Birth of Gwendolyn Brooks
Poet, author, and teacher Gwendolyn Brooks was born on June 7, 1917, in Topeka, Kansas. The poet laureate of Illinois, she was the first Black American writer to win the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry.
Black Heritage
Raid on Combahee Ferry
On June 2, 1863, Harriet Tubman helped lead a daring Union raid on South Carolina’s Combahee Ferry. The raid succeeded in capturing supplies, damaging Confederate defenses, and freeing over 750 people.
Brown v. Board of Education
On May 17, 1954, the US Supreme Court ordered the desegregation of schools as a result of the case of Brown v. Board of Education.
First Game of Negro National League Baseball
On May 2, 1920, the first game of the Negro National Baseball League was played in Indianapolis, Indiana. The league produced a number of top players that eventually joined the Major Leagues.
Emancipation Day in Washington, DC
On April 16, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed the District of Columbia Compensated Emancipation Act. The act freed over 3,100 people enslaved in the US capital nine months before the Emancipation Proclamation would free all enslaved people in the US.
Creation of the 15th Amendment
On February 26, 1869, the US Senate passed the 15th Amendment to the Constitution, giving people of all races and colors the right to vote. The Amendment would be ratified and become official US law a year later.
Birth of W.E.B. Du Bois
William Edward Burghardt Du Bois was born on February 23, 1868, in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. A founding member of the NAACP, he was a leading civil rights activist.
Malcolm X Assassinated
On February 21, 1965, activist Malcolm X was assassinated in New York City.
Death of Rube Foster
Andrew “Rube” Foster died on December 9, 1930. Known as the “Father of Black Baseball,” he created the Negro National League, the first major professional baseball league for African American athletes.