Know Your History!
Up to the early 20th century, most American knowledge of Black history was limited to the African American struggle through slavery and emancipation. The significance of Black history is recognition of the advancements and accomplishments of a group of people once defined by the Constitution as three-fifths of a person. While slavery in America hosts the background of Black history, the African American impact on history reaches beyond the country’s early history, as African Americans have made significant contributions to every field of endeavor, including politics, science, culture, social causes, arts, literature, athletics and the economy.
African-American Facts for Week of:August 28th
August 28, 1955
Emmett Till Kidnapped and Lynched
Emmett Till (14) kidnapped and lynched in Money, Mississippi. Emmett Louis Till (July 25, 1941 – August 28, 1955) was an African-American teenager who was lynched in Mississippi at the age of 14 after reportedly flirting with a white woman.
Till was from Chicago, Illinois, and visiting relatives in Money, a small town in the Mississippi Delta region. He spoke to 21-year-old Carolyn Bryant, the married proprietor of a small grocery store there. Several nights later, Bryant’s husband Roy and his half-brother J. W. Milam went to Till’s great-uncle’s house and abducted the boy. They took him away and beat and mutilated him before shooting him and sinking his body in the Tallahatchie River. Three days later, Till’s body was discovered and retrieved from the river.
August 28, 1963
March for Jobs and Freedom
A. Philip Randolph helped plan a march on Washington (Lincoln Memorial) to demonstrate to the government the strength and commitment of Black people to civil rights. A. Philip Randolph fought for justice and for the advancement of African Americans.
August 29, 1957
Congress Passed the Civil Rights Act of 1957
Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1957, the first federal civil rights legislation since 1875. The bill established a civil rights commission and a civil rights division in the Justice Department. It also gave the Justice Department authority to seek injunctions against voting rights infractions.
August 29, 1962
Mal Goode – First African-American Television News Commentator
Mal Goode becomes the first African American television news commentator when he begins broadcasting on ABC.
August 30, 1838
The first African American magazine, Mirror of Freedom, begins publication
The first African American magazine, Mirror of Freedom, begins publication in New York City.
August 30, 1966
Constance Baker Motley
Constance Baker Motley confirmed as U.S. district judge and became the first Black Woman on the Federal Bench.
August 31, 1935
First Black manager in Major League Baseball
On August 31, 1935, in Beaumont, Texas, U.S., American professional baseball player and manager Frank Robinson was born. He was the first Black manager in Major League Baseball.
September 1, 1867
The first Black person to graduate from Harvard Dental School
The first Black person to graduate from Harvard Dental School is Robert T Freeman, 1867.
September 2, 1945
Blacks In Armed Services
A total of 1,154, 720 Blacks were inducted or drafted into the armed services. Official records listed 7,768 Black commissioned officers on August 31, 1945. At the height of the conflict 3,902 Black women (115 officers) were enrolled in the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WACS) and 68 were in the Navy auxiliary, the WAVES. The highest ranking Black women were Major Harriet M. West and Major Charity E. Adams. Distinguished Unit Citations were awarded the 969th Field Artillery Battalion, the 614th Tank Destroyer Battalion and the 332nd Fighter Group.
September 2, 1975
1st Black Supreme Court Justice
Joseph W. Hatchett sworn in as first Black supreme court justice in the South in the twentieth century.
September 3, 1868
Henry McNeal Turner
Henry McNeal Turner delivers a speech before the Georgia Legislature defending African Americans’ rights to hold state office.
To me, the omission of any group from history teachings results in a limited understanding of history’s relationship with the present and future. Know your history.
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