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 […]
Category: This Week in Black History
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 […]
This Week in Black History
September 6, 1866 Abolitionist and newspaper publisher Frederick Douglass becomes the first black person invited to serve as a delegate at a political convention in […]
This Week in Black History
August 30, 1967 The U.S. Senate confirms the appointment of Thurgood Marshall to the U.S. Supreme Court by President Lyndon Johnson. Marshall, who argued before […]