1619 - 2019: Commemorating 400 Years of African American History
On This Day...
Throughout the year, we will highlight notable events in history and provide resources for more information.
Sources:
From Slavery to the White House: Black History 2019 Calendar. (2018). Sacramento, CA: African American Expressions.
A Journey into 365 Days of Black History. (2018). Takoma Park, MD: IOKTS Productions.
January 1, 1863
President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation
Online Resources
The Emancipation Proclamation exhibit at the National Archives
January 2, 1898
Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander, first African American to earn a PhD in economics, is born in Philadelphia, PA.
Online Resources
Sadie T. M. Alexander, 91, Dies; Lawyer and Civil Rights Advocate
January 4, 1787
Prince Hall, founder of first black Masonic lodge, and others petition Massachusetts legislature for funds to return to Africa, the first recorded effort by blacks to do so.
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The Black Presence in the Era of the American Revolution by Call Number: St. Johns River/eResources eBooksISBN: 0585083770Publication Date: 1989-01-01
Evangelism and Resistance in the Black Atlantic, 1760-1835 by Call Number: St. Johns River/eResources eBooksISBN: 9780820336336Publication Date: 2010-01-25
January 7, 1955
Marian Anderson becomes the first African American to perform with the New York Metropolitan Opera in 1955.
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The Voice That Challenged a Nation by Call Number: St. Johns River/Palatka Circulation -- ML3930 .A5 F73 2004ISBN: 9780618159765Publication Date: 2004-05-25In the mid-1930s, Marian Anderson was a famed vocalist who had been applauded by European royalty and welcomed at the White House. But, because of her race, she was denied the right to sing at Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C. This is the story of her resulting involvement in the civil rights movement of the time. "A voice like yours," celebrated conductor Arturo Toscanini told contralto Marian Anderson, "is heard once in a hundred years." This insightful account of the great African American vocalist considers her life and musical career in the context of the history of civil rights in this country. Drawing on Anderson's own writings and other contemporary accounts, Russell Freedman shows readers a singer pursuing her art despite the social constraints that limited the careers of black performers in the 1920s and 1930s. Though not a crusader or a spokesperson by nature, Marian Anderson came to stand for all black artists-and for all Americans of color-when, with the help of such prominent figures as Eleanor Roosevelt, she gave her landmark 1939 performance on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, which signaled the end of segregation in the arts. Carefully researched, expertly told, and profusely illustrated with contemporary photographs, here is a moving account of the life of a talented and determined artist who left her mark on musical and social history. Through her story, one of today's leading authors of nonfiction for young readers illuminates the social and political climate of the day and an important chapter in American history. Notes, bibliography, discography, index.
In the mid-1930s, Marian Anderson was a famed vocalist who had been applauded by European royalty and welcomed at the White House. But, because of her race, she was denied the right to sing at Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C. This is the story of her resulting involvement in the civil rights movement of the time. "A voice like yours," celebrated conductor Arturo Toscanini told contralto Marian Anderson, "is heard once in a hundred years."
January 8, 1922
Col. Charles Young, first African American to achieve that rank in the US Army, dies in Lagos, Nigeria.
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Black Officer in a Buffalo Soldier Regiment by Call Number: St. Johns River/eResources eBooksISBN: 0803213859Publication Date: 2010-02-01
Black Cadet in a White Bastion by Call Number: St. Johns River/eResources eBooksISBN: 9780803256415Publication Date: 2006-01-01
January 9, 1866
January 10, 1957
The Southern Christian Leadership Council, a prominent civil rights organization, is founded in 1957. The organization will be chaired by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. until his death in 1968.
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January 11, 1924
Blues harmonica player Slim Harpo is born in Lobdell, LA.
Online Resources
'Buzzin' The Blues' Revisits The Declarative Harmonica Style Of Slim Harpo
January 14, 1916
Author John Oliver Killens is born in Macon, GA.
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African American Life Series by Call Number: St. Johns River/eResources eBooksISBN: 9780814339107Publication Date: 2003-01-01
Black Southern Voices by Call Number: St. Johns River/St. Augustine Circulation -- PS 509 .N4 B53 1992ISBN: 9780452010963Publication Date: 1992-12-01Anthology of fifty-six African-American Southern writers whose works address the living contradictions of the South.
Modern Black American Fiction Writers by Call Number: St. Johns River/eResources eBooksISBN: 9780585224596Publication Date: 1995-01-01
January 15, 1908
Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority is founded at Howard University by Ethel Hedgeman Lyle.
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Disciplining Women by Call Number: St. Johns River/eResources eBooksISBN: 9781441674142Publication Date: 2010
Bound by a Mighty Vow by Call Number: St. Johns River/eResources eBooksISBN: 9780814784303Publication Date: 2004-06-21
Black Greek-Letter Organizations in the Twenty-First Century by Call Number: St. Johns River/Orange Park Circulation -- LJ34 .B58 2008ISBN: 9780813124919Publication Date: 2008-06-13
January 17, 1942
Muhammad Ali, heavyweight boxing champion, is born in Louisville, KY.
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The Complete Muhammad Ali by Call Number: St. Johns River/eResources eBooksISBN: 9781771860482Publication Date: 2015-07-01Including material and photographs not included in most of the 100 other books about the champion, Ishmael Reed's The Complete Muhammad Ali is more than just a biography-it is a fascinating portrait of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st. An honest, balanced portrayal of Ali, the book includes voices that have been omitted from other books. It charts Ali's evolution from Black Nationalism to a universalism, but does not discount the Nation of Islam and Black Nationalism's important influence on his intellectual development.
Muhammad Ali, the People's Champ by Call Number: St. Johns River/Palatka Circulation -- GV1132.A44 M85 1995ISBN: 9780252021886Publication Date: 1995-10-01Includes bibliographical references and index.
Summary: "Recognized by Sports Illustrated as still the best known athlete in the world, Muhammad Ali has played a fascinating role in American culture, with an influence that has reached far beyond sports." "As the first book by scholars on the significance of his life and times, Muhammad Ali, the People's Champ is a fresh appraisal of the place of a giant sports idol and the role he has played in American history. Ali both shaped and reflected the times in which he lived." "He touched the lives of people in a way unprecedented by almost any sports figure before or since. The contributors conclude that we can have no full understanding of our era without recognizing the enormous influence of "the people's champ.""--BOOK JACKET.
Blood Brothers by Call Number: St. Johns River/St. Augustine Circulation -- GV1132 .A44 R64 2016ISBN: 0465093221Publication Date: 2016-11-01An extraordinary narrative of love and deep affection, as well as deceit, betrayal, and violence, this story is a window into the public and private lives of two of our greatest national icons, and the tumultuous period in American history that they helped to shape.--Dust jacket.
January 18, 1856
Daniel Hale Williams, one of the first physicians to perform successful open-heart surgery and founder of Provident Hospital in Chicago, IL, is born in Hollidaysburg, PA.
Online Resources
Who Was Dr. Daniel Hale Williams?
January 21, 1993
Congressman Mike Espy of Mississippi is confirmed as secretary of agriculture.
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Mississippi Politics by Call Number: Shared eResourcesISBN: 9781604732665Publication Date: 2009-09-28
January 22, 1931
Singer Sam Cooke, best known for “You Send Me” and “Twistin’ the Night Away” is born in Clarksdale, MS.
January 24, 1985
Tom Bradley, four-term mayor of Los Angeles, receives the NAACP’s Spingarn Medal.
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January 25, 1966
Constance Baker Motley becomes first African American woman to be nominated for a federal judgeship.
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Constance Baker Motley : one woman's fight for civil rights and equal justice under law by Call Number: eBook Shared ResourcesISBN: 9780817391447Publication Date: 2017
Equal Justice under Law by Call Number: St. Johns River/St. Augustine Circulation -- KF373 .M64 A34 1999ISBN: 9780374148652Publication Date: 1998-06-01
January 28, 2017
Tennis player Serena Williams breaks the record for most grand slam titles in Open era.
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Game Changers by Call Number: St. Johns River/Palatka Children's Books -- GV994.A1 C55 2018ISBN: 9781481476843Publication Date: 2018-07-03
Venus and Serena - Serving from the Hip by Call Number: St. Johns River/Palatka Circulation -- GV994.A1 W55 2005ISBN: 0618576533Publication Date: 2005-03-22
January 30, 2006
Coretta Scott King Dies in Mexico.
Online Resources
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Desert Rose by Call Number: St. Johns River/Orange Park Circulation -- E185.97.K47 B34 2012ISBN: 9780817317652Publication Date: 2012-04-27
My Life, My Love, My Legacy by Call Number: St. Johns River/Palatka Circulation -- E185.97 .K47 A3 2017ISBN: 9781627795982Publication Date: 2017-01-17"The life story of Coretta Scott King--wife of Martin Luther King Jr., founder of the King Center for Nonviolent Social Change, and singular twentieth-century American civil rights activist--as told fully for the first time, toward the end of her life, to one of her closest friends Born in 1927 to daringly enterprising black parents in the Deep South, Coretta Scott had always felt called to a special purpose. One of the first black scholarship students recruited to Antioch College, a committed pacifist, and a civil rights activist, she was an avowed feminist--a graduate student determined to pursue her own career--when she met Martin Luther King Jr., a Baptist minister insistent that his wife stay home with the children. But in love and devoted to shared Christian beliefs and racial justice goals, she married King, and events promptly thrust her into a maelstrom of history throughout which she was a strategic partner, a standard bearer, a marcher, a negotiator, and a crucial fundraiser in support of world-changing achievements. As a widow and single mother of four, while butting heads with the all-male African American leadership of the times, she championed gay rights and AIDS awareness, founded the King Center for Nonviolent Social Change, lobbied for fifteen years to help pass a bill establishing the US national holiday in honor of her slain husband, and was a powerful international presence, serving as a UN ambassador and playing a key role in Nelson Mandela's election. Coretta's is a love story, a family saga, and the memoir of an independent-minded black woman in twentieth-century America, a brave leader who stood committed, proud, forgiving, nonviolent, and hopeful in the face of terrorism and violent hatred every single day of her life."--Provided by publisher.
January 31, 1919
Jackie Robinson, first African American to play in major league baseball, is born in Cairo, GA.
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Jackie Robinson by Call Number: St. Johns River/St. Augustine Circulation -- GV 865 .R6 R592 1996ISBN: 9780810937925Publication Date: 1996-09-01In the spring of 1947, Jackie Robinson played his first game with the Brooklyn Dodgers, breaking down baseball's decades-old color line and changing the face of the game forever. Now, in this intimate portrait, Robinson's widow, Rachel, tells her husband's story - and that of her life with him - from her unique perspective. But the tale of Jackie Robinson doesn't begin and end with baseball. It includes family, friends, and - after retirement - the business world and the civil rights movement. Confronted by challenges at every turn, together the Robinsons struggled to live to the fullest in every way. Rachel Robinson describes the trials the family faced as carefully as she relates her husband's thrilling triumphs on the diamond. With a compelling foreword by noted historian Roger Wilkins and epilogues by the Robinsons' two living children, Jackie Robinson: An Intimate Portrait presents a new and revealing picture of a man who is a hero to so many - black and white, old and young, male and female.
Jackie Robinson by Call Number: St. Johns River/St. Augustine Circulation -- GV865 .R6 S355 2016ISBN: 9781442245969Publication Date: 2016-05-12Jackie Robinson's story is not only a compelling drama of heroism, but also as a template of the African American freedom struggle. A towering athletic talent, Robinson's greater impact was on preparing the way for the civil rights reform wave following WWII. But Robinson's story has always been far more complex than the public perception has allowed. Brooklyn Dodgers executive Branch Rickey famously told the young Robinson that he was "looking for a ballplayer with guts enough not to fight back." J. Christopher Schutz reveals the real Robinson, as a more defiant, combative spirit than simply the "turn the other cheek" compliant "credit to his race." The triumph of Robinson's inclusion in the white Major Leagues (which presaged blacks' later inclusion in the broader society) also included the slow demise of black-owned commercial enterprise in the Negro Leagues (which likewise presaged the unrecoverable loss of other important black institutions after civil rights gains). Examining this key figure at the crossroads of baseball and civil rights histories, Schutz provides a cohesive exploration of the man and the times that made him great.
February 1, 1902
Prolific poet Langston Hughes is born in Joplin, MO.
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Langston Hughes by Call Number: St. Johns River/Orange Park Circulation -- PS3515.U274 Z6637 2006ISBN: 9780756509934Publication Date: 2005-09-01Read about the life of the famous African American poet.
Langston Hughes by Call Number: St. Johns River/Orange Park Circulation -- PS3515.U274 Z93 2008ISBN: 0761425918Publication Date: 2008-01-15"A biography of writer Langston Hughes that describes his era, his major works--especially his most famous and influential prose and poetry, his life, and and the legacy of his writing"--Provided by publisher.
The Life of Langston Hughes, 1914-1967 by Call Number: St. Johns River/eResources eBooksISBN: 0199874522Publication Date: 2001-01-01February 1, 2002 marks the 100th birthday of Langston Hughes. To commemorate the centennial of his birth, Arnold Rampersad has contributed new Afterwords to both volumes of his highly-praised biography of this most extraordinary and prolific American writer. The second volume in this masterful biography finds Hughes rooting himself in Harlem, receiving stimulation from his rich cultural surroundings. Here he rethought his view of art and radicalism, and cultivated relationships with younger, more militant writers such as Richard Wright, Ralph Ellison, James Baldwin, and Amiri Bakara. Rampersa
February 4, 1913
Rosa Parks, initiator of the Montgomery bus boycott is born in Tuskegee, AL.
Online Resources
National Women's History Museum
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Rosa Parks by Call Number: St. Johns River/Orange Park Circulation -- F334.M753 P373 2005ISBN: 9780143036005Publication Date: 2005-10-25From the Publisher: Fifty years after she made history by refusing to give up her seat on a bus, Rosa Parks at last gets the major biography she deserves. The eminent historian Douglas Brinkley follows this thoughtful and devout woman from her childhood in Jim Crow Alabama through her early involvement in the NAACP to her epochal moment of courage and her afterlife as a beloved (and resented) icon of the civil rights movement. Well researched and written with sympathy and keen insight, the result is a moving, revelatory portrait of an American heroine and her tumultuous times.
Back of the Bus by Call Number: St. Johns River/St. Augustine Children's Books -- PZ7 .R33213 Bac 2010ISBN: 9780399250910Publication Date: 2010-01-07From the back of the bus, an African American child watches the arrest of Rosa Parks.
February 8, 1925
Marcus Garvey enters federal prison in Atlanta, GA.
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The Wise Mind of Marcus Garvey by Call Number: St. Johns River/Palatka Circulation -- E185.97.G3 A25 2014ISBN: 9781631820243Publication Date: 2014-01-01Garvey was unique in advancing a Pan-African philosophy to inspire a global mass movement focusing on Africa known as Garveyism. Promoted by the UNIA as a movement of African Redemption, Garveyism would eventually inspire others, ranging from the Nation of Islam, to the Rastafari movement (which proclaims Garvey as a prophet). The intention of the movement was for those of African ancestry to "redeem" Africa and for the European colonial powers to leave it.
Selected Writings and Speeches of Marcus Garvey by Call Number: St. Johns River/Palatka Circulation -- E185.97.G3 A25 2004ISBN: 0486437876Publication Date: 2005-01-11
February 12, 1915
Biologist Ernest E. Just receives the NAACP’s Spingarn Medal for his pioneering research in fertilization and cell division.
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February 13, 1920
Andrew "Rube" Foster organizes first black baseball league, the Negro National League.
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Sports and Entertainment by Call Number: St. Johns River/eResources eBooksISBN: 9780815652823Publication Date: 2014-01-01
We Are the Ship by Call Number: St. Johns River/St. Augustine Children's Books -- PZ8.32 .N4 We 2008ISBN: 9780786808328Publication Date: 2008-01-08Using an "Everyman" player as his narrator, Kadir Nelson tells the story of Negro League baseball from its beginnings in the 1920s through the decline after Jackie Robinson crossed over to the majors in 1947. Illustrations from oil paintings by artist Kadir Nelson.
February 18, 1688
Quakers of Germantown, PA, sign first formal antislavery statement in American history.
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February 20, 1927
Sidney Poitier, first African American to win an Academy Award in a starring role, is born in Miami, FL.
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Sidney Poitier by Call Number: St. Johns River/eResources eBooksISBN: 9780807828434Publication Date: 2004-03-29Aram Goudsouzian analyzes the life and career of Hollywood legend Sidney Poitier, from his childhood in the Bahamas to his 2002 Oscar for lifetime achievement. Poitier is a gifted actor, a great American success story, an intriguing personality, and a political symbol; his life and career tell much about race relations since the 1960s.
The Measure of a Man by Call Number: St. Johns River/Palatka Circulation -- PN2287.P57 A3 2007xISBN: 9780061357923Publication Date: 2007-01-26
February 21, 1965 ​
Malcolm X was assassinated
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Malcolm X assassination: 50 years on, mystery still clouds details of the case
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Malcolm X by Call Number: All Campuses: BP223 .Z8 L57636 2011ISBN: 9780670022205Publication Date: 2011-04-04"This biography of Malcolm X draws on new research to trace his life from his troubled youth through his involvement in the Nation of Islam, his activism in the world of Black Nationalism, and his assassination. Years in the making, it is a definitive biography of the legendary black activist. Of the great figures in twentieth-century American history perhaps none is more complex and controversial than Malcolm X. Constantly rewriting his own story, he became a criminal, a minister, a leader, and an icon, all before being felled by assassins' bullets at age thirty-nine. Through his tireless work and countless speeches he empowered hundreds of thousands of black Americans to create better lives and stronger communities while establishing the template for the self-actualized, independent African American man. In death he became a broad symbol of both resistance and reconciliation for millions around the world. Filled with new information and shocking revelations that go beyond the Autobiography of Malcolm X, this work unfolds a story of race and class in America, from the rise of Marcus Garvey and the Ku Klux Klan to the struggles of the civil rights movement in the fifties and sixties. Reaching into Malcolm's troubled youth, it traces a path from his parents' activism through his own engagement with the Nation of Islam, charting his astronomical rise in the world of Black Nationalism and culminating in the never-before-told true story of his assassination. This work captures the story of one of the most singular forces for social change, a man who constantly strove, in the great American tradition, to remake himself anew." - publisher
February 25, 1870
Hiram Rhodes Revels became the first African American to be seated in the United States Senate.
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February 26, 1928
Singer Antoine “Fats” Domino is born in New Orleans, LA.
February 27, 1872
Charlotte E. Ray graduates from Howard University’s law school, becoming first female African American lawyer.
Online Resources
Women Lawyers and State Bar Admission
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Little Leaders: bold women in Black history by Call Number: St. Johns River/Palatka Children's Books -- E185.96 .H338 2017ISBN: 9780316475105Publication Date: 2017-12-05Based on her popular Instagram posts, debut author/illustrator Vashti Harrison shares the stories of 40 bold African American women who shaped history.
March 1, 1914
Ralph Waldo Ellison, the author of the award-winning novel Invisible Man, is born in Oklahoma City, OK.
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Invisible Man by Call Number: St. Johns River/eResources eBooksISBN: 0585137838Publication Date: 1999-01-01
Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man by Call Number: St. Johns River/eResources eBooksISBN: 9780585244716Publication Date: 1996-01-01Includes a brief biography of the author, thematic and structural analysis of the work, critical views, and an index of themes and ideas.
March 6, 1857
US Supreme Court rules against citizenship for African Americans in the Dred​ Scott decision.
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Dred Scott V. Sandford by Call Number: St. Johns River/Palatka Circulation -- KF4545.S5 F45 1997ISBN: 0312115946Publication Date: 1997-03-15"The only book on Dred Scott built around primary documents, this brief text examines the 1857 Supreme Court case - one of the most controversial and notorious judicial decisions in U.S. history - in which a slave unsuccessfully sued for his freedom. In addition to excerpts from each justice's opinion, contemporary editorials and newspaper articles, and pertinent excerpts from the Lincoln-Douglas debates, the book includes a comprehensive introduction that provides background information on the slavery controversy in antebellum America. Helpful editorial features include headnotes, maps, illustrations, a chronology, questions for consideration, a selected bibliography, and an index."--BOOK JACKET.
The Dred Scott Case by Call Number: St. Johns River/Palatka Circulation -- KF4545.S5 F43 2001ISBN: 0195145887Publication Date: 2001-05-24
Series on Law, Society, and Politics in the Midwest by Call Number: St. Johns River/eResources eBooksISBN: 0821443283Publication Date: 2010-01-01
March 11, 1959
Lorraine Hansberry’s play, A Raisin in the Sun, debuted on Broadway and was also the first Broadway play to be produced by an African American woman.
Online Resources
Lorraine Hansberry: Radiant, Radical — And More Than 'Raisin'
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A Raisin in the Sun by Call Number: St. Johns River/Palatka Circulation -- PS3515.A515 R3 1995ISBN: 9780679601722Publication Date: 1995-08-22A three-act play concerned with the tensions in a middle- class African American family living on Chicago's Southside in the 1950s.
March 14, 1933
Composer, musician, and producer Quincy Jones is born in Chicago, IL.
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The Complete Quincy Jones by Call Number: St. Johns River/Palatka Circulation -- ML419.J7 A3 2008ISBN: 9781933784670Publication Date: 2008-10-28
March 18, 1901
Renowned painter William H. Johnson is born in Florence, SC.
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March 20, 1852
Harriet Beecher Stowe’s anti-slavery novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, was published.
Online Resources
The Story of Josiah Henson, the Real Inspiration for Uncle Tom's Cabin
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Beyond Uncle Tom's Cabin by Call Number: St. Johns River/eResources eBooksISBN: 9781611470055Publication Date: 2011-04-01
Uncle Tom's Cabin by Call Number: St. Johns River/eResources eBooksISBN: 9780585363967Publication Date: 1998-01-01Labeled racist and condescending by some contemporary critics, this novel remains a shocking, controversial, and powerful work that exposes the attitudes of white 19th century society toward the institution of slavery.
Uncle Tom's Cabin charts the progress from slavery to freedom of fugitives who escape the chains of slavery, and of a martyr who transcends all earthly ties. This edition firmly locates the novel within the context of African-American writing, the issues of race, and the role of women. Its appendices include the most important contemporary African-American literary responses to the glorification of Uncle Tom's Christian resignation as well as excerpts from popular slave narratives, quoted by Stowe in her justification of the dramatization of slavery, Key to Uncle Tom's Cabin.
March 25, 1931
Ida B. Wells-Barnett, journalist, anti-lynching activist, and founding member of the NAACP, dies in Chicago, IL.
Online Resources
National Women's History Museum
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Ida B. Wells-Barnett and American Reform, 1880-1930 by Call Number: St. Johns River/eResources eBooksISBN: 0807875465Publication Date: 2003-01-14
Ida in Her Own Words by Call Number: St. Johns River/Palatka Circulation -- E185.97.W55 A3 2008ISBN: 9780980239812Publication Date: 2008-09-25
April 4, 1968
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in Memphis.
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April 5, 1937
Colin Powell, first African American to serve as chairman of the Joint Chiefs Staff and US Secretary of the State, is born in New York City.
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Soldier by Call Number: St. Johns River/St. Augustine Circulation -- E840 .P64 D49 2007ISBN: 9781400075645Publication Date: 2007-11-06Follows the life of the soldier-statesman from his Jamaican roots and youth in the Bronx, through his decorated career in the Army and as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to his role as Secretary of State and departure from the post.
April 8, 1990
Percy Lavon Julian and George Washington Carver are first black inventors admitted into the Inventors Hall of Fame.
Online Resources
National Inventors Hall of Fame
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George Washington Carver by Call Number: St. Johns River/Palatka Circulation -- S417.C3 A4 2017ISBN: 9780826221391Publication Date: 2017-11-21George Washington Carver (1864-1943) is best know for developing new uses for agricultural crops and teaching methods of soil improvement to southern farmers. This annotated selection of his letters and other writings reveals the forces that shaped his creative genius, including the influence of persistent racism. His letters also show us Carver's deep love for his fellow man, whether manifested in his efforts to treat polio victims in the 1930s or in his emotionally charged friendships that lasted a lifetime. This edition includes a new chapter on the oral history interviews Kremer conducted with people who knew Carver. Also published here are newly uncovered documents and several photographs of Carver with friends.--INSIDE FLAP.
George Washington Carver by Call Number: St. Johns River/St. Augustine Circulation -- S417 .C3 V45 2015ISBN: 9780807160749Publication Date: 2015-09-14Nearly every American can cite at least one of the accomplishments of George Washington Carver. The many tributes honoring his contributions to scientific advancement and black history include a national monument bearing his name, a U.S.-minted coin featuring his likeness, and induction into the National Inventors Hall of Fame. Born into slavery, Carver earned a master's degree at Iowa State Agricultural College and went on to become that university's first black faculty member. A keen painter who chose agricultural studies over art, he focused the majority of his research on peanuts and sweet potatoes. His scientific breakthroughs with the crops--both of which would replenish the cotton-leached soil of the South--helped spare multitudes of sharecroppers from poverty. Despite Carver's lifelong difficulties with systemic racial prejudice, when he died in 1943, millions of Americans mourned the passing of one of the nation's most honored and well-known scientists.
April 9, 1950
Juanita Hall becomes the first black actor to win a Tony Award, for her portrayal of Bloody Mary in South Pacific.
Online Resources
April 10, 1968
The Fair Housing Act of 1968 was passed in an effort to reduce racial discrimination in the housing market.
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Hate Thy Neighbor by Call Number: St. Johns River/eResources eBooksISBN: 9780814760222Publication Date: 2013-01-01Despite increasing racial tolerance and national diversity, neighborhood segregation remains a very real problem in cities across America. Scholars, government officials, and the general public have long attempted to understand why segregation persists despite efforts to combat it, traditionally focusing on the issue of "white flight," or the idea that white residents will move to other areas if their neighborhood becomes integrated. In this book the author expands upon these understandings by investigating a little-examined but surprisingly prevalent problem of "move-in violence", the anti-integration violence directed by white residents at minorities who move into their neighborhoods. Apprehensive about their new neighbors and worried about declining property values, these residents resort to extra-legal violence and intimidation tactics, often using vandalism and verbal harassment to combat what they view as a violation of their territory. This work examines the role violence plays in maintaining housing segregation, illustrating how intimidation and fear are employed to force minorities back into separate neighborhoods and prevent meaningful integration. Drawing on evidence that includes in-depth interviews with ordinary citizens and analysis of Fair Housing Act cases, the author provides an examination of how neighborhood racial violence is enabled today and how it harms not only the victims, but entire communities. By finally shedding light on this disturbing phenomenon, this work not only enhances our understanding of how prevalent segregation and this type of hate-crime remain, but also offers insightful analysis of a complex mix of remedies that can work to address this difficult problem. -- From publisher.
Encyclopedia of American Urban History by Call Number: St. Johns River/eResources eBooksISBN: 9780761928843Publication Date: 2006-12-07A two volume A to Z encyclopedia covering the rise of urban America in the 20th century. Interdisciplinary approach covering topics from economics, geography, anthropology, politics, and sociology. Consists of 450 entries from over 200 contributors.
April 18, 1977
Alex Haley, author of Roots, the groundbreaking novel turned into a television drama is awarded a Pulitzer Prize.
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Roots by Call Number: St. Johns River/Palatka Circulation -- E185.97.H24 A33 2000ISBN: 0517208601Publication Date: 2000-09-05
April 19, 1975
Percy Lavon Julian, a chemist who held over 130 patents and carried out research vital to the invention of the birth control pill, dies in Waukegan, IL.
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April 25, 1944
The United Negro College Fund was established to support black students.
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Envisioning Black Colleges by Call Number: St. Johns River/eResources eBooksISBN: 9781435691964Publication Date: 2007-01-01
April 29, 1899
Duke Ellington was born.
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Duke Ellington by Call Number: St. Johns River/eResources eBooksISBN: 1569762422Publication Date: 2009-02-01
Duke by Call Number: St. Johns River/St. Augustine Circulation -- ML410 .E44 T38 2013ISBN: 9781592407491Publication Date: 2013-10-17An account of the public and private lives of the eminent jazz artist covers his slave heritage, the musical talent that inspired some 1,700 compositions, and his relationships with numerous lovers.
May 1, 1950
Gwendolyn Brooks won the Pulitzer Prize for her book of poetry titled Annie Allen, becoming the first African American to win a Pulitzer Prize.
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Gwendolyn Brooks by Call Number: St. Johns River/Orange Park Circulation -- PS3503.R7244 Z76 1987ISBN: 9780813116051Publication Date: 1987-01-01
Gwendolyn Brooks by Call Number: St. Johns River/Orange Park Circulation -- PS3503.R7244 Z659 2010ISBN: 1587656329Publication Date: 2009-10-10"The essays in this volume pay tribute to Gwendolyn Brooks's legacy. They explore Brooks's sustained dialectic with American historical events such as World War II and the Civil Rights movement, the cultural complexities of racial segregation, major movements in black letters such as the Black Arts movement, modernist ideas promoting individuality and exploring the feelings associated with loneliness, rejection of the status quo in society, open critique of history and its chroniclers, and revisions of traditional literary forms, such as the epic and the sonnet, as a means to incorporate a neglected black experience and contribution into American history and letters."--About this volume.
Gwendolyn Brooks by Call Number: St. Johns River/eResources eBooksISBN: 9780813148588Publication Date: 2015-01-13Gwendolyn Brooks is one of the major American poets of this century and the first black woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for poetry (1950). Yet far less critical attention has focused on her work than on that of her peers. In this comprehensive biocritical study, Melhem -- herself a poet and critic -- traces the development of Brooks's poetry over four decades, from such early works as A Street in Bronzeville, Annie Allen, and The Bean Eaters, to the more recent In the Mecca, Riot, and To Disembark. In addition to analyzing the poetic devices used, Melhem examines the biographical, historical.
May 13, 1914
Heavyweight boxer Joe Louis is born in LaFayette, AL.
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Joe Louis by Call Number: St. Johns River/eResources eBooksISBN: 9780300168853Publication Date: 2010-10-26Joe Louis defended his heavyweight boxing title an astonishing 25 times and reigned as world champion for more than 11 years. He received more column inches of newspaper coverage in the 1930s than FDR did. His racially and politically charged victory over Max Schmeling in 1938 made Louis a national hero. But as important as his record was, what he meant to African Americans at a time when the boxing ring was the only venue where black and white could meet on equal terms, was the embodiment of their hopes for dignity and equality. Through meticulous research and first-hand interviews, acclaimed historian and biographer Roberts presents Louis, and his impact on sport and country, in a way never before accomplished. The author reveals an athlete whose image was carefully managed, and whose relationships with both the black and white communities--including his ties to mobsters--were far more complex than the simplistic accounts of heroism and victimization that have dominated previous biographies. -- Book Jacket
May 14, 1999
Dolores Kendrick is appointed poet laureate of the District of Columbia.
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May 15, 1946
Camilla Williams appears in the title role of Madama Butterfly with the New York City Opera, becoming the first black female singer to sign with a major US Opera company.
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May 17, 1954
The U.S. Supreme Court rendered its verdict on Brown v. the Board of Education ruling racial segregation in educational facilities was unconstitutional.
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Brown vs. Board of Education by Call Number: St. Johns River/Orange Park Circulation -- KF4155 .B76 1996ISBN: 0807735248Publication Date: 1996-01-01
Brown V. Board of Education by Call Number: St. Johns River/eResources eBooksISBN: 9780195127164Publication Date: 2001-03-01
Brown vs. Board of Education by Call Number: St. Johns River/St. Augustine Circulation -- KF228 .B76 F57 1994ISBN: 9780894904691Publication Date: 1994-01-01Presents background information, the case itself, & the far-reaching impact it has had. - A library of the most important United States Supreme Court cases. Examines the issues leading up to the case, the people involved in the case, and the present-day effects of the Court's decision. Each book contains chapter notes, a further reading list, and an index.
May 23, 1921
Shuffle Along, the first major play of the Harlem Renaissance opened.
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'Shuffle Along' and the Lost History of Black Performance in America
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Broadway Musicals by Call Number: St. Johns River/Palatka Circulation -- ML102.M88 B56 2004ISBN: 9781579123901Publication Date: 2004-10-01
May 28, 2014
Author Maya Angelou dies in Winston-Salem, NC.
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Maya Angelou by Call Number: Online ResourceISBN: 9781501307874Publication Date: 2015-11-19"A comprehensive biographical and critical reading of the works of American poet and memoirist Maya Angelou (1928-2014). Linda Wagner-Martin covers all six of Angelou's autobiographies, as well as her essay and poetry collections, while also exploring Angelou's life as an African American in the United States, her career as stage and film performer, her thoughtful participation in the Civil Rights actions of the 1960s, and her travels abroad in Egypt, Africa, and Europe. In her discussion of Angelou's methods of writing her stunning autobiography, which began with the 1970 publication of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Wagner-Martin writes about the influences of the Harlem Writers Group (led by James Baldwin, Paule Marshall, and John O. Killens) as well as Angelou's significant friendships with Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Jr., and other leaders from both international and African American United States cultures. Crucial concepts throughout include the role of oral traditions, of song and dance, of the spiritualism of art based on religious belief, of Angelou's voiced rhythms and her polished use of dialogue to convey more abstract "meaning." Wagner-Martin shows that, viewing herself as a global citizen, Angelou never lost her spirit of adventure and discovery as well as her ability to overcome."-- Provided by publisher.
Rainbow in the Cloud by Call Number: St. Johns River/St. Augustine Circulation -- PS 3551 .N464 A6 2014ISBN: 9780812996456Publication Date: 2014-10-28"Since the publication of her first autobiography, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou has been celebrated as one of America's most important writers. A National Book Award winner and Pulitzer Prize nominee, she lent her signature voice to countless works of literature, her words indelibly imprinted on the hearts of millions. Inspired by the woman who has inspired us all, Rainbow in the Cloud offers more than 200 of Dr. Angelou's most pivotal quotes, organized in themed sections (including America, Love, and Womanhood)--from sage advice and beautiful stanzas to humorous quips and pointed observations--drawn from each of her published works and from her celebrated (and much shared) social media posts. This collection also features special words of wisdom she shared often with her family, handpicked by her son, Guy Johnson"-- Provided by publisher.
May 29, 1851
Sojourner Truth delivered her speech, Ain’t I a Woman, at the Ohio Women’s Convention.
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June 10, 1854
James Augustine Healy, first African American Catholic Bishop, is ordained a priest in Notre Dame Cathedral.
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- Bishop Healy : beloved outcaste byCall Number: St. Johns River/Palatka Circulation -- BX4705.H37 F6 1969Publication Date: 1969
June 12, 1967
The U.S. Supreme Court rendered its verdict on Loving v. Virginia ruling the state’s laws prohibiting interracial marriage or cohabitation was unconstitutional.
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Race, Sex, and the Freedom to Marry by Call Number: St. Johns River/Orange Park Circulation -- KF224.L68 .W35 2014ISBN: 0700619992Publication Date: 2014-11-18"In 1958 Mildred Jeter and Richard Loving, two young lovers from Caroline County, Virginia, got married. Soon they were hauled out of their bedroom in the middle of the night and taken to jail. Their crime? Loving was white, Jeter was not, and in Virginia--as in twenty-three other states then--interracial marriage was illegal. Their experience reflected that of countless couples across America since colonial times. And in challenging the laws against their marriage, the Lovings closed the book on that very long chapter in the nation's history. Race, Sex, and the Freedom to Marry tells the story of this couple and the case that forever changed the law of race and marriage in America.
The story of the Lovings and the case they took to the Supreme Court involved a community, an extended family, and in particular five main characters--the couple, two young attorneys, and a crusty local judge who twice presided over their case--as well as such key dimensions of political and cultural life as race, gender, religion, law, identity, and family. In Race, Sex, and the Freedom to Marry, Peter Wallenstein brings these characters and their legal travails to life, and situates them within the wider context--even at the center--of American history. Along the way, he untangles the arbitrary distinctions that long sorted out Americans by racial identity--distinctions that changed over time, varied across space, and could extend the reach of criminal law into the most remote community. In light of the related legal arguments and historical development, moreover, Wallenstein compares interracial and same-sex marriage.
A fair amount is known about the saga of the Lovings and the historic court decision that permitted them to be married and remain free. And some of what is known, Wallenstein tells us, is actually true. A detailed, in-depth account of the case, as compelling for its legal and historical insights as for its human drama, this book at long last clarifies the events and the personalities that reconfigured race, marriage, and law in America"-- Provided by publisher.
"Only a few decades ago marriage between people of different races was banned in many states. This is the story of an interracial Virginia couple who left Virginia to get married and then returned to live there as a couple, where they were arrested for violating state laws against interracial cohabitation. The appeal of their conviction became the case in which the U.S. Supreme Court struck down laws against interracial marriage and cohabitation"-- Provided by publisher.
The Lovings by Call Number: St. Johns River/Palatka Circulation -- TR681.F28 L68 2017ISBN: 9781616895563Publication Date: 2017-02-14"On July 13, 1958, newlyweds Richard and Mildred Loving were rousted from their bed and arrested, accused of the crime of "miscegenation" under Virginia law. Mildred was of African American and Native American ancestry, Richard was white. Wanting only to live together as husband and wife, the couple eventually brought their case to the US Supreme Court. On June 12, 1967, the highest court ruled unanimously in their favor, a milestone in civil rights history. In the spring of 1965, as their case worked its way through the courts, Grey Villet, a celebrated photojournalist for Life magazine, was sent to document the Lovings' story. The Lovings: An Intimate Portrait presents the resulting photo-essay in its entirety for the first time. With a narrative by the former Life editor Barbara Villet, Grey's colleague and wife, the photos document the Lovings' love and commitment to family and community with an intensity and intimacy that is the signature of Grey Villet's award-winning work"-- Provided by publisher.
June 17, 1871
James Weldon Johnson, writer, poet, and first African American to pass the Florida Bar, is born in Jacksonville, FL.
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James Weldon Johnson by Call Number: St. Johns River/Orange Park Circulation -- PS3519.O2625 Z894 1988ISBN: 155546596XPublication Date: 1988-04-01A biography of the author, civil rights leader, and co-founder of the NAACP who blazed a trail for racial equality and human rights through his songs, poems, speeches, and other writings.
New Perspectives on James Weldon Johnson's the Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man by Call Number: Online ResourceISBN: 9780820350967Publication Date: 2017-07-15
June 21, 1859
Renowned painter Henry Ossawa Tanner is born in Pittsburg, PA.
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Henry Ossawa Tanner by Call Number: St. Johns River/Palatka Circulation -- ND237.T33 M3 1969ISBN: 9780226510057Publication Date: 1969-06-01
July 2, 1964
Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawing major forms of racial discrimination in public entities.
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The Civil Rights Act of 1964: A Long Struggle for Freedom
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The Civil Rights Act of 1964 by Call Number: St. Johns River/eResources eBooksISBN: 0585057508Publication Date: 1997-01-01
July 4, 1881
Tuskegee Institute is founded in Tuskegee, AL with Booker T. Washington as its first principal.
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History of Tuskegee University
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Tuskegee : a retrospect and prospect by Call Number: Online ResourceISBN: 9780585219783Publication Date: 1995
July 5, 1892
Andrew Beard is issued a patent for a rotary steam engine.
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July 8, 1943
July 9, 1936
Poet and author June Jordan is born in New York City.
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June Jordan by Call Number: St. Johns River/Orange Park Circulation -- PS3560.O73 Z55 2006ISBN: 9780275982416Publication Date: 2006-06-30
Directed by Desire by Call Number: St. Johns River/Palatka Circulation -- PS3560.O73 A17 2005ISBN: 9781556592287Publication Date: 2005-10-01
July 16, 1944
Dr. Charles R. Drew won the 29th NAACP Spingarn Medal for his work with blood plasma.
Online Resources
US National Library of Medicine
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One Blood by Call Number: St. Johns River/Palatka Circulation -- RD27.35.D74 L68 1996ISBN: 0807822507Publication Date: 1996-02-26"One Blood traces the life of the famous black scientist and surgeon Dr. Charles Drew and the well-known legend about his death. On April 1, 1950, Drew, then forty-five years old, died after an auto accident in rural North Carolina. Within hours, rumors spread: he had bled to death because a whites-only hospital refused to treat him. The terrible irony that helped to fuel the rumor was that Drew had done pioneering research on the use of blood plasma and had helped set up the first American Red Cross blood bank on the eve of World War II. So the story grew that the man who had saved so many lives through his scientific work with blood had been refused blood when he needed it - only because of his race." "Drew was in fact treated in the emergency room of the small, segregated Alamance General Hospital. Two white surgeons worked hard to save his life, but his wounds were so profound that he died after about an hour. Though the tale is not true and his colleagues and family tried repeatedly to stop it, the Charles Drew legend is repeated to this day in newspaper and magazine articles, on radio and television shows, in churches, in schools, and at social and political gatherings all over the country." "Spencie Love explores in depth Drew's life, character, and achievements in order to explain the origins of the legend. Both oral testimony and extensive written documentation reveal that in a generic sense, the legend is true: throughout the first half of the twentieth century, African Americans were turned away at hospital doors, either because the hospitals were whites-only or because the "black beds" were full." "Providing a haunting parallel to Drew's life, Love describes the emblematic fate of Maltheus R. Avery, a young black World War II veteran who died after an auto accident that occurred in the same year and the same county that Drew's did, after being refused treatment at nearby Duke Hospital."--BOOK JACKET.
July 22, 1939
Jane Bolin, the first African American woman to graduate from Yale Law School, became the first African American female judge.
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Daughter of the Empire State by Call Number: St. Johns River/eResources eBooksISBN: 9780252093616Publication Date: 2011-01-01
July 26, 1948
Harry S. Truman issued an executive order desegregating the military.
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President Truman issues Executive Order No. 9981 Desegregating the Military
July 29, 1909
Crime novelist Chester Himes is born in Jefferson City, MO.
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Chester Himes by Call Number: St. Johns River/Palatka Circulation -- PS3515.I713 Z84 2001ISBN: 0802713629Publication Date: 2000-11-01
Chester B. Himes by Call Number: St. Johns River/St. Augustine Circulation -- PS3515.I713 Z635 2017ISBN: 9780393063899Publication Date: 2017-07-25"Chester B. Himes has been called 'one of the towering figures of the black literary tradition' (Henry Louis Gates Jr.), 'the best writer of mayhem yarns since Raymond Chandler' (San Francisco Chronicle), and 'a quirky American genius' (Walter Mosley). He was the twentieth century's most prolific black writer, captured the spirit of his times expertly, and left a distinctive mark on American literature. Yet today he stands largely forgotten. In this definitive biography of Chester B. Himes (1909-1984), Lawrence P. Jackson uses exclusive interviews and unrestricted access to Himes's full archives to portray a controversial American writer whose novels unflinchingly confront sex, racism, and black identity. Himes brutally rendered racial politics in the best-selling novel If He Hollers Let Him Go, but he became famous for his Harlem detective series, including Cotton Comes to Harlem. A serious literary tastemaker in his day, Himes had friendships--sometimes uneasy--with such luminaries as Ralph Ellison, Carl Van Vechten, and Richard Wright. Jackson's scholarship and astute commentary illuminates Himes's improbable life--his middle-class origins, his eight years in prison, his painful odyssey as a black World War II-era artist, and his escape to Europe for success. More than ten years in the writing, Jackson's biography restores the legacy of a fascinating maverick caught between his aspirations for commercial success and his disturbing, vivid portraits of the United States."--Jacket flap.
August 6, 1965
Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965 outlawing literacy tests, poll taxes, and other practices used to keep African Americans from voting.
Online Resources
History of Federal Voting Rights Laws
A History of the Voting Rights Act
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Voting Rights Act by Call Number: St. Johns River/eResources eBooksISBN: 9781633219946Publication Date: 2014-01-01
August 7, 1904
Ralph Bunche, first African American Nobel Prize winner, is born in Detroit, MI.
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August 8, 1866
Matthew A. Henson, the first African American Arctic explorer, was born.
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August 9, 2003
August 16, 1998
Harlem Renaissance author Dorothy West dies in Boston, MA.
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Dorothy West's Paradise by Call Number: St. Johns River/Orange Park Circulation -- PS3545.E82794 Z86 2012ISBN: 9780813551678Publication Date: 2012-01-01
Literary Sisters by Call Number: St. Johns River/Orange Park Circulation -- PS153.N5 M58 2012ISBN: 9780813551463Publication Date: 2011-11-03"Reveals West's struggles for recognition outside the traditional literary establishment, and her collaborations with innovative African American women writers, artists, and performers who faced similar problems. With such "literary sisters" as Zora Neal Hurston and West's cousin, poet Helene Johnson, she created an emtotional support network that also aided in promoting, publishing, and performing their respective works. Integrating rare photos, letters, and archival materials, this book is not only a groundbreaking biography of an increasingly important author but also a vivid portrait of a pivotal moment for African American women in the arts"-- Provided by publisher.
August 19, 2017
Comedian and civil rights activist Dick Gregory dies in Washington, D.C.
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Dick Gregory, 84, Dies; Found Humor in the Civil Rights Struggle
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Nigger by Call Number: St. Johns River/St. Augustine Circulation -- PN 2287 .G68 A3 1968ISBN: 9780671735609Publication Date: 1990-11-15
August 21, 1831
Nat Turner led the only successful slave rebellion in U.S. history.
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Nat Turner by Call Number: St. Johns River/eResources eBooksISBN: 9781423784791Publication Date: 2003-01-01
August 22, 1989
Huey P. Newton, a co-founder of the Black Panther Party, dies in Oakland, CA.
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Black Panther Party by Call Number: St. Johns River/eResources eBooksISBN: 9780826343956Publication Date: 2010-01-01
August 28, 1963
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his I Have a Dream speech to more than 200,000 people in Washington, D.C.
Online Resources
The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute
Why It's Difficult to Find Full Video of King's Historic Speech
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The Speech by Call Number: St. Johns River/Orange Park Circulation -- E185.97.K5 Y64 2013ISBN: 1608463222Publication Date: 2013-09-10"Praise for Gary Younge's Stranger in a Strange Land: Encounters in the Disunited States: "Abroad in America, Gary Younge is an acutely skeptical observer." -Jonathan Raban "Gary Younge is an excellent journalist-a critical writer at a critical time."-Andrea Levy "One of the tiny handful of contemporary journalists left who is consistently worth reading. A voice for our times." -Stuart Hall Praise for No Place Like Home: A Black Briton's Journey Through the American South: "Younge's book is a blend of travelogue, historical research, and social commentary leavened with the sharp eyes and tongue of an outsider examining the American racial milieu." -Booklist Praise for Who Are We-And Should it Matter: "Penetrating and provocative." -The Guardian It was a sweltering eighty-seven degrees when Martin Luther King took the stage at the Lincoln Memorial in 1963. He was the final speaker after a long day. The crowd, which numbered in the tens of thousands, had begun to leave. King took a deep breath and threw back his shoulders. "I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. "Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered his powerful "I Have a Dream" speech on August 28, 1963. Fifty years later, The Speech endures as a defining moment in the Civil Rights movement. It continues to be heralded as a beacon in the ongoing struggle for racial equality. This gripping book unearths the fascinating chronicle behind The Speech and the revealing events surrounding the march on Washington. Gary Younge is an author, broadcaster, and award-winning columnist for the Guardian and the Nation. His books include Who are We--And Should it Matter In the 21st Century and No Place Like Home, shortlisted for the Guardian first book award."-- Provided by publisher.
King's Dream by Call Number: St. Johns River/eResources eBooksISBN: 9780300142440Publication Date: 2009-01-06In this new exploration of the "I Have a Dream" speech, Sundquist places it in the history of American debates about racial justice and demonstrates how the speech, an exultant blend of grand poetry and powerful elocution, perfectly expresses the story of African-American freedom.
August 30, 1983
Guion Bluford, Jr. became the first African American to go to space.
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Distinguished African Americans in Aviation and Space Science by Call Number: St. Johns River/Palatka Circulation -- TL539 .G83 2002ISBN: 9781573562461Publication Date: 2001-10-30A look at the lives and careers of 80 men and 20 women who defied poverty and prejudice to excel in the fields of aviation and space exploration.
September 3, 1838
Frederick Douglass escaped slavery disguised as a sailor.
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Frederick Douglass by Call Number: St. Johns River/eResources eBooksISBN: 9781556523496Publication Date: 1999-09-01"One of the greatest African American leaders and one of the most brilliant minds of his time, Frederick Douglass spoke and wrote with unsurpassed eloquence on almost all the major issues confronting the American people during his life - from the abolition of slavery to women's rights, from the Civil War to lynching, from American patriotism to black nationalism." "Between 1950 and 1975, Philip S. Foner collected the most important of Douglass's hundreds of speeches, letters, articles, and editorials into an impressive five-volume set, now long out of print. Abridged, adapted, and supplemented with several important texts that Foner did not include, Frederick Douglass: Selected Speeches and Writings presents the most significant, insightful, and elegant short works of Douglass's massive oeuvre."--Jacket.
Frederick Douglass by Call Number: St. Johns River/Palatka Circulation -- E449.D75 D55 2018ISBN: 9781469636184Publication Date: 2018-02-14"From his enslavement to freedom, Frederick Douglass was one of America's most extraordinary champions of liberty and equality. Throughout his long life, Douglass was also a man of profound religious conviction. In this concise and original biography, D. H. Dilbeck offers a provocative interpretation of Douglass's life through the lens of his faith. In an era when the role of religion in public life is as contentious as ever, Dilbeck provides essential new perspective on Douglass's place in American history. Douglass came to faith as a teenager among African American Methodists in Baltimore. For the rest of his life, he adhered to a distinctly prophetic Christianity. Imitating the ancient Hebrew prophets and Jesus Christ, Douglass boldly condemned evil and oppression, especially when committed by the powerful. Dilbeck shows how Douglass's prophetic Christianity provided purpose and unity to his wide-ranging work as an author, editor, orator, and reformer. As "America's Prophet," Douglass exposed his nation's moral failures and hypocrisies in the hopes of creating a more just society. He admonished his fellow Americans to truly abide by the political and religious ideals they professed to hold most dear. Two hundred years after his birth, Douglass's prophetic voice remains as timely as ever." -- Publisher's description
September 10, 1925
Roy James Brown, blues singer, songwriter, and musician who influenced Elvis Presley, James Brown, and Jackie Wilson, is born in New Orleans, LA.
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Cold Sweat by Call Number: St. Johns River/Palatka Circulation -- ML420.B818 B76 2014ISBN: 1883052858Publication Date: 2014-09-01"Being the child of a global superstar is never easy, but being the daughter of the "Hardest Working Man in Show Business"--that's a category unto itself. Like every little girl, Yamma Brown wanted her father's attention, but fame, drugs, jail, and the complicated women in James Brown's life set the stage for an uncommon childhood. She got caught in the same trap as her mother, doing things in her adult life and troubled marriage that, as a child, she'd promised herself she'd never do. The struggles she went through, both as a child and as an adult, make for a gripping read and, in the end, a profound examination of the nature of celebrity, violence, and survival. Though packed with celebrity appearances ranging from Michael Jackson to Al Sharpton, Cold Sweat ultimately focuses on an everyday issue faced by millions of women--domestic violence--and in this book Yamma faces it in an honest and powerfully moving way"-- Provided by publisher.
September 12, 1992
Mae Jemison became the first African American woman to travel in space.
Books and eBooks at the SJR State Library
Please note: eBooks are only accessible to currently registered SJR State students, faculty, and staff via MySJRstate
African American Women Scientists and Inventors by Call Number: St. Johns River/Palatka Circulation -- T39 .S985 2002ISBN: 111846639XPublication Date: 2012-06-05Sullivan once headed Detroit's program to infuse African American history into the public school curriculum. Here he profiles 25 black American woman who have made significant contributions to science and technology, explaining that many, many more are utterly unknown because first of legal bans on granting patents to slaves and later because of social constraints on women. His message to black school girls is that just because they have not heard of black women scientists does not mean that the profession is closed to them. This latest gem in the Black Stars Series brings African American women of science and invention to life. Countless African American women have made important contributions to science that impact the way we live, work, and think today. Too often their accomplishments have gone unrecorded. African American Women Scientists and Inventors introduces you to some of these outstanding women and their achievements.
Women in Science by Call Number: St. Johns River/Orange Park Circulation -- Q141 .I33 2016ISBN: 9781607749769Publication Date: 2016-07-26Women in Science highlights the contributions of fifty notable women to the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) from the ancient to the modern world. Full of striking, singular art, this fascinating collection also contains infographics about relevant topics such as lab equipment, rates of women currently working in STEM fields, and an illustrated scientific glossary. The trailblazing women profiled include well-known figures like primatologist Jane Goodall, as well as lesser-known pioneers such as Katherine Johnson, the African-American physicist and mathematician who calculated the trajectory of the 1969 Apollo 11 mission to the moon.
September 16, 1925
September 24, 2016
National Museum of African American History and Culture opens in Washington, DC.
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Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture
October 7, 1993
For her novel Beloved, Toni Morrison became the first African American to win the Nobel Prize in literature.
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Books and eBooks at the SJR State Library
Please note: eBooks are only accessible to currently registered SJR State students, faculty, and staff via MySJRstate
Beloved by Call Number: St. Johns River/St. Augustine Paperback -- Paperback rackISBN: 0451161394Publication Date: 1991-02-01
Toni Morrison by Call Number: St. Johns River/Orange Park Circulation -- PS3563.O8749 Z753 2010ISBN: 9780313378393Publication Date: 2009-12-21
Toni Morrison by Call Number: St. Johns River/Orange Park Circulation -- PS3563.O8749 Z89 2002ISBN: 9780791071137Publication Date: 2002-06-01Presents biographical information along with critical analysis of the themes, symbols, and ideas that appear in the author's works.
October 9, 1806
Mathematician and astronomer Benjamin Banneker dies in Baltimore County, MD.
Books and eBooks at the SJR State Library
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Benjamin Banneker by Call Number: St. Johns River/Palatka Circulation -- QB36.B22 C43 2002ISBN: 9780471387527Publication Date: 2002-01-01"A name revered in virtually every African American household, Benjamin Banneker is remembered as the black farmer who surveyed the land on which the nation's capitol was built and who wrote an explosive, much-publicized letter to Thomas Jefferson, accusing him and the other Founding Fathers of going back on their pledge to preserve the self-evident rights of all its people. But, as Charles Cerami shows in this biography, while those two accomplishments were indeed remarkable, they only hint at the true scope of Banneker's genius." "Benjamin Banneker was born in rural Maryland in 1731, the descendent of slaves. Early on, he demonstrated extraordinary mathematical and analytical abilities, along with a photographic memory. Between twelve-hour shifts on the family farm, young Banneker, without the benefit of formal schooling and with little more than a handful of borrowed texts as his guide, achieved excellence as a mathematician and astronomer, and honed an elegant writing style on par with the finest writers of his day. Later in life, his self-taught expertise as a surveyor led to his playing a pivotal role in planning Washington, D.C. And his Banneker's Almanac, first appearing in 1791 and continuing as a bestseller for years after, was celebrated for the accuracy of the celestial movements it provided navigators and its weather forecasts, as well as its humorous anecdotes, philosophical essays, and extraordinarily fine prose and poetry."--BOOK JACKET.
October 14, 1964
October 15, 1966
Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton founded the Blank Panther Party.
Online Resources
Mapping the Black Panther Party in Key Cities
Books and eBooks at the SJR State Library
Please note: eBooks are only accessible to currently registered SJR State students, faculty, and staff via MySJRstate
The Black Panthers by Call Number: St. Johns River/Palatka Circulation -- E185.615 .B54645 2016ISBN: 9781568585550Publication Date: 2016-09-13"October 2016 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the Black Panther Party. Photojournalist Bryan Shih, who has been interviewing and taking portraits of the surviving Panthers around the country for years, has partnered with Yohuru Williams, dean and history professor at Fairfield University, to deliver the definitive celebration of the Black Panthers. Part oral history, part scrapbook, this is a beautifully produced book of forty-five black-and-white portraits of the Panthers today, alongside interviews with the surviving Panthers, archival images, Black Panther Party pamphlets and speeches, as well as essays by contributors such as Peniel Joseph, Alondra Nelson, Rhonda Williams, and other high-profile scholars to provide background and context."--Provided by publisher.
Framing the Black Panthers : the spectacular rise of a Black power icon by Call Number: St. Johns River/eResources eBooksISBN: 0252099648Publication Date: 2017"The 1960s may be over, but the Black Panthers--the ultimate symbol of black power, radical inspiration, and the excesses of the decade--live on. Books on the Panthers continue to be written, hip-hop artists continue to draw inspiration from them, and so many films are made about the Panthers that there is now an annual Black Panther film festival. Cultural historian Jane Rhodes examines the extraordinary staying power of the Panthers in the American imagination by probing their relationship to the media. Rhodes argues that once the media and pop culture latched onto the small, militant group, the Panthers became adept at exploiting and manipulating this coverage--through pamphlets, buttons, posters, ubiquitous press appearances, and photo ops--pioneering a sophisticated version of mass media activism. Paradoxically, the news media participated in the government campaign to eradicate the Panthers while simultaneously elevating them to a celebrity status that remains long after their demise. This new edition will feature a new preface putting the Panthers relationship with the media in context with Black Lives Matter and recent activism against racial profiling and police brutality."--Provided by publisher.
October 24, 1935
Langston Hughes’ play, Mulatto, opened on Broadway.
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The Plays to 1942 by Call Number: St. Johns River/eResources eBooksISBN: 9780826213693Publication Date: 2002-03-01But someday somebody'll Stand up and talk about me & mdash; Black and beautiful & mdash; And sing about me. And put on plays about me! I reckon it'll be Me myself! Yes, it'll be me. Langston Hughes is least known for his theatrical endeavors, yet his attention to the theater was lifelong. His love of the stage began in childhood, and from the late 1920s on he was continually writing plays, for black community theater, for theater companies he established himself, and for the Broadway and off-Broadway stage. His early plays endeavor to provide "authentic" representations of African American life, both to counter and correct the stereotypical stage portrayals of African Americans in white theater and to provide suitable plays for black theater companies hungry for scripts that would entertain and challenge black audiences. Volume 5 of The Collected Works of Langston Hughes includes the plays Hughes wrote between 1930 and 1942, alone and in collaboration. Almost all the plays were performed during the same period; a few have never seen the stage, but are included because they indicate the range of Hughes's artistic and political concerns. Because very few of the plays in this volume have been previously published, they disclose a side of Langston Hughes's artistry that is virtually unknown. The collection greatly expands our understanding of the Hughes legacy, and makes us rethink the history of African American theater.
October 25, 1940
Benjamin O. Davis, Sr. became the first African American general in the U.S. Army.
Online Resources
November 1, 1945
The first issue of Ebony magazine was published.
Online Resources
November 4, 2008
Barack Obama became the first African American to be elected President of the United States.
Online Resources
Barak Obama Presidential Library
Books and eBooks at the SJR State Library
Please note: eBooks are only accessible to currently registered SJR State students, faculty, and staff via MySJRstate
Barack Obama by Call Number: St. Johns River/Palatka Circulation -- E901.1.O23 P755 2009ISBN: 9780313362361Publication Date: 2008-11-21Presents a series of quotations by and about President Barack Obama describing his thoughts on topics including his heritage and family, state and national politics, the issues of the day, community activism and service, and race and faith.
The Bridge by Call Number: St. Johns River/Palatka Circulation -- E908 .R46 2010ISBN: 9781400043606Publication Date: 2010-04-06Through extensive on-the-record interviews with friends and teachers, mentors and disparagers, family members and Obama himself, David Remnick demonstrates how a rootless, unaccomplished, and confused young man created himself first as a community organizer in Chicago, then as a Harvard Law School graduate, and finally as President of the United States "By looking at Obama's political rise through the prism of our racial history, Remnick gives us the conflicting agendas of black politicians: the dilemmas of ... heroes of the civil rights movement who are forced to reassess old loyalties and understand the priorties of a new eneration of African-American leaders. The Bridge revisits the American drama of race, from slavery to civil rights, and makes clear how Obama's quest is not just his own but is emblematic of a nation where destiny is defined by indiiduals keen to imagine a future that is different from the reality of their current lives." -- from publisher description.
Through extensive on-the-record interviews with friends and teachers, mentors and disparagers, family members and Obama himself, David Remnick demonstrates how a rootless, unaccomplished, and confused young man created himself first as a community organizer in Chicago, then as a Harvard Law School graduate, and finally as President of the United States. "By looking at Obama's political rise through the prism of our racial history, Remnick gives us the conflicting agendas of black politicians: the dilemmas of ... heroes of the civil rights movement who are forced to reassess old loyalties and understand the priorties of a new generation of African-American leaders. The Bridge revisits the American drama of race, from slavery to civil rights, and makes clear how Obama's quest is not just his own but is emblematic of a nation where destiny is defined by individuals keen to imagine a future that is different from the reality of their current lives.
Through extensive on-the-record interviews with friends and teachers, mentors and disparagers, family members and Obama himself, David Remnick demonstrates how a rootless, unaccomplished, and confused young man created himself first as a community organizer in Chicago, then as a Harvard Law School graduate, and finally as President of the United States. "By looking at Obama's political rise through the prism of our racial history, Remnick gives us the conflicting agendas of black politicians: the dilemmas of ... heroes of the civil rights movement who are forced to reassess old loyalties and understand the priorties of a new generation of African-American leaders. The Bridge revisits the American drama of race, from slavery to civil rights, and makes clear how Obama's quest is not just his own but is emblematic of a nation where destiny is defined by individuals keen to imagine a future that is different from the reality of their current lives." -- from publisher description.
Dreams from My Father by Call Number: St. Johns River/St. Augustine Circulation -- E185.97 .O23 A3 2004ISBN: 9781400082773Publication Date: 2004-08-10In this lyrical, unsentimental, and compelling memoir, the son of a black African father and a white American mother searches for a workable meaning to his life as a black American. It begins in New York, where Barack Obama learns that his father, a figure he knows more as a myth than as a man has been killed in a car accident. This sudden death inspires an emotional odyssey, first to a small town in Kansas, from which he retraces the migration of his mother's family to Hawaii, and then to Kenya, where he meets the African side of his family, confronts the bitter truth of his father's life, and at last reconciles his divided inheritance.
The Audacity of Hope by Call Number: St. Johns River/St. Augustine Circulation -- E901.1.O23 A3 2006ISBN: 9780307237699Publication Date: 2006-10-17Senator Obama calls for a different brand of politics--a politics for those weary of bitter partisanship and alienated by the "endless clash of armies" we see in Congress and on the campaign trail; a politics rooted in the faith, inclusiveness, and nobility of spirit at the heart of our democracy. He explores those forces--from the fear of losing, to the perpetual need to raise money, to the power of the media--that can stifle even the best-intentioned politician. He examines the growing economic insecurity of American families, the racial and religious tensions within the body politic, and the transnational threats--from terrorism to pandemic--that gather beyond our shores. And he grapples with the role that faith plays in a democracy. Only by returning to the principles that gave birth to our Constitution, he says, can Americans repair a broken political process, and restore to working order a government dangerously out of touch with millions of ordinary Americans.--From publisher description.
November 5, 1956
The Nat King Cole show debuted, the first televised variety show to be hosted by an African American.
Online Resources
November 15, 1866
Cathay Williams, while posing as a man, became the first African American woman to enlist in the U.S. Army.
Online Resources
Books and eBooks at the SJR State Library
Please note: eBooks are only accessible to currently registered SJR State students, faculty, and staff via MySJRstate
Buffalo Soldiers in the West by Call Number: St. Johns River/eResources eBooksISBN: 9781585446209Publication Date: 2007-08-15
November 18, 1900
Dr. Howard Thurman, theologian, educator, and civil rights leader, is born in Daytona Beach, FL.
Online Resources
November 21, 1934
Ella Fitzgerald made her singing debut at Harlem’s Apollo theatre.
Books and eBooks at the SJR State Library
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Ella Fitzgerald by Call Number: St. Johns River/eResources eBooksISBN: 9780203825594Publication Date: 2014-07-22"Stuart Nicholson's biography of Ella Fitzgerald is considered a classic in jazz literature. Drawing on original documents, interviews, and new information, Nicholson draws a complete picture of Fitzgerald's professional and personal life. Fitzgerald rose from being a pop singer with chart-novelty hits in the late '30s to become a bandleader and then one of the greatest interpreters of American popular song. Along with Billie Holiday, she virtually defined the female voice in jazz, and countless others followed in her wake and acknowledged her enormous influence. Continuing to perform until age and illness made it impossible for her to go on, she left behind an incredible body of work, most still available on CDs today." "Fitzgerald was guarded about the facts of her life; a shy and self-effacing woman, she let her voice speak for itself. She rarely gave interviews on personal subjects, and discussed her life in only the most general terms. Coming from humble circumstances, even her birth date was widely misreported until Nicholson unearthed her original birth certificate. Through painstaking research and personal interviews with Fitzgerald's family, friends, and fellow musicians, Stuart Nicholson offers the first full picture of this singer's life and times." "For any lover of jazz or a fan of American popular music, Ella Fitzgerald: The Complete Biography is must-reading."--Jacket.
November 27, 1942
Rock musician Jimi Hendrix is born in Seattle, WA.
Online Resources
Books and eBooks at the SJR State Library
Please note: eBooks are only accessible to currently registered SJR State students, faculty, and staff via MySJRstate
Hendrix on Hendrix by Call Number: St. Johns River/eResources eBooksISBN: 9781613743232Publication Date: 2012-10-01Though many books have chronicled Jimi Hendrix's brilliant but tragically brief musical career, this is the first to use his own words to paint a detailed portrait of the man behind the guitar. With selections carefully chosen by one of the world's leading Jimi Hendrix historians, this work includes the most important interviews from the peak of his career, 1966 to 1970. In this authoritative volume, Hendrix recalls for reporters his heartbreaking childhood, his concept of Electric Church Music (intended to wash people's souls and give them a new direction), and his wish to be remembered as not just another guitar player. While Hendrix never wrote a memoir, with new transcriptions from European papers, the African American press, counterculture newspapers, radio and TV interviews, and previously unpublished court transcripts, this book gives music fans the next best thing to a Hendrix autobiography.
December 11, 1871
P.B.S. Pinchback was sworn in as governor of Louisiana becoming the first African American governor in the U.S.
Online Resources
December 23, 1867
Madame C.J. Walker was born. She became the first African American millionaire.
Online Resources
December 26, 1944
Harriet Ida Pickens and Frances Wills became the first African American women to be admitted to the Women’s Navel Corps (WAVES).
Online Resources
Celebration • Education • Reflection
H.R.1242/Public Law 115-102, the 400 Years of African American History Commission Act, establishes 2019 as a year of "commemoration of the 400th anniversary of the arrival of Africans in the English colonies, at Point Comfort, Virginia, in 1619." The commemoration is intended “to recognize and highlight the resilience and contributions of African-Americans since 1619; to acknowledge the impact that slavery and laws that enforced racial discrimination had on the United States; and to educate the public about the arrival of Africans in the United States; and the contributions of African-Americans to the United States.” In recognition of this commemoration and with the Act serving as a guide, the SJR State Library has organized a year-long series of events that will provide educational experiences and resources to students and the community that celebrate the history and culture of African Americans.
Page maintained by Brittnee Fisher. Content will be added and maintained throughout 2019.
Maintenance will cease at the end of 2019 but this site will remain accessible.