May 10, 1994 After more than 27 years as a political prisoner, Nelson Mandela is inaugurated as the first democratically elected president of South Africa, […]
Category: This Week in Black History
This Week in Black History
April 25, 1944 Frederick Douglass Patterson, the president of Tuskegee Institute, with Mary McLeod Bethune and others, incorporates the United Negro College Fund in Washington, […]
This Week in Black History
April 13, 1964 Sydney Poitier, who died earlier this year, became the first African American to win the Academy Award for Best Actor, for his […]
This Week in Black History
April 13, 1997 Orange County native Eldrick “Tiger” Woods shoots a record-breaking18-under-par, beating the second-place finisher by 12 strokes and becoming the youngest (age 21) […]
This Week in Black History
April 2, 1855 Longtime activist John Mercer Langston, an abolitionist, attorney and diplomat, is elected clerk of an Ohio township, becoming the nation’s first African-American […]
This Week in Black History
March 28, 1966 Bill Russell is named head coach of the Boston Celtics, becoming the first African American to coach an NBA team. He would […]
This Week in Black History
March 20, 1948 Los Angeles actor James Baskett becomes the first Black man to receive an Academy Award when he wins an honorary Oscar for […]
This Week in Black History
March 5, 1770 Massachusetts sailor Crispus Attucks is shot to death by British Redcoats, reportedly becoming the first patriot killed in the cause of U.S. […]
This Week in Black History
Feb. 29, 1940 Los Angeles actress-activist Hattie McDaniel becomes the first African American to win a coveted Academy Award when she captures Best Supporting Actress […]
This Week in Black History
Feb. 12, 1909 Educator W.E.B. DuBois is one of 60-plus activists who form the NAACP to fight for racial equality for black Americans. As editor […]