Black - African American History Facts

Oliver Lewis, a Black jockey, won the first Kentucky Derby on this date in 1875. Lewis rode a horse named "Aristides."

Frederick Augustus Douglass was appointed Recorder of Deeds for the District of Columbia by President James A. Garfield on this date in 1881.

The National Baptist Convention was chartered on this date in 1915.

In Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, KS, the Supreme Court overturned the "separate but equal" doctrine and declared these schools "inherently unequal" and racial segregation "unconstitutional" on this date in 1954.

The "Prayer Pilgrimage," a large civil rights demonstration for a Voting Rights Act, was held in Washington, DC, on this date in 1957. Over 15,000 attended with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. leading the chant, "Give us the ballot!"

Marshall Logan Scott became the first Black moderator of the Presbyterian Church on this date in 1962. The Presbyterian Church merged with the United Presbyterian Church in 1983.

Edward Franklin Frazier, sociologist, historian, and author of Black Bourgeoisie, a book that criticizes the Black middle class for isolating themselves from poor Blacks, died in Washington, DC, on this date in 1962.

William Christopher Handy, "Father of the Blues," was commemorated on a U.S. postage stamp on this date in 1969.

The American Baptist Convention elected Rev. Thomas Kilgore as its first Black president on this date in 1969. Kilgore, a Morehouse graduate, also helped found the SCLC.

Not-guilty verdicts for four white police officers who beat a Black man to death led to a three-day rebellion in the Liberty City section of Miami, FL. The disturbance, which began on this date in 1980, left 16 dead and over 300 injured.