One of the last of the major riots of the “Red Summer” of 1919, the so-called race riot in Elaine, Arkansas was in fact a racial massacre. Though exact numbers are unknown, it is estimated that over 200 African Americans were killed, along with five whites, during the white … Read MoreElaine, Arkansas Riot (1919)
Mississippi attorney and jurist Reuben V. Anderson had a series of “firsts” in his career. On January 16, 1985, he was sworn as the first African American Supreme Court Justice in the state of Mississippi, a position he held until his retirement from the bench in 1991. Anderson was … Read MoreReuben V. Anderson (1943- )
Major General Marcelite J. Harris of the U.S. Air Force was born on January 16, 1943 in Houston, Texas to Cecil O’Neal Jordan and Marcelite Terrill Jordan, Harris grew up in Houston and graduated from Kashmere High School in 1960 before enrolling at Spelman College where she earned a bachelors in … Read MoreMarcelite J. Harris (1943- )
Mound Bayou Library, 1910 Image Ownership: Public domain Constructed in 1910 with a grant from Andrew Carnegie’s library development program, the Carnegie Library of Mound Bayou, Mississippi was the first free public library intended for African Americans in the state of Mississippi and one of the first African … Read MoreCarnegie Library, Mound Bayou, Mississippi (1910-1935)
Woman Carried Away by Police in Dixmoor Race Riot Image Ownership: Public domain The Chicago Race Riot of 1964 was actually centered in Dixmoor, Illinois, a suburb southwest of the city. By 1960 Dixmoor had less than 4,000 residents. Of that population over 50 percent of its residents … Read MoreChicago Riots (1964)
Image Ownership: Public domain The 13th Street (St.) Colored Branch was a segregated public library established by the city of Meridian, Mississippi, in 1912 and opened in March 1913. It was one of the first free public libraries for African Americans in the state of … Read MoreThe 13th Street Colored Branch Library, Meridian, Mississippi (1913-1974)
Flooded Greenville, Mississippi, April, 1927 Image Ownership: Public domain The Mississippi River “Great Flood of 1927” inundated large areas in Mississippi, Arkansas, and Louisiana. However, it was in Mississippi where the embankments overflowed, drowning hundreds, perhaps a thousand people, and became one of the largest … Read MoreThe Mississippi River Great Flood of 1927
Image Ownership: Public domain At a time in when educated, skilled, and ambitious African Americans were systematically excluded from even middle management positions in large white-controlled businesses, for decades Charles H. Dodge remained one of the extremely rare persons in the nation to occupy a … Read MoreCharles H. Dodge (1868-1942)
Philip Gibbs and James Earl Green Killed at Jackson State College, May 15, 1970 Image Ownership: Public domain The Jackson State Killings took place at Jackson State College (now Jackson State University) on May 15, 1970, in Jackson, Mississippi. Around midnight on May 14, city … Read MoreThe Jackson State Killings, 1970
Margaret Morgan Lawrence in 2015 at Age 101 Image Ownership: Public domain Margaret Lawrence, the first African American psychoanalyst and the first pediatric psychiatrist in the United States, is author of Young Inner City Families: Development of Ego Strength under Stress (New York, Behavioral Publications, … Read MoreMargaret Cornelia Morgan Lawrence (1914- )