Black - African American History Facts

The Colored National Labor Convention, the nation's first black labor organization, met in Washington, DC, on this date in 1869. James M. Harris was elected as its president.

P. B. S. Pinchback was elected President pro tem in the Louisiana Senate and acting Lieutenant Governor on this date in 1871.

Dr. Ralph Bunche and Marian Anderson were awarded the "Medal of Freedom" from President Lyndon Johnson on this date in 1963. President John F. Kennedy initially announced the award recipients on July 4, 1963 but did not live to present them.

Madame Lillian Evanti, internationally famed opera singer, died in Washington, DC, on this date in 1967. Evanti founded the National Negro Opera Company in 1941.

Nathan I. Huggins, who wrote about Frederick Douglass and authored several works on the Harlem Renaissance, died in Boston, MA, on this date in 1989.