Monthly Archives: September 2024

On September 10, 1976, Mordecai Johnson, the first African American president of Howard University, died at the age of 86. Dr. Mordecai Johnson is known for being the first African American president of Howard University. He served as president for 34 years from 1926 – 1960. During his tenure, the university made many strides, including earning accreditation.

On September 9, 1915, Dr. Carter G. Woodson founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History. In 1915, Dr. Carter G. Woodson founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, an organization that looks to ‘create and disseminate knowledge about Black history.” Today, it’s called the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH). Among other notable contributions to black history and culture, Dr. Carter G. Woodson is the architect behind Black History Month.

On September 8, 1957, Althea Gibson became the first African American to win the U.S Open. In 1957 Althea Gibson defeated Louise Brough making history as the first African American to win the U.S Open. This was not Gibson’s only historical moment. On June 6, 1957 she became the first African American woman to win Wimbledon.

On September 7, 1954, classes officially began in Baltimore with school integration in effect. Baltimore public schools were starting the progress of integration on the heels of the Brown vs. Board of Education ruling, utilizing a ‘free choice enrollment system, which allows parents to choose a school. When the first day of classes arrived, protests erupted across Baltimore, occurring at different schools to disrupt and prevent school integration.

On September 6, 1826, John Brown Russwurm became the first African American to graduate from Bowdoin College. 

On September 5, 1960, Cassius Clay, who later became known as Muhammad Ali, won a gold medal at the Rome Olympics in 1960. At the time, 18 year-old Cassius Clay defeated Z. Pietrzykowski to reach the top of the light heavyweight class. This Olympic victory helped to launch his professional boxing career as Muhammad Ali. Muhammad Ali went on to become a legend in the boxing world, winning three world heavyweight boxing championships before retiring.

On September 4, 1957 Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus called on the Arkansas National Guard to prohibit black students from entering a formerly all white high school on the heels of the Brown vs. Board of Education ruling that found school segregation to be unconstitutional.

In accordance with the Brown vs. Board of Education ruling, Central High School in Little Rock was preparing to integrate for the upcoming school year. In 1957, a group of nine black students, who became known as the Little Rock Nine, enrolled at Central High School. On the first day of classes, Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus called on the Arkansas National Guard to prohibit black students from entering the formerly all white high school. As a result President Eisenhower called in federal troops to ensure the black students made it to school.

On September 3, 1895, influential lawyer and activist Charles Hamilton Houston was born in 1895. Charles Hamilton Houston received higher education from Harvard Law School and the University of Madrid. At Harvard Law School, he made history as the first Black editor of the Harvard Law Review. 

On September 2, 1956, riots erupted in Clinton, Tennessee over school integration. The Clinton protests occurred on the heels of the Brown vs. Board of Education ruling in 1954. The town of Clinton was transitioning to desegregation until a white man by the name of John Kasper arrived in Tennessee.

On September 1, 1971, the Pittsburgh Pirates fielded the first all-Black lineup in MLB history in 1971.