African Americans replace reluctant whites on the field of battle due to rising white desertions in the Continental Army (1777). Monroe Baker, a well-to-do Black businessman, named mayor of St. Martin, Louisiana (1867). He was probably the first Black to serve as mayor of a town. First Reconstruction legislature met in Richmond, Virginia (1869). Booker […]

African American abolitionist David Walker born in Wilmington, North Carolina (1785). The Opelousas Massacre occurred in Louisiana in which an estimated 200 to 300 black Americans were killed (1868). “Purlie Victorious”, a farce by playwright Ossie Davis, opens on Broadway (1961). Governor Barnett found guilty of civil contempt of the federal court. United States Court […]

The rumors started circulating soon after Howard Dodson announced this spring that he would step down as director of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. He had been forced out, some said. The 10 million holdings of the center, a research unit of the New York Public Library, would be moved to the […]

From Nodfactor.com. It’s only right that the birthplace of hip-hop spawned one of its most oft-sampled drum breaks.

Thomas Hagan, the only man to admit being involved in the murder of Malcolm X, has been granted parole.

Ralph Bunche was an American diplomat and political scientist whose work on domestic policy and foreign affairs shaped the struggle for human rights. Bunche was…