March 17, 1912 Bayard Rustin, civil rights leader and the chief organizer of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, was born in West Chester, Pennsylvania. In 1942, Rustin assisted in the founding of the Congress of Racial Equality. A declared pacifist, he was imprisoned from 1944 to 1946 for violating the Selective [...]
Tag Archives | Congress of Racial Equality
March 9th in African American History – Floyd Bixler McKissick
March 9, 1922 Floyd Bixler McKissick, lawyer and civil rights leader, was born in Asheville, North Carolina. McKissick earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from North Carolina College and in 1951 became the first African American to earn his Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Law School.
August 28th in African American History – March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom
August 28, 1963 More than 250,000 people participated in the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in Washington, D.C. by marching from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial. The march was organized by A. Phillip Randolph, president of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, James Farmer, president of the Congress of Racial Equality, [...]
August 24th in African American History – Bayard Rustin
August 24, 1987 Bayard Rustin, civil rights leader and the chief organizer of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, died. Rustin was born March 17, 1912 in West Chester, Pennsylvania. In 1942, Rustin assisted in the founding of the Congress of Racial Equality. A declared pacifist, he was imprisoned from 1944 to [...]
July 9th in African American History – James L. Farmer, Jr.
July 9, 1999 James L. Farmer, Jr., civil rights activist, died. Farmer was born January 12, 1920 in Marshall, Texas. He was a child prodigy and at the age of 14 was attending Wiley College and participating on the debate team that was portrayed in the 2007 film “The Great Debaters.” Farmer earned a Bachelor [...]