Birth of Anna Julia Cooper
Author and activist Anna Julia Haywood Cooper was born on August 10, 1858, in Raleigh, North Carolina. She fought for education for women and African Americans and is often called the “Mother of Black Feminism.”
Black Heritage
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Birth of Ida B. Wells
Ida Bell Wells was born July 16, 1862, in Holly Springs, Mississippi, just before President Abraham Lincoln issued his Emancipation Proclamation. Wells was an early leader in the Civil Rights and Women’s Suffrage movements, as well as a founder of the NAACP.
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Birth of Mary McLeod Bethune
Educator and activist Mary Jane McLeod Bethune was born on July 10, 1875, in Mayesville, South Carolina. She founded a private school for African Americans and was a member of several African American women’s organizations, sometimes called the “Female Booker T. Washington.”
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Birth of Thurgood Marshall
Thurgood Marshall was born on July 2, 1908, in Baltimore, Maryland. He was the first African American Supreme Court Justice and served 24 years on the bench.
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Birth of Charles W. Chesnutt
Charles Waddell Chesnutt was born on June 20, 1858, in Cleveland, Ohio. He was a critically-acclaimed author and the first African American novelist to have his work published in the prestigious Atlantic Monthly Magazine.
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Birth of Patricia Roberts Harris
Patricia Roberts Harris was born on May 31, 1924, in Mattoon, Illinois. Harris achieved several firsts in her life. She was the first black woman to serve as an American ambassador, serve in the US Cabinet, be dean of a law school, and sit on the board of directors of a Fortune 500 company.
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Birth of Edna Lewis
Celebrity Chef Edna Lewis was born on April 13, 1916, in Freetown, Virginia. Lewis is credited with reviving the long-lost style of simple Southern cooking. She was the co-owner and only chef at Café Nicholson and wrote four cookbooks that infused classic recipes with personal stories.
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Birth of Percy Lavon Julian
Chemist Percy Lavon Julian was born on April 11, 1899, in Montgomery, Alabama. Julian was one of the first African Americans to receive a doctorate in chemistry, and the first to be inducted into the National Academy of Sciences. He owned more than 100 chemical patents and was a pioneer in chemical synthesis of drugs used in medicine.
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Birth of William H. Johnson
Artist William H. Johnson was born on March 18, 1901, in Florence, South Carolina. He was one of the leading African American artists of the 20th century, best known for his bright folk style paintings.
