Little Known Black History Facts
During the early stages of the Civil Rights Movement, sit-in protests were organized to bring awareness to the unfair practice of segregation in public spaces. Seventy-five years ago today, the Alexandria Library sit-In took place in Northern Virginia just outside of Washington, D.C. It is considered the earliest library sit-in and also one of the […]
Milestone Media was a comic book company created by a group of Black artists and writers. It aimed to feature various ethnic groups as the main stars for its monthly titles. Milestone was published by DC Comics, although the comic universes wouldn’t collide until much later. Dwayne McDuffie, Denys Cowan, Michael Davis and Derek T. […]
The Crown Heights riots in Brooklyn, N.Y., began on this day in 1991. The impetus behind the racially charged three-day event was the death of seven-year-old Gavin Cato at the hands of a Hasidic Jewish man, Yosef Lifsh. Lifsh was driving a station wagon following a motorcade for Lubavitcher Hasidic leader Rabbi Menachem Schneerson when […]
T. (Timothy) Thomas Fortune was born a slave and largely self-taught, but he went on to become one of the most influential African-American journalists of the late 19th and 20th centuries. Fortune was born October 3, 1856 in the town of Marianna, Fla. The Emancipation Proclamation freed his family, and led to a brief moment […]
The case of Joan (pronounced “Jo-Anne”) Little helped bring awareness to sexual buse of women in prison. On this day in 1975, Ms. Little became the first woman acquitted of murder using a self-defense plea after she killed an abusive white prison guard. Little was born in 1953 in Washington, N.C, a small coastal town. […]
The National Black Theatre Festival launched its inaugural event on this day in 1989, bringing Larry Leon Hamlin’s vision of African-American theater to life and securing its place in the 21st century arts canon. Held bi-annually, the festival boasts crowds of over 65,000 and attracts a bevy of the nation’s talented Black stage talent. Hamlin […]
Dr. George Carruthers overcame a devastating personal loss, moving away from home and struggling in high school to becoming one of the world’s most respected minds in astronomy and astrophysics. A scientist and inventor, Carruthers’ research has helped unveil some of space’s greatest mysteries. Carruthers was born October 1, 1939 in Cincinnati, Ohio. The eldest […]
Although most credit Madam C.J. Walker as America’s first Black millionairess, some historians say otherwise. Inventor and philanthropist Annie Malone has been named as the true first millionaire after inventing a hair care product company. Born Annie Minerva Turnbo on August 9, 1869 to escaped slave parents, Malone grew up in southern Illinois as one […]
Rev. Jesse Jackson and his Operation PUSH organization, now known as the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition have staged several boycotts against major businesses based on their lack of investment in the African-American community. One such boycott took place August 10, 1981 against Coca-Cola, which led the beverage giant to donate over $34 million to Black-owned businesses and […]
In the 80’s, Reginald F. Lewis was the nation’s richest African-American and the first to build a billion-dollar company. Although Lewis took pride in being a Black man, he didn’t like to be pigeonholed as a result of his race. Lewis was born December 7, 1942 in Baltimore, Md. Stating, in his words, that his […]
Jonathan Jackson, the 17-year-old brother of imprisoned Black Panther and activist George Jackson, was killed on this day in 1970 in an attempt to negotiate the freedom of his brother and his compatriots. Entering the Marin County Courthouse in San Rafael, Calif., Jackson kidnapped a judge and temporarily freed a number of prisoners before he […]
Robert Hayden was the nation’s first Black Poet Laureate, a honor that most believe was first bestowed on Rita Dove in 1993. But Hayden’s achievement occurred 17 years earlier in 1976, and he served in the post for two years. Hayden was born August 4, 1912 as Asa Bundy Sheffey in Detroit, Mich. When his […]
