On June 21, 1927, Carl Stokes was born. One reason we celebrate his birthday is the fact he was the first major American city mayor to be black. Being the first black mayor of a major city in the U.S. is not the only accomplishment that deserves recognition. He was a US Ambassador, an Ohio […]
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Joseph Rainey – June 21st in African American History
June 21, in 1832, Joseph Hayne Rainey was born a slave in the rice-growing region of Georgetown, South Carolina. 1832 was a tumultuous time for race relations in America. The Nat Turner Rebellion of August 1831, in which a slave preacher led a band of enslaved men on a killing spree in Virginia, still caused […]
Juneteenth Celebrations – June 19th in African American History
June 19, 1865, or Juneteenth, was the day the African American slaves in Texas received notice by Union Major-General Gordon Granger that they were forever free. President Abraham Lincoln, assassinated earlier in April of that year, had signed the Emancipation Proclamation that went into effect on January 1, 1863, freeing all the slaves in the […]
Wesley A Brown – June 3rd in African American History
June 3rd, in 1949, Wesley A Brown graduated from the US Naval Academy, becoming the first African American to do so. The Annapolis Naval Academy had never, before this date, witnessed an African American succeed beyond the first academic year. Brown received his commission as a naval officer on this momentous occasion, joining one of […]
Phyllis Linda Hyman – June 30th in African American History
June 30, 1995 Phyllis Linda Hyman, singer and actress, committed suicide. Hyman was born July 6, 1949 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In her early 20s, Hyman moved to New York City and began performing with a number of musical groups. In 1974, she appeared in the movie “Lenny.” In 1976, she appeared on Norman Conner’s album […]
Joe Henderson – June 30th in African American History
June 30, 2001 Joe Henderson, jazz tenor saxophonist, died. Henderson was born April 24, 1937 in Lima, Ohio. He was encouraged to study music at a young age and by 18 was studying at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan and playing on the local jazz scene. After serving in the United States Army from […]
Lloyd George Richards – June 29th in African American History
June 29, 1919 Lloyd George Richards, theater actor, director and educator, was born in Toronto, Canada, but raised in Detroit, Michigan. Richards earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Wayne State University in 1944 and then became one of the first black military pilots while serving in the United States Air Force during World War […]