Black - African American History Facts

William Alexander Leidesdorf died in San Francisco, CA, on this date in 1848. Leidesdorf was the first person to sail a steamboat into the San Francisco Bay.

In Plessy v. Ferguson, the Supreme Court paved the way for "Jim Crow" by upholding the "Separate but Equal" doctrine in education and public accommodations on this date in 1896.

Reggie Jackson, baseball legend, was born on this date in 1946. Jackson became known as "Mr. October" for his brilliant play towards the end of the baseball season and in the playoffs.

Mary McLeod Bethune, educator, civil rights leader, and founder of both Bethune-Cookman College and the National Council of Negro Women, died in Daytona Beach, FL, on this date in 1955.

Following protests and a boycott of South Carolina's tourism and convention facilities, the South Carolina General Assembly voted to remove the confederate flag from South Carolina's Capitol dome on this date in 2000. The boycott was not immediately lifted because of controversy over the flag's relocation.