1863 – The Dutch West Indies abolishes slavery.
The Dutch West Indies abolishes slavery on this day in 1863. This ended a period of around 200 years of slavery in these colonies.
1868 – North Carolina legislature met
North Carolina legislature (21 Blacks, 149 whites) met in Raleigh. A new Constitution was mandated by the Federal Government for each of the Confederate states, including North Carolina. North Carolina’s bicameral legislature was retained, but the name of the “lower house” was changed to the House of Representatives (was House of Commons). The new Constitution eliminated the property qualification for holding office and opened up opportunities for less-wealthy North Carolinians to serve public office. The office of Lieutenant Governor was created, to be elected by the people, and to serve as president of the State Senate.
1873 – Henry O. Flipper joins military academy
Henry O. Flipper of Georgia entered West Point Military Academy. In January of 1873 Flipper wrote to James Freeman, a newly elected Congressman from Georgia, requesting an appointment to West Point. Freeman responded that he would recommend Flipper if he proved “worthy and qualified.” A series of letters exchanged between the two ultimately resulted in Freeman nominating Flipper to the Academy. Flipper passed the required examinations and officially entered the U.S. Military Academy on July 1, 1873.
1889 – Frederick Douglass named Minister to Haiti
Frederick Douglass named Minister to Haiti on this day. Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, c. February 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an African-American social reformer, abolitionist orator, writer, and statesman. After escaping from slavery, he became a leader of the abolitionist movement, gaining note for his dazzling oratory and incisive antislavery writing. He stood as a living counter-example to slaveholders’ arguments that slaves lacked the intellectual capacity to function as independent American citizens. Many Northerners also found it hard to believe that such a great orator had been a slave.
1889 – Lynchings in 1889
Ninety-four Black reported lynched in 1889. The worst years for lynching fell between 1889 and 1898 when 1,613 people were lynched; 1,123 of them were black, and 94 percent were murdered by white mobs. By far the majority (86 percent) were lynched in the South.
In the years between 1882 and 1930, Mississippi led the states with a total of 545 lynchings (500 black), followed by Georgia with 508 (474 black), and Texas with 494 (349 black).
Fifty women were lynched between 1892 and 1918.
1898 – The Military Makes Advancements
Tenth Cavalry made charge at El Caney and relieved Theodore Roosevelt’s Rough Riders. Four Black regiments in regular army were conspicuous in fighting around Santiago in Spanish-American War. Sixteen regiments of Black volunteers were recruited during the war.
1899 – The Father of Gospel Music, Thomas Dorsey, born in Villa Rica, GA, 1899
The Father of Gospel Music, Thomas Dorsey, born in Villa Rica, GA, July 1, 1899 – January 23, 1993 was known as “the father of black gospel music” and was at one time so closely associated with the field that songs written in the new style were sometimes known as “dorseys.” Earlier in his life he was a leading blues pianist known as Georgia Tom.
1917 – Race riot
Race riot, East St. Louis, Illinois. Estimates of number killed ranged from forty to two hundred. Martial law was declared. A congressional investigating committee said, “It is not possible to give accurately the number of dead. At least thirty-nine Negroes and eight white people were killed outright, and hundreds of N…
1924 – Black named soloist with Boston Symphony Orchestra
Roland Hayes, who was born in a Georgia cabin in 1887, was named a soloist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Earlier, he had received the Spingarn Medal for “so finely” interpreting the beauty of the Negro folk song
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1960 – Somali proclaimed independence
1961 – Track star Carl Lewis born
Olympic track and field star Carl Lewis was born in Willingboro, New Jersey. Frederick Carlton “Carl” Lewis is an American former track and field athlete, who won 10 Olympic medals, including nine gold, and 10 World Championships medals, including eight gold.
1976 – Kenneth Gibson, mayor of Newark
Kenneth Gibson, mayor of Newark, (born May 15, 1932 in Enterprise, Alabama) is an American Democratic Party politician, who was elected in 1970 as the 34th Mayor of Newark, New Jersey, the largest city in the state. He was the first African-American elected mayor of any major Northeastern U.S. city. He served from 1970 to 1986.
1987 – African-American Women College Presidents
On July 1, 1987, for the first time in history, there were three African-American women serving as Presidents of Four Year Colleges and Universities in America.They were – Dr. Niara Sudarkasa- President of Lincoln University in Pennsylvania; Dr. Johnetta Cole, President of Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia; and Dr. Gloria Randle Scott, President of Bennett College in Greensboro, North Carolina. Dr. Sudarkasa was appointed in February of 1987; Dr. Gloria Scott appointed March 1987, and Dr. Johnetta Cole appointed in May, 1987.
1991 – Clarence Thomas is nominated to the Supreme Court
Clarence Thomas is nominated to the Supreme Court by President George Bush. Born June 23, 1948 he is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Succeeding Thurgood Marshall, Thomas is the second African-American to serve on the Court.
2001 – “Higher Education Act” Denies Student Aid
Injustice 101: Government “Higher Education Act” Denies Financial Aid to Students with Drug Convictions Taking away financial aid for students with drug convictions is unfair, but that’s the goal of a recent federal law. Since July 1, 2000, the Department of Education has denied financial aid to thousands of students who reported having been convicted of one or more drug-related offenses. This new, mandatory bar to financial aid — including loans and work-study programs — was enacted in 1998 as part of a series of amendments to the Higher Education Act (HEA). The American Civil Liberties Union believes this law is wrong. Drug violations already carry severe legal penalties, with mandatory minimum sentences. Judges have long had the option of suspending eligibility for aid on a case-by-case basis, but suspension of aid is now mandatory and applies across the board. “This law is discriminatory,” said Graham Boyd, director of the ACLU’s Drug Policy Litigation Project, which is asking students to contact them if they have been denied aid under the new law. “If a student is convicted of a drug offense, and her family can afford to pay for college, she will be unaffected by the legislation, while those who are already in danger of being pushed to society’s margins will not be able to get federal aid to improve themselves
