Black - African American History Facts

Shaka Zulu, the great Zulu King, was killed on this date in 1828.

George Washington Murray, an outspoken Congressman from South Carolina, was born a slave in Sumter County, SC, on this date in 1853. Murray, an avid supporter of blacks' rights, fought against anti-black policies.

President Abraham Lincoln, on this date in 1862, warned he would issue the Emancipation Proclamation, proclaiming the freedom of all slaves, unless the Confederate states returned to the Union by the New Year.

Dr. Ralph Johnson Bunche became the first black person to be awarded the "Nobel Peace Prize" on this date in 1950.

The African nation of Mali gained its independence on this date in 1960.

The Interstate Commerce Commission issued regulations that outlawed segregation on buses and in terminal facilities used for interstate travel on this date in 1961.