John “Jack” Albert Holmes, Jr. (also known as “Daddy Jack Holmes”) was Virginia’s first Black disc jockey. He was born to John Albert Holmes, Sr., and Mary Holmes on July 1, 1912, in Merchantville, New Jersey. He graduated from Camden High School in Camden, New … Read MoreJohn Albert Holmes, Jr. (1912-1989)
Valerie Foushee is a politician, a member of the Democratic Party, serving as the US Representative for North Carolina’s 4th congressional district since January 2023. She was born Valerie Jean Paige in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, on May 7, 1956. Although her parents were just teenagers … Read MoreValerie Foushee (1956- )
Alexander Louis Jackson II, historian, journalist, athlete, and one of five founders of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), was born on March 1, 1891, in Englewood, New Jersey, to Alexander Louis Jackson and Evelyn Martha Lewis Jackson. They, … Read MoreAlexander Louis Jackson, II (1891-1973)
Opal (Flake) Lee is a retired teacher and activist who is considered the “grandmother of Juneteenth.” Flake was born on October 7, 1926, in Marshall, Texas, to Otis Flake and Mattie Broadus. When Lee was a child, her family home burned down in a fire, … Read MoreOpal Lee (1926- )
The St. Augustine Movement was a series of civil rights protests that occurred in St. Augustine, Florida between 1963 and 1964. They were led by local branches of the NAACP Youth Council and Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). The Movement influenced passage of the 1964 … Read MoreThe St. Augustine Movement (1963-1964)
The Biloxi Wade-In civil rights protests were conducted by local African Americans on the beaches of Biloxi, Mississippi between 1959 and 1963. Physician Gilbert R. Mason Sr. led the demonstrations to desegregate beaches on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. The Biloxi Wade-Ins was the first major … Read MoreBiloxi Wade-Ins (1959-1963)
The Detroit Walk To Freedom was a mass march during the Civil Rights Movement that took place on June 23, 1963, in Detroit, Michigan. It drew an estimated 125,000 participants and spectators, which made it the single largest civil rights demonstration in the nation’s history … Read MoreDetroit Walk To Freedom (1963)
World-renowned painter Beauford Delaney was born on December 30, 1901, in Knoxville, Tennessee, to Samuel Delaney, a barber and a Methodist minister, and Delia Johnson Delaney, a seamstress born of slave parents. They had ten children. Two of the sons were painters, including Joseph Delaney. … Read MoreBeauford Delaney (1901-1979)
Pierre G. Deslondes (last name sometimes spelled Deslonde) was an African American sugar planter and wealthy free man of color who served as Secretary of State of Louisiana during Reconstruction. He was the son of famed slave rebellion leader George Deslondes and Eloise Belly and … Read MorePierre George Deslondes (1829-1885)
In 1879 the Kansas State Legislature passed a law permitting first class cities in Kansas (cities with a population of 15,000 or more) to create racially segregated schools. The Topeka Board of Education quickly followed by segregating elementary schools in the city. In 1890 Lowman … Read MoreWilliam Reynolds v. Board of Education of Topeka Kansas (1903)
