THE BANJO by HENRY OSSAWA TANNER
October 18
1917—“Dizzy” Gillespie, bandleader and pioneer of “B-bop Jazz,” is born John Birks Gillespie in Cheraw, S.C.
1945—Actor, singer, activist...
by Marlee Bunch, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
My grandmother’s name was Mrs. Zola Jackson.
As one of the handful of Black teachers in Mississippi during...
O.J. SIMPSON
September 27
1817—Hiram R. Revels is born free in Fayetteville, N.C. Revels becomes the first Black to serve in the United States Senate...
This Jan. 26, 1965 file photo shows Mildred Loving and her husband Richard P Loving. (AP Photo, File)
SEPTEMBER 20
1664—Maryland enacts the nation’s first...
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis speaks to reporters in Atlanta on Aug. 14, 2023. Joe Raedle/Getty Images
by Rodney Coates, Miami University
Some Republican lawmakers in...
by Marc Arsell Robinson, California State University, San Bernardino
When it comes to civil rights history, the focus is often on the marches, boycotts, sit-ins...
Carolyn Bryant Donham, left, reads newspaper accounts of the Emmett Till murder trial in 1955.
Bettmann Archive/Getty Images
by Davis W. Houck, Florida State University
Carolyn Bryant...
Women listen during the March on Washington on Aug. 28, 1963.
Bettmann Archive/Getty Images
by Vicki Crawford, Morehouse College
Historian Vicki Crawford was one of the first...
President Barack Obama presents NBA champion and human rights advocate Bill Russell the Medal of Freedom on Feb. 15, 2011.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
by Howard Manly,...
