Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees from Howard University in 1961 and 1962, respectively and her Ph.D. and Juris Doctorate degrees from the University of Michigan in 1966 and […]
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February 17th in African American History – Huey Percy Newton
February 17, 1942 Huey Percy Newton, co-founder and leader of the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, was born in Monroe, Louisiana, but raised in Oakland, California. In October, 1966, while at Oakland City College, he and Bobby Seale organized the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense with Seale as chairman and Newton as minister of defense.
February 14th in African American History – Frederick Douglass
February 14, 1818 Frederick Douglass, abolitionist, women’s suffragist, editor, author, and statesman, was born enslaved in Tuckahoe, Maryland. Douglass taught himself to read and write and in 1838 escaped from slavery. He delivered his first abolitionist speech at the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society’s annual convention in 1841.
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.
February 4th in African American History – Rosa Louise McCauley Parks
February 4, 1913 Rosa Louise McCauley Parks, the “mother of the modern Civil Rights Movement,” was born in Tuskegee, Alabama. On December 1, 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama, she refused to obey a bus driver’s order to give up her seat to a White passenger and was arrested. Her arrest sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott and […]
February 3rd in African American History – Percival Prattis
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.
February 1st in African American History – Channing Heggie Tobias
February 1, 1882 Channing Heggie Tobias, civil rights activist, was born in Augusta, Georgia. Tobias earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Paine College in 1902 and his Bachelor of Divinity degree from Drew Theological Seminary in 1905. For the next six years, he taught bible literature at Paine College.