November 14

"There is neither a hand so small nor one so large, that it cannot reach out to grasp the hand of another."

-Evelyn K. Moore,

Co-Founder of NBCDI

October 8

"...To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition;  To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.  This is to have succeeded."

-Bessie Stanley

(often falsely attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson)

September 23

On this day in 1863, civil rights activist Mary Church Terrell was born.

Week of September 12

Shine Like A Star

Read and study, study and learn

Learn and know, know and grow

Grow and bloom, bloom and glow

Glow and shine, shine like a star

Star up high, like a diamond

Twinkling in the sky

Where stars usually are

Achieve and become a star

A shining super star

Shining just like your ancestors

So many years before

You were born to be brilliant

So shine like a star

For all the world to see

Just how beautiful you are

-Betty J. Ford

Pasadena, CA

August 23

On this day in 1963, Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his famed "I Have a Dream" speech at Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington for jobs. 

Here is a link to a video of the speech.

August 4

On this day in 1961, Barack Obama, 44th President of the United States of America, and the first African American to serve in this position, was born in Hawaii. 

 July 21

On this day in 1896, the National Association of Colored Women was founded by Mary Church Terrell in Washington, DC.  It was the first national black organization in the United States.

"And so, lifting as we climb, onward and upward we go, struggling and striving, and hoping that the buds and blossoms of our desires will burst into glorious fruition ere long.  With courage, born of success achieved in the past, with a keen sense of the responsibility which we shall continue to assume, we look forward to a future large with promise and hope.  Seeking no favors because of our color, nor patronage because of our needs, we knock at the bar of justice, asking an equal chance."

-Mary Church Terrell

 July 9

On this day in 1868, the 14th Amendment was ratified, making Black Americans citizens of the United States.

 June 27

On this day in 1872, Paul Lawrence Dunbar, a poet and novelist, was born.  Below is one of his most well-known poems, published in 1896:

"We Wear the Mask"

We wear the mask that grins and lies,

It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes, -

This debt we pay to human guile;

With torn and bleeding hearts we smile,

And mouth with myriad subtleties.

Why should the world be over-wise,

In counting all our tears and sighs?

Nay, let them only see us, while

We wear the mask.

We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries

To thee from tortured souls arise.

We sing, but of the clay is vile

Beneath our feet, and long the mile;

But let the world dream otherwise,

We wear the mask!

 June 19

Juneteenth is known as African American Emancipation day in the United States of America.  Its foundation dates back to the summer of 1865 in Galveston, Texas when the last remaining group of enslaved African Americans learned of their freedom.  Click here to learn more.

Week of June 12

"Every great dream begins with a dreamer. 

Always remember,

you have within you the strength,

the patience, and the passion

to reach for the stars to change the world."

-Harriet Tubman

June 8

On this day in 1892, Homer A. Plessy (1863-1925) refused to move to a segregated railroad coach in New Orleans, initiating the Plessy vs. Ferguson suit.

On this day in 1953, the U.S. Supreme Court banned segregation of restaurants in Washington, D.C.

June 1

On this day in 1843, Sojourner Truth (1797-1883), born into slavery as Isabella Baumfree in New York, began her travel as an abolitionist speaker.  She is famously known for her 1851 speech, "Ain't I a Woman?" delivered at the Ohio Women's Rights Convention.

On this day in 1862, slavery was abolished in all U.S. Possessions.

Week of May 23

"The only justification

for ever looking down on somebody

is to pick them up."

-Jesse Jackson

May 7

On this day in 1878, African American inventor Joseph R. (J.R.) Winters received his patent for an improvement to Fire-Escape Ladders on fire trucks.

May 1

On this day in 1950, Gwendolyn Brooks became the first Black person to win a Pulitzer Prize with the publication of her second book of poetry entitled Annie Allen.

April 30

The final episode of The Cosby Show aired on this date in 1992.  It was one of the highest rated television shows in the country, running for eight consecutive years.

                 THEN:

                   NOW:

Week of April 16

"How far you go in life depends on your being

tender with the young,

 compassionate with the aged,

sympathetic with the striving,

and tolerant of the weak and strong. 

Because someday in your life

you will have been all of these."

-George Washington Carver

Week of April 9

"I have found that among its other benefits,

giving liberates the soul of the giver."

-Maya Angelou

Week of April 2

"Real integrity is doing the right thing,

knowing nobody's going to know

whether you did it or not."

-Oprah Winfrey

March 31

Thomas Mundy Peterson (1924-1904), the child of slaves, became the first Black person to vote in the United States of America on this day in 1870.  He cast his ballot in a local election held in the city of Perth Amboy in his home state of New Jersey following the adoption of the 15^th Amendment. 

In 1884, the citizens of Perth Amboy presented Peterson with a gold medallion.  They raised $70 (over $1,000 in modern times) to purchase the medallion which featured a profile of Abraham Lincoln. 

Today, the state of New Jersey recognizes Thomas Mundy Peterson annually on March 31, calling it Thomas Mundy Peterson Day.

Week of March 19

"Success is to be measured not so much by the position

that one has reached in life

as by the obstacles which he has overcome."

- Booker T. Washington

April 5, 1856 – November 14, 1915

March 16

On this day in 1827, the first issue of Freedom's Journal, was published.  It was the first Black-owned and operated newspaper in the United States, and was founded by John B. Russwurm, born a slave in Jamaica, and Samuel E. Cornish.

"We wish to plead our own cause. 

March 5

Rebecca Lee Crumpler, born in 1831, made history in a remarkable way.  In 1860, she became a medical student at the New England Female Medical College, the world's first medical college for women.  Upon her graduation in 1864, Crumpler became the first African American woman in the United States to earn a M.D. degree, and the only African American woman to graduate from that institution.  Among these accomplishments, Crumpler is known today as being one of the first Black women to practice medicine in New York.

In addition, the New England Female Medical College closed in 1873, and merged with the Boston University School of Medicine to become the first coeducational medical school in the nation, and one of the first coeducational medical school in the world.

Week of February 22

"The ultimate measure of a man

is not where he stands in moments of comfort,

but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."

– Martin Luther King, Jr.

January 15, 1929 - April 4, 1968

February 14

On this day in 1867, Augusta Institute was founded.  145 years later, we know this institution as Morehouse College.  This prestigious college was originally located in Augusta, GA and was established in the basement of Springfield Baptist Church, the Nation's oldest independent African American church.  Follow this link for more information on the legacy of Morehouse College.

Today marks the 22^nd anniversary of Nelson Madela's release from prison.  It was on this day in 1990 that South Africa’s Black Nationalist leader, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, was released from prison after more than 27 years of incarceration.  "...That moment symbolized the unwinding of a centuries-old colonial and apartheid system that created huge political, social and economic disparities..." 

Four years later, he was elected President of South Africa. Follow this link for more information.

On this day in 1820, 86 African Americans climbed on board The Elizabeth, also called The Mayflower of Liberia, and set sail for Africa.  This was the first organized emigration of Blacks back to Africa, with the passengers traveling from New York to Sierra Leone.

Today marks the 52^nd Anniversary of an event that helped usher in the sit-ins of the Civil Rights Movement.  North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University's most celebrated alumni (NC A&T), The A&T Four, sat in at the Woolworth's lunch counter on February 1, 1960.  These young men were the faces of a student-led movement that begun when the remarkable minds of the Aggies and the Bennett Belles joined together on the campus of Bennett College for Women and collaborated on a plan to make a difference in Greensboro, NC - and ultimately the entire country. 

Follow this link for more information on Bennett College's contribution to the Sit-In Movement.

January 31  

"Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those that prepare for it today."

-Malcolm X (1925-1965)

Week of January 6

Red Tails is a new motion picture premiering later this month.  Sure to be a box office hit, this movie illustrates a cinematic viewpoint of the historic Tuskegee Airmen.  The Tuskegee Airmen were an all African American flying squadron established in 1941, in Tuskegee, Alabama.  They paved the way for full integration of African Americans into the U.S. Military, seeing that before them, no African Americans had ever been U.S. Military pilots.

Follow this link for more information on the Civilian Pilot Training Program and the Tuskegee Army Airfield at Tuskegee University.

Week of December 26

I know why the caged bird sings, ah me,

When his wing is bruised and his bosom sore,—

When he beats his bars and he would be free;
It is not a carol of joy or glee,

But a prayer that he sends from his heart's deep core,
But a plea, that upward to Heaven he flings —
I know why the caged bird sings!

(Read More)

- Paul Lawrence Dunbar (1899)

- Maya Angelou (1983)

December 18

On this day in 1865, Secretary of State William H. Seward declared in effect the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, abolishing slavery in the United Stated of America.

"Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude,

except as a punishment for crime whereof the party

shall have been duly convicted,

shall exist within the United States,

or any place subject to their jurisdiction."

December 12

Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing is an inspirational song considered by many to be "the Negro National Anthem."  It began as a poem by James Weldon Johnson and later had original music added by composer John Rosamond Johnson.  It was on this day in 1900 that these brothers created this timeless testament to our past, present, and future as a people.

Below is verse one:

Lift every voice and sing, till earth and heaven ring,
Ring with the harmonies of liberty;
Let our rejoicing rise, high as the list’ning skies,
Let it resound loud as the rolling sea.
Sing a song full of the faith
that the dark past has taught us,
Sing a song full of the hope
that the present has brought us;
Facing the rising sun of our new day begun,
Let us march on till victory is won.

December 5

On this day in 1784, Phillis Wheatley died at the age of 31.  Born in Senegal (present day Gambia) in 1753, she was America's first Black poet, and the first woman to have her literary works published.  At the age of seven she was sold into slavery and purchased by the Wheatley family of Boston, Massachusetts.  She learned to read and write English, and within 5 years was reading Greek and Latin Classics by such authors as Homer, Horace, and Virgil.  At thirteen years old, she wrote her first poem, and at twenty a collection of her poetry was published in London.

Although she died impoverished and working as a scullery maid in a boarding house, she was the first African-American woman to live off earnings from her published work.  Most importantly though, she died free - an emancipated slave.

November 26

Charles Gordone was a dynamic man. He fulfilled many roles in his lifetime, including  playwright, actor, director, public speaker, and even judge for the Missouri Arts Council Playwriting Competition.  Among many things, he is known for his 1961-1966 role as the burglar in Jean Genet's play "The Blacks."  As one of its original cast members, he joined an all star team (including James Earl Jones, Maya Angelou, and Cicely Tyson) on stage as they worked to change Hollywood. 

On this day in 1970, Gordone received a Pulitzer Prize for his work "No Place to Be Somebody."  He became the first African American to receive this prestigious award.

November 22

On this day in 1989, Col. Frederick D. Gregory, Sr. became the first Black space mission commander.  His journey with NASA began as a test pilot in Virginia.  Then in 1978, he was one of three African Americans selected as astronauts by NASA. In 1985, Gregory went on his first space mission on board the Oribiter Challenger, and in 1989, he made history by commanding the mission STS-33 on board the Orbiter Discovery.

"...History belongs to she who holds the pen, and the only way our history will be amplified is if we are the ones who report it. If all of us in this room don't embrace our history, who will?"

- Dr. Julianne Malveaux

15th President of Bennett College for Women

An excerpt from her Honors Day Convocation at Morris College

November 9, 1731 marks the birthday of Benjamin Banneker, a free African American history-maker in the 18th century.  Along with being a noted astronomer, mathematician, inventor, surveyor, farmer, and author, he helped to draw the plans for Federal City in 1792.  Today this city is known as, none other than, Washington DC. 

On this day in 1926, Dr. Carter G. Woodson, founder of the Association for the Study of Afro-American Life & History (1915) and the Journal of Negro History (1916), started Negro History Week.  It was strategically celebrated on the 2nd week of February, between the birthdays of Langston Hughes and Abraham Lincoln. In 1976, this honorable week developed into Black History Month that we know today.

On the same day in 1968, Shirley Chisolm became the first African American woman to be elected to Congress.

On this day in 2008, history was truly made with the election of our 44th President.  Democrat Barack Hussein Obama, Jr. defeated Republican John Sidney McCain III in the 2008 Presidential Election, making him America's first African American President.  By now, we all know the story, but click here for more details.

November 2  

The first week of November is rich in African American history as it relates to U.S. government and politics. For instance, it was on November 2, 1983 that President Ronald Reagan signed a law that deemed the third Monday in January Martin Luther King Jr Day.  In an effort to bring President Barack Obama's national call to service initiative to fruition, United We Serve has fostered the MLK Day of Service.  Asking American's to start their year off right by making a positive impact in their communities, this one-time day of remembrance has become a national movement.  Click here for more details.

Robert L. Johnson, the richest African American in the US at one point, is best known as the founder of Black Entertainment Television.  BET was founded in January of 1980.  Although it initially broadcasted for only two hours a week, its popularity grew.  On this day in 1991,  BET became the first African American company listed on the New York Stock Exchange, and by 2007, BET reached more than 65 million homes nationwide.

Today, October 26th, 2011, Samuel L. Jackson is named the highest-grossing actor of all time.  According to Guinness World Records, he has earned $7.4 billion over the span of his acting career.  For more information and a link to his personal website, click here. 

On this day in 2005, Rosa Parks died, at the age of 92.  She was known as the "Modern Mother of the Civil Rights Movement." By refusing to give up her seat on the bus to a white passenger in 1955, she began a movement that led to the downfall of legal segregation in the United States - the Civil Rights Movement.  For more information on how North Carolina played a part in the Civil Rights Movement, click here.

Week  of  October 16

"It must be borne in mind that the tragedy in life doesn't lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in having no goal to reach. It isn’t a calamity to die with dreams unfulfilled, but it is a calamity not to dream. It is not a disaster to be unable to capture your ideal, but it is a disaster to have no ideal to capture. It is not a disgrace not to reach the stars, but it is a disgrace to have no stars to reach for. Not failure, but low aim is sin."

-Benjamin E. Mays

Late Morehouse College President

"...You were born to be brilliant

So shine like a star

For all the world to see

Just how beautiful you are..."

On this day in 1847, Dr. Louis C. Roudanez founded the New Orleans Tribune.  Written in both English and French, the paper began as a tri-weekly publication, but soon began being published daily, making it the first African American daily newspaper. 

"I connect the present with the future

I make history

The Dream Catcher of today

Makes what happens tomorrow

A possibility..."

-Burnece Brunson, Nashville, TN

Week  of  September 25

September 24

On this day in 1957, Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas was desegregated.   President Dwight Eisenhower sent troops to protect the 9 Black students that integrated the school, making him the first U.S. President to "involve the federal government in enforcing the civil rights laws." Click here to learn more about the Little Rock Nine.

September 22

On this day in 1950, Ralph J. Bunche was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.  He was also awarded the Spingarn Medal by the NAACP in 1948 for his service to the United Nations, and received over thirty honorary degrees between 1948 and 1951.  Click the following links for more information on the Nobel Prize and The Spingarn Medal.

September 20

-Martin Luther King, Jr.

"Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for.  We are the change that we seek."

-Barack Obama

In 1983, Vanessa Williams became the first Black Miss America, redefining America's standard of beauty.  Click here for more information. 

September 16

On this day in 1848,  Slavery was abolished in all French Territories. 

On this day in 1881, Lewis Latimer invented and patented an electric lamp with a carbon filament.  He was born in Massachusetts in 1848 to runaway slaves who migrated north from Virginia.

On this day in 1886, Alain Locke was born.  He attended Harvard University and went on to become the first African American Rhodes Scholar.  The Rhodes Scholarships "bring outstanding students from many countries around the world to the University of Oxford."  Click here for more information on Oxford University.

September 11  

On this day in 1959, Edward Kennedy Elliington, also known as "Duke" Ellington won the Spingarn Medal (awarded annually by the NAACP) for his musical achievements.  There are two purposes for the  Spingarn Medal; one is to bring attention to the outstanding achievements of African Americans, and the other is "to serve as a... stimulus to the ambition of colored youth."  Click here for a complete list of Spingarn honorees.

"A sense of worth and value and pride grow first from the way one is treated by adults. Using materials that show Blacks having successful experiences can also be helpful. Your respect for Black art, literature, dance, and music will be observed by the children ... it is important for Black children to see Blacks in positions of authority, upon whom they can model themselves."

Dr. James P. Comer and

Dr. Alvin F. Poussaint

Black Child Care, 1975

September 8

On this day in 1986, The Oprah Winfrey Show debuted nationwide. Oprah Winfrey made history by being the first African American woman to host a nationally syndicated television talk show, and is now considered "the most influential woman in America."

On this day in 1954, integration began in Washington, DC and Baltimore, MD public schools.  For more information, please click here.

On this day in 1838, Frederick Douglass escaped from slavery disguised as a sailor.

On this day in 1867, Robert T. Freeman (born to former slaves from North Carolina) was accepted into the Harvard University Dental School, where he graduated in 1869 as the the first African American dentist to receive a degree in the United States. He and George Lewis Ruffin (Harvard Law School), both  graduating in 1869, were the first African Americans to graduate from Harvard University.

Did you know that by Kindergarten, most children learn to recognize and name all upper and lower case letters, recognize some words from sight, and learn many one-to-one letter sound correspondences?  All this is made possible by reading to your children!

August 24

"The more you read,

the more things you will know. 

The more that you learn,

the more places you'll go."

-Dr. Seuss

August 23

"Awareness of our situation must come before inner changes, which in turn come before changes in society.  Nothing happens in the "real" world unless it first happens in the images in our heads."

 -Gloria Anzaldua, Tejana Chicana poet

August 21

On this day in 1831, Nat Turner began revolt in Southampton, VA.

In 1904, Count Basie, jazz pianist, and big band and orchestra leader, was born in Red Bank, NJ.

August 20  

On this day in 1619, the first Black slaves were brought by the Dutch to the colony of Jamestown.