This Day in African American History
In celebration of Black History Month, the U.S. Consulate General has partnered with the National Mirror to showcase a daily note entitled This Day in Black History. The note will commemorate prominent black figures and recount historic events in African American History that have contributed to American progress. The theme of this year’s national black history month as announced by the Association for the Study of African American Life and History is At the Crossroads of Freedom and Equality: the Emancipation Proclamation and the March on Washington. Read below to learn what historic event happened today in African American history.
February 1: On this day in 1902—Prominent African American Poet, Langston Hughes was Born!
February 2: On this day in 1914— African American Biologist Ernest Just Received NAACP Spingarn Medal!
February 3: On this day in 1870—Amendment XV Secured Voting Rights for African Americans!
February 4: On this day in 1913—Civil Rights Activist Rosa Parks was Born!
February 5: On this day in 1884—African American Inventor Patented the Mechanical Egg Beater!
February 6: On this day in 1820—Peabody Fund Established to Promote African Americans Education!
February 7: On this day in 1945—Irwin C. Mollison is confirmed as First, Black Federal Judge!
February 8: On this day in 1865—Dr. Martin Robinson Delany Becomes First Black Major in U.S. Army!
February 9: On this day in 1952—African American Author Ralph Ellison’s Novel, Invisible Man, Wins the National Book Award!
February10: On this day in 1966 - Andrew Brimmer Becomes First African American Federal Reserve Board Member!
February 11: On this day in 1977 - Clifford Alexander, Jr. Becomes First Black Secretary of The Army!
February 12: On this day in 1909— National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is Formed!
February 13: On this day in 1970 - Joseph Searles Becomes First Black Member of the New York Stock Exchange!
February 14: On this day in 1867 - Historically Black College Morehouse College is Founded!
February 15: On this day in 1968— Henry Lewis Becomes the First Black American to Lead a Symphony Orchestra!
February 16: On this day in 1951— New York City Council Passes Bill Prohibiting Racial Discrimination in Public Housing Developments
February 17: On this day in 1870— Congress Passes Resolution Readmitting the State of Mississippi, Contingent upon Their Reversal of anti-black State Legislation.
February 18: On this day in 1688— Germantown Quakers Hold First Formal Protest Against Slavery in English America
February 19: On this day in 1919—WEB DuBois Organizes First Pan-African Congress
February 20: On this day in 1895— Prominent Abolitionist and Journalist Frederick Douglass Dies!
February 21: On this day in 1965 - Civil Rights Activist Malcolm X is Assassinated!
February 22: On this day in 1979—Frank E. Peterson Jr. Becomes First Black General in the Marine Corps!
This Day in African American History
February 24: On this day in 1811—Bishop Daniel A. Payne, Reformer and Educator of the African Methodist Church is Born!
February 25: On this day in 1870— First Black U.S. Senator, Hiram R. Revels Takes Oath of Office!
February 26: On this day in 1926—Carter G. Woodson Declares Negro History Week, Becomes Black History Month!
February 27: On this day in 1872—First Black Woman Lawyer, Charlotte Ray Graduates from Howard University!
February 28: On this day in 1784—First Black American Poet, Phillis Wheatley Dies
Cheers!!
