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 […]
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January 25th in African American History – Sarah Louise “Sadie” Delany
January 25, 1999 Sarah Louise “Sadie” Delany, educator, author and civil rights pioneer, died. Delany was born September 19, 1889 in Lynch Station, Virginia. She graduated from Saint Augustine’s School (now college) in 1910 and moved to New York City in 1916 where she began teaching for the public school system.
January 23rd in African American History – Robert Parris “Bob” Moses
January 23, 1935 Robert Parris “Bob” Moses, educator and civil rights activist, was born in Harlem, New York. Moses earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Hamilton College in 1956 and his Master of Arts degree from Harvard University in 1957. In 1960, he became field secretary for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC).
January 20th in African American History – Eva Jessye
January 20, 1895 Eva Jessye, the first black woman to receive international distinction as a professional choral conductor, was born in Coffeyville, Kansas. Jessye studied choral music and music theory at Western University, a now defunct historically black college, and earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Langston University in 1919. In 1926, she formed […]
January 17th in African American History – Anna Arnold Hedgeman
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 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 […]
January 11th in African American History – Vernon Ferdinand Dahmer, Sr.
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 […]