When the U.S. Army was reorganized on July 28, 1866 for peacetime service after the American Civil War, six regiments were set aside for black enlisted men. These included four infantry regiments, numbered 38th through 41st. The 25th Infantry was created during a reduction in March 1869 by … Read More25th Infantry Regiment (1866-1947)
Peter Davis and Louis Armstrong, New Orleans, 1963 Image Courtesy of Robert Mikell Peter Davis is best known as the music teacher of Louis Armstrong. Much of his life story is found in interviews. The exact date of his birth is uncertain but he recalled … Read MorePeter Davis (1887?-1971)
Image Ownership: Public domain Irene McCoy Gaines was a civil rights activist and a community leader. Born October 25, 1892, in Ocala, Florida, to Charles and Mamie McCoy, she had one older sister who died while Gaines was a child. Her family moved to Chicago, … Read MoreIrene McCoy Gaines (1892-1964)
Theophilus Lewis, drama/ theater critic, journalist, and U.S. Postal Service employee, was born to Thomas and Anne Lewis on March 4, 1891, in Baltimore, Maryland. Lewis attended public schools in Baltimore but was very much self-educated. He joined the U.S. Army and fought in World … Read MoreTheophilus Lewis (1891-1974)
African American labor leader Willard S. Townsend was born on December 4, 1895, in Cincinnati, Ohio, to Willard and Cora Elizabeth Townsend. In 1938 he organized railway workers of several Chicago, Illinois stations to form the International Brotherhood of Redcaps and remained the union’s president … Read MoreWillard S. Townsend (1895-1957)
Image Ownership: Public domain Lamar Smith, voting rights activist and veteran, was a martyr in the fight for civil rights. Smith was born in March 1892 to Levi Smith and Harriet Humphrey in Lincoln County, Mississippi; however, there is little information concerning his early life. … Read MoreLamar Smith (1892-1955)
Soldiers with Black Resident of Washington, D.C. “Image Ownership: Public Domain” The race riot in Washington, D.C. was one of more than twenty that took place during the “Red Summer” of 1919. Lasting a total of only four days, this short-lived riot was more accurately … Read MoreWashington, D.C. Race Riot (1919)
"Image Ownership: Public Domain" Georgia Ann Hill Robinson became the first black female police officer to work for the Los Angeles (California) Police Department (LAPD)—and possibly the first in the country—in 1916. Months before 15 percent of the police force of the United States would … Read MoreGeorgia Ann Hill Robinson (1879–1961)
“Image Ownership: Public Domain” The race riot of Charleston, South Carolina in 1919 was a part of a series of race riots that year, known as the “Red Summer.” The migration of blacks out of the south, the end of World War I, the Bolshevik … Read MoreCharleston, South Carolina Race Riot (1919)
"Image Ownership: Public Domain" Alexander Louis Jackson II was born on March 1, 1891, in Englewood, New Jersey. He attended Phillips Andover Academy and was elected to be the commencement speaker for his class of 1910. Jackson graduated from Harvard University in 1914 with degrees … Read MoreA.L. Jackson (1891–1973)