October 16, 1922 Leon Howard Sullivan, minister, civil rights leader and activist, was born in Charleston, West Virginia. Sullivan became a Baptist minister at 18 and moved to New York where he graduated from the Union Theological Seminary in 1945 and earned a Master’s in Religion from Columbia University in 1947.
Tag Archives | NAACP
October 10th in African American History – Frederick Douglass Patterson
October 10, 1901 Frederick Douglass Patterson, founder of the United Negro College Fund, was born in Washington, D. C. Patterson earned his bachelor’s degree from Prairie View State College in 1919, a Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine in 1923 and Masters in Science in 1927 from Iowa State University and a Ph.D in Bacteriology in 1932 […]
September 30th in African American History – Patrice Louise Rushen
September 30, 1954 Patrice Louise Rushen, R&B singer, songwriter, composer and pianist, was born in Los Angeles, California. At a young age, Rushen was considered a child prodigy. At the age of 18, she won at competition at the 1972 Monterey Jazz Festival. Rushin earned a bachelor’s degree in music education and piano performance from […]
September 25th in African American History – The Little Rock Nine
September 25, 1957 The Little Rock Nine successfully entered Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. On May 17, 1954, the United States Supreme Court issued its decision in Brown v. Board of Education declaring all laws establishing segregated schools to be unconstitutional, and calling for the desegregation of all schools throughout the nation. By […]
September 17th in African American History – Mary Morris Burnett Talbert
September 17, 1866 Mary Morris Burnett Talbert, orator, activist and suffragist, was born in Oberlin, Ohio. Talbert earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Oberlin College in 1886, the only African American woman in her class. In 1887, she became an assistant principal at a high school in Little Rock, Arkansas, the highest position held […]
September 15th in African American History – The National Afro-American Council
September 15, 1898 The National Afro-American Council, the first nationwide civil rights organization in the United States, was founded in Rochester, New York. The council was the brainchild of New York journalist Timothy Thomas Fortune and was led for most of its existence by A. M. E. Zion Bishop Alexander Walters. Other officers of the […]
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 […]