Black - African American History Facts

Richard Allen, AME Church Bishop and abolitionist, was born on this date in 1760.

Frederick Augustus Douglass, orator, activist, and abolitionist, was born a slave in Tuckahoe, MD, on this date in 1817. Douglass was commemorated on a U.S. postage stamp issued on his birthday 150 years later.

Morehouse College was founded in Atlanta, GA, as Augusta Institute on this date in 1867.

Blanche Kelso Bruce became the first black person to preside over the Senate when he was called to the chair on this date in 1879. Bruce presided in the absence of Vice President William A. Wheeler.

Mammie Smith became the first black woman to make a record on this date in 1920. Smith recorded "You Can't Keep a Good Man Down" and "This Thing Called Love."

Moneta Sleet, Jr., Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer, was born on this date in 1926. Sleet was awarded the "Pulitzer Prize" in 1969 for a photograph taken of Mrs. Coretta Scott King and daughter, Bernice, at Dr. King's funeral.

At a meeting that convened in New Orleans, LA, on this date in 1957, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) was formed with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as its president.