March 23, 1928 Channing E. Phillips, minister, social activist and the first African American placed in nomination for President of the United States by a major party, was born in Brooklyn, New York. Phillips was a founding member of the Coalition of Conscience, a conglomeration of local organizations working to alleviate social problems in Washington, […]
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Tokyo Sexwale – March 5th in African American History
March 5, 1953 Mosima Gabriel “Tokyo” Sexwale, anti-apartheid activist, former political prisoner and businessman, was born in Transvaal, South Africa. Sexwale became a member of the Black Consciousness Movement in the late 1960s and in the early 1970s joined the African National Congress’ armed wing. In 1975, he went into exile to undergo military training. […]
James Edward O’Hara – February 26th in African American History
February 26, 1844 James Edward O’Hara, lawyer and congressman, was born in New York City. O’Hara studied law in North Carolina and at Howard University and served as a clerk for the 1868 North Carolina state convention that drafted a new state constitution. In 1871, he completed his law apprenticeship and passed the North Carolina […]
Barbara Charline Jordan – February 21st in African American History
February 21, 1936 Barbara Charline Jordan, the first African American woman to serve in the United States House of Representatives from a southern state, was born in Houston, Texas. Jordan earned her Bachelor of Arts degree magna cum laude from Texas Southern University in 1956 and her Juris Doctorate degree from Boston University in 1959. […]
Angela Yvonne Davis – January 26th in African American History
January 26, 1944 Angela Yvonne Davis, political activist and retired professor, was born in Birmingham, Alabama. Davis was awarded a scholarship to Brandeis University and earned her Bachelor of Arts degree magna cum laude and a member of Phi Beta Kappa in 1965. She earned her Master of Arts degree from the University of California […]
Paul LeRoy Bustill Robeson – January 23rd in African American History
January 23, 1976 Paul LeRoy Bustill Robeson, concert singer, scholar, stage and film actor, athlete, and multi-lingual orator, died. Robeson was born April 9, 1898 in Princeton, New Jersey. He won a full academic scholarship to Rutgers University, the third African American student accepted at Rutgers. Although he was the only black student on campus […]
Barak Obama’s 2nd Term Inauguration on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day – January 21st in African American History
January 21, 2013 Today is only the second time in history when the Presidential Inauguration and the federal holiday for Martin Luther King Jr. converge. Making this day even more historic is that Barack Obama, the first African-American President is being sworn into office on a day dedicated to a man who dreamed of the […]