Articles By The B.
The Dates Black Americans Remember
These major events have often been overlooked in American history but have shaped the growth and development of the United States.
1619- The first slaves arrived in Jamestown, Virgina.
1750- Crispus Attucks, escaped slave, fought and died in the Boston Massacre during the American Revolution.
1839- The revolt aboard the slave ship Amistad led by their African leader named Cinque. In time they were returned to Sierra Leone.
1857- The Dred Scott decision by the U.S. Supreme Court made anti-slavery laws unconstitutional.
1863- The Emancipation Proclamation was issued by President Abraham Lincoln.
1909- The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was founded.
1955- The Montgomery, Alabama bus boycott that lasted 382 days started with the arrest of Rosa Parks and led to the emergence of Martin Luther King Jr.
1963- The March on Washington was planned by civil rights groups to pprotest discrimination.
1966- Maulana Karanga created Kwanzaa as an African-American holiday.
1968- The bloody civil rights protest on Edmund Pettus bridge in Selma, Alabama.
2008- Barak Obama was elected U.S. President.
2020- Kamala Harris was named U.S. Vice-President under President Joseph Biden.
Black Greeks
The Fraternities and Sororities
of the
National Pan-Hellenic Council, Inc.
By Barbara A Barron
The National Pan-Hellenic Council was formed at Howard University in 1930 to unite historically black fraternities and sororities in thought and action. They had been established at leading institutions for its undergraduate students ---six before the United States entered World War I in 1917. Often the intent was to enrich their time on campus.
There are nine NPHC affiliates that identify today as the Divine Nine. They are listed in the order of their incorporation:
1. Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity
1906
Cornell University
2. Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority
1908
Howard University
3. Kappa Alpha PSi Fraternity
1911
Indiana University
4. Omega Psi Fraternity
Howard University
5. Delta Sigma Theta Sorority
1913
Howard University
6. Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity
1914
Howard University
7. Zeta Phi Beta Sorority
1920
Howard University
8. Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority
1922
Butler University
10. Iota Phi Theta Fraternity
1963
Morgan State College
The NPHC motto is"In Unity There is Stregth." It is common for the affiliates to combine their expertise to benefit their communites when there is a common objective.
Each has notable members; In the 2022 spotlight are United States Vice-President Kamala Harris--Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority and United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Marcia L. Fudge--Delta Sigma Theta Sorority.
HBCU
Historically Black Colleges and Universities
There are HBCUs in the North and South, District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands. To have that distinction the institutions must have been established before 1964 to educate African-Americans.
Some have been in existence since the Civil War. Fisk Universtiy in Nashville Tennessee was founded by the American Missionary Association in 1866. Mary McLeod Bethune started Bethune-Cookman Collegein Daytona Beach with "faith and a half dollar" in 1904. The Catholic Church built Xavier University in New Orleans in 1925. Many HBCU's received financial support from the U.S. Freedman's Bureau and also philanthropists. HBCU's include Bluefield State University (W. Virginia), Bowie State University (Maryland), Central State University (Ohio), Southern University (Louisiana), St. Augustine University (N.Carolina).
HBCU Notables:
Chadwick Boseman, Actor
Howard University- Washington, D.C.
George Washingto Carver, Agriculture Scientist
Tuskegee Institiute- Tuskegee, Alabama
W.E.B. Dubois, NAACP Founder, Civil Rights Leader
Fisk University-Nashville, Tennessee
Marian Wright Edelman, Children's Defense Fund Founder (1975)
Spelman College- Atlanta, Georgia
Althea Gibson, Wimbledon Tenis Champ (1957)
Florida A&M University- Tallahassee, Florida
Kamala Harris, United States Vice-President
Howard University-Washington, D.C.
Martin Luther King, Civil Rights Leader
Morehouse College- Atlanta, Georgia
Thurgood Marshall, NAACP Legal Counsel, Supreme Court Justice
Lincoln University- Lincoln, Pennsylvania
Leontyne Price, Operatic Singer/Metropolitan Opera Debut 1961
Central State University- Wilberforce, Ohio
Lionel Ritchie Composer/Entertainer
Tuskeegee University- Tuskeegee, Alabama
Wilma Rudolph, Gold Medal Track and Field Olympian (1960)
Tennessee State University- Nashville, Tennessee
Michael Strayhan, NFL Football/Good Morning America Broadcaster
Texas Southern University- Houston, Texas
LeRoy Walker, U.S. Olympic Commitee President (1992)
Benedict College- Columbia, South Carolina
Lois Barron White, First Black National and State of Tennessee PTA President
Fisk University- Nashville, Tennessee
Doug Williams, Washington Redskins Quarterback/Super Bowl Champ
Grambling University- Grambling, Louisiana
