In 1951 Dr. Benjamin E. Mays, then President of Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, was, was already one of the most prominent African American educators in the United States. He influenced hundreds of young African Americans who came under his tutelage including undergraduate students at … Read More(1951) Dr. Benjamin E. Mays Addresses the NAACP National Convention
Kweisi Mfume, born Frizzel Gray in Baltimore, Maryland, represented that city in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1986 to 1996 and rose to become Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus. On February 15, 1996, he stepped down to become President of the National Association … Read More(1997) Kweisi Mfume, “A Shining and Powerful Dream”
On October 11, 1963, Malcolm X gave a speech at the University of California, Berkeley, in which he outlined the philosophy of black nationalism as promoted by the Nation of Islam and declared racial separatism as the best approach to the problems facing black America. … Read More(1963) Malcolm X, “Racial Separation”
On December 10, 1964, Dr. Martin Luther King became only the second African American (after Ralph Bunche) to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. His acceptance speech given in Oslo, Norway, appears below. Your Majesty, Your Royal Highness, Mr. President, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen: I accept … Read More(1964) Dr. Martin Luther King, “Receiving the Nobel Peace Prize”
In June 1981, Audre Lorde gave the keynote presentation at the National Women’s Studies Association Conference, Storrs, Connecticut. Her presentation appears below. Racism. The belief in the inherent superiority of one race over all others and thereby the right to dominance, manifest and implied. Women … Read More(1981) Audre Lorde, “The Uses of Anger: Women Responding to Racism”
In February, 1982, Audre Lorde delivered the address, “Learning from the 60s” as part of the celebration of the Malcolm X weekend at Harvard University. Her presentation appears below. MALCOLM X is a distinct shape in a very pivotal period of my life. I stand … Read More(1982) Audre Lorde, “Learning from the 60s”
On October 5, 1995, three months before her death, former Congresswoman Barbara Jordan received the Sylvanus Thayer Award named in honor of Sylvanus Thayer, Class of 1808, who was the thirty-third graduate of the Academy and who nine years later became its fifth superintendent. The … Read More(1995) Barbara Jordan’s Acceptance Speech for the Sylvanus Thayer Award from the United States Military Academy, West Point
On June 7, 1966, New York Senator Robert F. Kennedy became one of the first major American politicians to take a public stand against South African Apartheid when he delivered an address to the National Union of South African Students in New York City. His … Read More(1966) Robert F. Kennedy, “Day of Affirmation Address”
Harold Ford Jr. Image Ownership: Public Domain In 2000 at the National Democratic Convention in Los Angeles where Vice President Al Gore, Jr., won the Democratic Nomination for President, fellow Tennessean, Congressman Harold Ford of Memphis, gave the Keynote Address. That address appears below. Thank … Read More(2000) Harold Ford, “Keynote Address at the Democratic National Convention”
On November 27, 1963 just five days after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas, newly installed President Lyndon Baines Johnson addresses Congress for the first time. His address appears below. Mr. Speaker, Mr. President, Members of the House, Members of the Senate, … Read More(1963) Lyndon B. Johnson, “Address Before a Joint Session of Congress”
