Januário Garcia Jr. hailed from Minas Gerais, a Brazilian state renowned for its significant population of Afrodescendentes, or Black Brazilians. Born on November 16, 1943, into a modest family residing on the outskirts of Belo Horizonte, the state capital, Garcia embarked on a journey to … Read MoreJanuário Garcia Jr (1943-2021)
For more than 25 years the Innocence Project has been shedding light on systemic failures of the United States criminal justice system. The authors of the Bill of Rights in the 1780s and 1790s enumerated more than a dozen specific protections for criminal defendants including the right … Read MoreThe Innocence Project: A Short History Since 1983
The report, Race and Violence in Washington State, published in 1969, was undertaken by the Washington State Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Civil Disorder. The Commission was established by the Urban Affairs Council on April 25, 1968 in response to the widespread racial disorders, or riots, that … Read MoreRace and Violence in Washington State: The Report (1969)
The Southwestern Colored Cowboys Association (SCCA) was formed in the late 1940s by black cowboys to create a space for African Americans to compete in rodeo events. The SCCA was a minor league that provided aspiring black cowboys with a venue to compete and exhibit their skills … Read MoreSouthwestern Colored Cowboys Association (1940s-1950s)
Astrophysicist Arthur Bertram Cuthbert Walker was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on August 24, 1936, the only child of Cuthbert Walker, an attorney and native of Barbados, and the former Hilda Forte, a social worker. His mother fought to facilitate his early exposure to science at his … Read MoreArthur B. C. Walker, Jr. (1936-2001)
Gladys Maria Knight is an American Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter, actress, and humanitarian. She was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on May 28, 1944, to Sarah and Merald Knight Sr. and began singing in church as a child. At age seven, she gained minor fame after … Read MoreGladys Knight (1944- )
Coordinating Committee (SNCC) Freedom Singers were a musical group primarily active between 1962 and 1966, singing “freedom songs” in order to fundraise and organize on behalf of SNCC. The Freedom Singers emerged out of the Albany Movement of 1962. After witnessing the Albany Movement’s mass … Read MoreSNCC Freedom Singers (1962-1966)
Attorney and businessman Gary D. Gayton has spent most of his adult life as a civil rights advocate for those without a representative voice, including African Americans, Native Americans, and women. He was the country’s first black Assistant U.S. Attorney, appointed to the position by … Read MoreGary D. Gayton (1933- )
On July 8, 1876, the small town of Hamburg, South Carolina erupted in violence as the community’s African American militia clashed with whites from the surrounding area. Hamburg was a small all-black community across the river from Augusta, Georgia. Like many African American communities in … Read MoreThe Hamburg Massacre (1876)
The 1st Rhode Island Regiment was a Continental Army regiment during the American Revolutionary War. The 1st Rhode Island Regiment became known as the “Black Regiment” due to its allowing the recruitment of African Americans in 1778. This decision, designed to help fill dwindling ranks … Read More1st Rhode Island Regiment
