WILLIAM L. DAWSON
• August 26
1943—In a primarily token gesture Black Chicago Congressman William L. Dawson is recommended to be the Democratic Party’s vice presidential...
ISAAC HAYES
• AUGUST 19
1791—Benjamin Banneker writes a letter to Secretary of State (later president) Thomas Jefferson denouncing slavery. In his letter, Banneker declared, “I...
OPHELIA DEVORE MITCHELL
• August 12
1890—This is generally considered the day that the systematic and nominally legal exclusion of Blacks from the political life of...
1964—The bodies of three civil rights workers are found on a farm near Philadelphia, Miss. The three (one Black and two Whites) were participating in “Freedom...
• July 22
1861—President Abraham Lincoln submits the first draft of the Emancipation Proclamation to his cabinet. The order freeing slaves, however, was not actually...
• JULY 15
1779—Noted Black spy Pompey Lamb supplies the American revolutionary forces with information, which enables them to win the Battle of Stony Point—the...
by Rodney Coates, Miami University
The abolitionist and writer Frederick Douglass is known for many things, but perhaps among the most significant is his views...
