The Cassey House, Philadelphia Image Courtesy of Janine Black The Cassey House, 243 Delancey Street, formerly 63 Union Street, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was owned by the Cassey family for 84 years and was home to generations of Casseys from 1845 to 1929. The Casseys were … Read MoreThe Cassey House (1845-1929)
Amy Matilda Williams Cassey was born in New York City on August 14, 1808, to Sarah and Rev. Peter H. Williams Jr., a leading Episcopalian minister. Raised in New York City, Williams was a member of an elite family. The Williams family, Rev. Peter Williams … Read MoreAmy Matilda Williams Cassey (1808-1856)
Born into slavery in Henderson, North Carolina, Henry Cheatham was the child of an enslaved domestic worker about who little is known. An adolescent after the American Civil War, Cheatham benefited from country’s short lived commitment to provide educational opportunities to all children. He attended … Read MoreHenry Plummer Cheatham (1857-1935)
A politically motivated attack by whites against the city’s leading African American citizens, the Wilmington Race Riot of 1898 documents the lengths to which white Democrats went to regain political domination of the South after Reconstruction. The violence began on Thursday, November 10 in the … Read MoreWilmington Race Riot of 1898
James Charles Evers, known as Charles, was born on September 11, 1922 in Decatur, Mississippi to parents Jesse Wright and James Evers. Growing up in Mississippi during the era of Jim Crow, Evers witnessed the effects of racial discrimination and prejudice firsthand. At the age … Read MoreJames Charles Evers (1922-2020)
The Pittsburgh Courier was established in 1907 by Edwin Harleston, an aspiring writer and security guard at the H.J. Heinz food packing plant. The Courier achieved national prominence after attorney Robert Lee Vann joined the newspaper in 1910. Vann’s original position at the Courier was … Read MorePittsburgh Courier (1907- )
The Women’s Political Council (WPC) of Montgomery, Alabama was founded in 1946 by scholar and Alabama State College professor Mary Fair Burks. The Council was a political organization meant to fight the institutionalized racism of Montgomery, Alabama, and an organization that provided leadership opportunities for … Read MoreWomen’s Political Council of Montgomery
Rodney King, a Los Angeles taxicab driver, became the catalyst for the second major urban uprising in the city in the 20th Century. On March 3, 1991 King was the victim of a brutal police beating that occurred in the San Fernando Valley of Los … Read MoreRodney King (1965-2012)
Junius G. Groves, a successful, self-educated farmer, landowner, and entrepreneur, became one of the most prosperous African American men in the early twentieth century. He was born enslaved on April 12, 1859 in Green County, Kentucky. His parents were Martin Groves and Mary Anderson Groves. … Read MoreJunius George Groves (1859-1925)
The Chicago Defender was founded in 1905 by Robert Sengstacke Abbott. Abbott published the first issue, a run of 300 copies, on May 6, 1905. The Defender began as a four-page weekly handbill filled with local news and reproductions of clippings from other newspapers. Abbott … Read MoreChicago Defender (1905- )
