March 17, 1933 Myrlie Beasley (Myrlie Evers-Williams), civil rights activist, was born in Vicksburg, Mississippi. While attending Alcorn A&M College, she met Medgar Evers and they were married in 1951. Evers was murdered in 1963 because of his civil rights activities. Evers-Williams graduated from Pomona College in 1968, with a degree in sociology and served […]
Tag Archives | civil rights activist
March 10th in African American History – Daisy Elizabeth Adams Lampkin
March 10, 1965 Daisy Elizabeth Adams Lampkin, suffragette and civil rights activist, died. Lampkin was born August 9, 1883 in Washington, D. C. After moving to Pittsburgh, she joined the New Negro Women’s Equal Franchise Federation which was later renamed the Lucy Stone League. In 1915, she became president of the league, a position she […]
February 6th in African American History – Arthur Robert Ashe, Jr.
February 6, 1993, Arthur Robert Ashe, Jr., professional tennis player and civil rights activist, died. Ashe was born July 10, 1943 in Richmond, Virginia. In 1963, he became the first black player ever selected to the United States Davis Cup team. In 1965, Ashe won the National Collegiate Athletic Association tennis singles title. Ashe graduated […]
November 10th in African American History – Miriam Makeba
November 10, 2008 Miriam Makeba, singer and civil rights activist, died. Makeba was born on March 4, 1932 in Johannesburg, South Africa. She began her professional singing career in the 1950s with the Manhattan Brothers before she formed her own group, The Skylarks, singing a blend of jazz and traditional South African melodies.
November 5th in African American History – Channing Heggie Tobias
November 5, 1961 Channing Heggie Tobias, civil rights activist, died. Tobias was born February 1, 1882 in Augusta, Georgia. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Paine College in 1902 and a Bachelor of Divinity degree from Drew Theological Seminary in 1905. For the next six years he taught bible literature at Paine College.
September 14th in African American History – Constance Baker Motley
September 14, 1921 Constance Baker Motley, civil rights activist, lawyer and judge, was born in New Haven, Connecticut. Motley earned a B. A. degree from New York University in 1943 and her law degree from Columbia Law School in 1946. She began her career as a law clerk at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, eventually […]
Roy Wilkins – September 8th in African American History
September 8, 1981 Roy Wilkins, prominent civil rights activist from the 1930s to the 1970s, died. Wilkins was born August 30, 1901 in St. Louis, Missouri. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Minnesota in 1923. In 1931, he became Assistant Secretary of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored […]