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UNCOLORTHETRUTH.COM
Fun Facts
February 11th
1856-The First arguments begin in the Dread Scott v Sanford case.
1861- United States House of Representatives unanimously passes a resolution guaranteeing noninterference with
slavery in any state
1990 - Nelson Mandela, a political prisoner for 27 years, is freed from Victor Verster Prison outside Cape Town,
South Africa.
Last Week
1874—Arthur (also Arturo) Schomburg was born on this day in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Although many are not
familiar with him, he must be considered one of the fathers of Black history. He was a historian, writer and political
activist. He came to New York in 1891 and settled in the Harlem section of the city. Over time, he amassed a world
renowned collection of artwork, manuscripts, rare books, slave narratives and other remnants of Black history. The
collection eventually became the property of the New York City Public Library. The library’s Schomburg Center is
named in his honor. His investigative efforts led to him being dubbed the “Sherlock Holmes of Black History.”
1885—One of the foremost advocates of Black nationalism and separatism in American history, Martin R. Delany,
died on this day near Xenia, Ohio. Delaney was an extraordinary man. He was an anti-slavery activist; he fought in
the Civil War to end slavery; and he studied (and to a limited degree) practiced medicine. However, in 1850, white
students at Harvard University (where he had been accepted) forced his removal from the medical school because
they did not want to study alongside Delaney and two other Black students. Delaney eventually became frustrated
with American racism and became deeply involved in a “back-to-Africa” movement designed to establish a “Black
Israel” on the west coast of Africa.
1962—Jackie Robinson, the first African-American allowed to play Major League Baseball, is inducted into the
Baseball Hall of Fame.
1993—Thurgood Marshall, the first Black man to serve as a justice on the United States Supreme Court, died on this
day in 1993. Prior to becoming a justice, Marshall gained fame arguing civil rights cases before the Supreme Court
including the historic school desegregation case—Brown v. Board of Education. While on the Supreme Court, he
was widely viewed as a constitutional scholar who supported liberal and progressive causes. Marshall was born in
Baltimore, Md., in 1908. He was appointed to the Supreme Court by President Lyndon B. Johnson.
January 25
1851—Abolitionist Sojourner Truth delivered her famous “Ain’t I a Woman” speech at a women’s right convention in
Akron, Ohio. The speech included the line “If the first woman God ever made was strong enough to turn the world
upside down all alone, these women together ought to be able to turn it back and get it right side up again! And now
they is asking to do it; the men better let them.”
1890—One of the nation’s earliest Black protest organizations was founded on this day in Chicago, Ill. The
organizers named it the National Afro-American League and the president of Livingstone College, Joseph C. Price,
was elected president.
1966—Famed civil rights attorney Constance Baker Motley became the first African-American woman appointed to a
seat as a federal judge. The New Haven, Conn.-born Motley had a number of “firsts” to her record. She was the first
Black woman elected to the New York state Senate (1964); She was the first Black female Manhattan Borough
president (1965); She was the first Black woman to argue a case before the U.S. Supreme Court. President Lyndon
B. Johnson was the one who appointed her to the federal court in the Southern District of New York. Motley died in
September 2005.
1972—Brooklyn, New York Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm formally begins her campaign for president of the
United States. She became the first Black American to seriously attempt to gain the Democratic Party’s nomination
for president. She ran under the oft-repeated slogan “Un-bought and Un-bossed!”
1980—Black Entertainment Television—the first Black-owned company listed on the New York Stock Exchange—
began broadcasting from its headquarters in Washington, D.C. BET was founded by entrepreneur Bob Johnson. It is
now owned by media giant, Viacom.
January 26
1863—The War Department authorized Massachusetts to recruit Black soldiers to fight in the Civil War. From this
recruitment, the 54th Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteers was formed. Among the Blacks recruited to fight in the
unit were two sons of famed abolitionist Frederick Douglass. The regiment would go on to gain international fame on
July 18, 1863 when it spearheaded an assault on the Confederate-held Fort Wagner near Charleston, S.C.
1893—Black America’s first female pilot of distinction, Elizabeth “Bessie” Coleman, was born on this day in a small
town known as Atlanta, Tex. Coleman was not only the first African-American female to become an airline pilot; she
was also the first Black American woman to obtain to an international pilot’s license. But discrimination in the United
States forced her to travel to France in order to earn the license. From her base in Chicago, Ill., Coleman earned a
living as a stunt pilot flying in various air shows. “Queen Bess,” as she was known, died in an airplane accident on
April 30, 1926 in Jacksonville, Fla. She was 34.
1948—President Harry S. Truman issues Executive Order 9981 ending segregation in all the U.S. armed forces.
Prior to the executive order, Blacks were forced to serve in separate units.
1958—Grammy award-winning singer Anita Baker was born on this day in Toledo, Ohio. She was raised in Detroit,
Mich.
January 27
1953—Ralph Ellison receives the prestigious National Book Award for his highly acclaimed nove, “Invisible Man.” The
novel addresses many of the social, as well as intellectual issues facing Blacks during the early part of the 20th
century. The book explores issues ranging from the compromising policies of Black leader Booker T. Washington to
Black Nationalism to Marxism. The novel was originally titled “Battle Royal.”
1961—World renowned opera singer Leontyne Price makes her debut at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York.
The Laurel, Miss.-born Price was best known for her soprano roles in Verdi operas, especially “Aida.” For nearly 40
years, she remained one of America’s best known and most widely recorded opera singers. Her full name was Mary
Violet Leontyne Price.
1972—Gospel music legend Mahalia Jackson died on this day in Evergreen Park, Ill. Jackson is generally considered
the best gospel singer of all time. She grew up in the “Black Pearl” section of the Carrollton neighborhood in New
Orleans, La. She recorded around 30 albums including a dozen million-sellers.
January 28
1938—Crystal Byrd Fauset became the first Black woman elected to a state legislature. She won a seat in the
Pennsylvania House of Representatives.
1944—Matthew Henson receives a joint medal from Congress as co-discoverer of the North Pole. Henson was
honored as “co-discoverer” even though it was generally recognized by this time that Henson had actually reached
the North Pole before the expedition’s white leader Robert Peary. The reaching of the North Pole is officially listed as
having occurred on April 6, 1909.
1970—Tennis great Arthur Ashe, the first Black male to win the singles championship at Wimbledon, was denied
entry into then white-ruled South Africa to compete on the U.S. team in the South African Open. Ashe was denied
entry because of his stated opposition to South Africa’s system of Black suppression known as apartheid.
1989—After 62 years, the Colgate-Palmolive Co. finally bowed to pressure and ceased the selling of so-called
“Darkie” toothpaste. The toothpaste was named “Darkie” because it featured a Black Sambo-like figure on the tube.
It had been sold exclusively in Asia but many American Blacks found the name and picture offensive.
January 29
1837—Alexander Pushkin, a Black man generally recognized as the “Father of Russian Literature” died on this day
in Moscow. Pushkin is considered the greatest Russian poet and the founder of modern Russian literature. He was
part of Russian nobility but his great-grandfather was Abram Gannibal—a man from northern Ethiopia.
1913—Blacks in several major American cities celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation.
There were celebrations in Jackson, Miss.; New Orleans, La.; Nashville, Tenn.; New York, N.Y. and Philadelphia, Pa.
When President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation, it actually freed very few slaves. Regardless, Blacks
generally considered the signing highly symbolic.
1954—Billionaire and television talk-show host Oprah Winfrey was born on this day in Kosciusko, Miss.
1997—Louis E. Martin, “the Godfather of Black Politics,” died on this day in Orange, Calif. The Georgia-born
newspaper publisher became a statesman who helped revolutionize Black politics in America. He campaigned for
Blacks to hold elected political offices, judgeships and presidential cabinet positions. He was 84.
January 30
1797—Sojourner Truth was born into slavery on this day in Swartekill, N.Y. However, she would grow up to become
one of the nation’s most powerful anti-slavery and women’s rights advocates. She was one of 13 children and her
given name had been Isabella Baumfree. She changed her name to Sojourner Truth after seeing a vision telling her
to struggle against slavery and all forms of wrong.
1797—The first Black interstate organization was established. Black Boston Freemasons led by Prince Hall
established Black Masonic lodges in Philadelphia and Providence, R.I.
1910—Prolific Black inventor Granville T. Woods dies. Thomas Edison is generally considered America’s greatest
inventor. Woods became known as the “Black Edison” because of his many f inventions. His devices improved
telephone communications and advanced the electric stoplight. He also had more than a dozen inventions for
improving electric railway cars and many others for controlling the flow of electricity. Woods died in Columbus, Ohio,
at the age of 57.
1927—The Harlem Globetrotters, the clown princes of basketball, were formed on this day in Chicago, Ill.