Tag Archives: Today in History

Ketanji Brown Jackson was sworn in as the first black woman Supreme Court Justice in 2022. She became the first black woman to serve on the highest U.S. court.

Civil rights activist Stokely Carmichael was born in 1941. Stokely Carmichael was an influential civil rights activist and leader. In 1960, he attended Howard University where he developed a deeper passion for black power and activism. His activism continued well after he graduated from Howard in 1964. Towards the end of his life, Carmichael moved to Guinea to continue his activism. Stokely Carmichael died in 1998 at the age of 57.

Samuel Battle became the first black police officer in the New York Police Department in 1911.

Crystal Bird Fauset was born in 1893. Crystal Bird Fauset was the first black woman to ever be elected to a state legislature. Crystal Bird Fauset was elected to the Philadelphia House of Representatives in 1938.

Bernard Harris Jr. was born in 1956. Bernard Harris Jr. was the first African American to walk in space.

James Meredith was born in Mississippi in 1933. James Meredith was the first African American to attend the University of Mississippi.

Olympic athlete Wilma Rudolph was born in 1940. Wilma Rudolph was the first African American woman to earn three gold medals in track and field at a single Olympic game.

Famous author Octavia Butler was born in 1947. Octavia Butler is the author of Parable of the Sower and Kindred.

On June 21, 1964, Three civil rights leaders disappeared in Mississippi. Michael Schwerner, Andrew Goodman, and James Chaney were in Mississippi doing work for the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) before they went missing. Doing their time, they drew the attention of the local Ku Klux Klan. Their disappearance led the FBI to launch an investigation named MIBURN, standing for “Mississippi Burning.” Seven of the nine men responsible for the crime were convicted in 1967.

Harry Belafonte became the first African American to win an Emmy award in 1960.