October 24, 1948 Frizzell Gerald Gray (Kweisi Mfume), former head of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), was born in Baltimore, Maryland. At the age of 16, Mfume dropped out of high school and worked a number of jobs. At the age of 23, he returned to his studies and in […]
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October 19th in African American History – Samora Moises Machel
October 19, 1986 Samora Moises Machel, the first President of Mozambique, died in an airplane crash. Machel was born September 29, 1933 in Gaza Province, Portuguese East Africa (Mozambique). In 1962, Machel joined the Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (FRELIMO) which was dedicated to creating an independent Mozambique. He received military training in other […]
October 3rd in African American History – Alfred Charles “Al” Sharpton, Jr.
October 3, 1954 Alfred Charles “Al” Sharpton, Jr., minister, civil rights activist, and radio talk show host, was born in Brooklyn, New York. Sharpton preached his first sermon at the age of four and toured with Mahalia Jackson. While still in high school, Sharpton started promoting concerts and was hired by soul singer James Brown […]
September 27th in African American History – Hiram Rhodes Revels
September 27, 1827 Hiram Rhodes Revels, the first African American to serve in the United States Senate, was born in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Revels was ordained an African Methodist Episcopal minister in 1845 and in 1846 he was given a pastorship in Natchez, Mississippi. Revels was elected an Alderman in Natchez in 1868 and elected […]
September 11th in African American History – James Charles Evers
September 11, 1922 James Charles Evers, the first African American elected mayor of a Mississippi city since the Reconstruction era, was born in Decatur, Mississippi. Evers served in the United States Army in Europe during World War II and graduated from Alcorn A&M University in 1950. In the early 1950s, Evers became active in the […]
September 10th in African American History – Ronald G. Walters
September 10, 2010 Ronald G. Walters, scholar, author and political consultant, died. Walters was born July 20, 1938 in Wichita, Kansas. In 1958, as president of the Wichita NAACP Youth Council, he organized the Dockum Drug Store sit-in which led to the desegregation of drugstores in Wichita. Walters earned his Bachelor of Arts degree with […]
September 1st in African American History – Al Green
September 1, 1947 Al Green, Congressman from Texas, was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. Green earned his bachelor’s degree from Tuskegee University and his Doctor of Jurisprudence from Texas Southern University in 1974. After college, Green co-founded a private law firm and also served as president of the NAACP Houston chapter.