November 16, 1901 Black education pioneer Booker T. Washington and his wife are invited to dinner at the White House by President Theodore Roosevelt and […]
Category: This Week in Black History
This Week in Black History
November 5, 1918 Frederick Madison Roberts, the great grandson of Sally Hemings (the Thomas Jefferson slave who bore six of his children), is the first […]
This Week in Black History
October 31, 1950 Earl Lloyd becomes the first black player in the NBA, taking the court for the Washington Capitals. Two other black players were […]
This Week in Black History
October 24, 1935 Langston Hughes’ play “Mulatto” opened in New York, becoming the first black-authored play to become a long-running Broadway hit. It held the […]
This Week in Black History
October 16, 1968 San Jose State track stars Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised gloved fists during a medal ceremony at the Summer Olympics in […]
This Week in Black History
October 9, 1975 All-star outfielder Frank Robinson – whose later years were spent with the Los Angeles Dodgers and California Angels – is named manager […]
This Week in Black History
October 2, 1967 U.S. Solicitor General Thurgood Marshall – whose brilliant legal work led to the Brown vs. Board of Education decision outlawing segregation in […]
This Week in Black History
September 27, 1950 Gwendolyn Brooks becomes the first African-American writer to win a Pulitzer Prize for her book of poetry, “Annie Allen,” a coming-of-age tale […]
This Week in Black History
Sept. 20, 1847 William Leidesdorff is elected to the San Francisco Town Council, becoming one of California’s first black elected officials. He later became the […]
This Week in Black History
September 12, 1992 Chicago physician Dr. Mae Jemison becomes the first African-American woman in space when the space shuttle Endeavour lifts off from Kennedy Space […]