African American History Month
This Day in African American History
In celebration of Black History Month, the U.S. Consulate General has partnered with the National Mirror to showcase a daily note entitled This Day in Black History. The note will commemorate prominent black figures and recount historic events in African American History that have contributed to American progress. The theme of this year’s national black history month as announced by the Association for the Study of African American Life and History is At the Crossroads of Freedom and Equality: the Emancipation Proclamation and the March on Washington. Read below to learn what historic event happened today in African American history.
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February 1: On this day in 1902—Prominent African American Poet, Langston Hughes was Born!
Langston Hughes was among four principal writers who achieved major recognition during the Harlem Renaissance, which took place in New York City during the 1920s. Full Text »
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February 2: On this day in 1914— African American Biologist Ernest Just Received NAACP Spingarn Medal!
Dr. Ernest Everett Just, born in Charleston, South Carolina, was a prominent black biologist who specialized in the field of marine biology. Full Text »
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February 3: On this day in 1870—Amendment XV Secured Voting Rights for African Americans!
The Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits each government in the United States from denying a citizen the right to vote based on that citizen's "race, color, or previous condition of servitude" (i.e., slavery). It was ratified on February 3, 1870. Full Text »
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February 4: On this day in 1913—Civil Rights Activist Rosa Parks was Born!
On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks became famous for refusing to obey bus driver James Blake's order that she give up her seat to make room for a white passenger. Full Text »
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February 5: On this day in 1884—African American Inventor Patented the Mechanical Egg Beater!
Willis Johnson of Cincinnati, Ohio, patented an improved mechanical egg beater (U.S. pat# 292,821) on February 5, 1884. In fact, what Willis Johnson had really invented was an early mixing machine and not just an egg beater. Full Text »
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February 6: On this day in 1820—Peabody Fund Established to Promote African Americans Education!
The Peabody Education Fund organized to establish a permanent system of public education in the South and to enlarge the number of qualified teachers in the region. Full Text »
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February 7: On this day in 1945—Irwin C. Mollison is confirmed as First, Black Federal Judge!
Irwin C Mollison was appointed judge of the US Customs Court. With his appointment on November 3, 1945, Judge Mollison was the first African American appointed to a position in the federal judiciary that was posthumously converted into an Article III judgeship. Full Text »
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February 8: On this day in 1865—Dr. Martin Robinson Delany Becomes First Black Major in U.S. Army!
Dr. Martin Delany was a remarkable figure in American history. Born a slave in Charleston, Virginia, on May 6, 1812, his mother instilled the value of education in him at a young age and illegally taught him to read; slaves were banned from reading or writing.
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February 9: On this day in 1952 - African American Author Ralph Ellison’s Novel, Invisible Man, Wins the National Book Award!
Ralph Ellison had a unique upbringing. Ellison was born in a poor neighborhood in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. At the time, Oklahoma was a frontier state with no legacy of slavery, making it a unique space for fluid racial integration not possible even in the North. Despite his financial state, Ellison had the mobility to go to a good school and the motivation to find mentors - both black and white—from among the most accomplished people in the city.
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February10: On this day in 1966— Andrew Brimmer Becomes First African American Federal Reserve Board Member!
Dr. Brimmer, son to a Louisiana sharecropper, is lauded for his extraordinary achievements and contributions to U.S. monetary policy, advancing within his field to become the assistant secretary of commerce for economic affairs and the first black member of the Federal Reserve Board.
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February 11: On this day in 1977 - Clifford Alexander, Jr. Becomes First Black Secretary of The Army!
Clifford L. Alexander Jr. was born in New York City on September 21, 1933. The son of Clifford L. and Edith Alexander, he received a Bachelor of Arts degree, cum laude, from Harvard University in 1955 and a Law degree from the Yale University Law School in 1958.
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February 12: On this day in 1909— National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is Formed!
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was formed in 1909 in New York City by a group of black and white citizens fighting for social justice. FullText »
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February 13: On this day in 1970—Joseph Searles Becomes First Black Member of the New York Stock Exchange!
Joseph Searles graduated from Kansas State University in 1963 with a Bachelor's degree in Political Science. While working on a public policy research project, Searles met New York City Mayor John Lindsey in Washington, D.C. Full Text »
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February 14: On this day in 1867—Historically Black College Morehouse College is Founded
Morehouse College is the largest private liberal arts college in the nation for African-American men and is located three miles south of downtown Atlanta, Georgia. The college was founded as Augusta Institute by a Baptist minister and cabinetmaker, Reverend William Jefferson White in 1867. FUll Text »