Little Known Black History Facts

BLACK HISTORY FACTS

There are some Black history facts everyone knows. We hear them in February and we celebrate them at their anniversaries. However, we also know there are many more testimonials to unveil. Below are just a few little-known (or rarely recognized) facts about Black men that occurred in September and October throughout history—facts that should make you proud.

SEPTEMBER 3, 1838

Frederick Douglass escapes from slavery disguised as a sailor. The abolitionist, journalist, author, and human rights advocate Frederick Douglass made his dramatic escape from slavery—traveling north by train and boat—from Baltimore, through Delaware, to Philadelphia. He was responsible for recruiting African Americans to fight for the Union, and his own two sons, Charles and Lewis, enlisted in the 54th Massachusetts Regiment. The Library of Congress

SEPTEMBER 9, 1915

The Association for the Study of Negro Life is established. Recognizing the dearth of information on the accomplishments of blacks in 1915, Dr. Carter G. Woodson founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, now called the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH). In 1926, Dr. Woodson initiated the celebration of Negro History Week. ASALH

SEPTEMBER 14, 1940 (NATIONAL ARCHIVES)

African Americans were allowed to join any branch of the US Military when President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Selective Service Act on September 14, 1940. Although allowing African Americans to join any branch of the military may have been a small part of the overall controversy of creating a military draft system, it would eventually have a major impact upon African Americans role and service in the military. Black History Today

SEPTEMBER 20, 1830

The First Negro Convention of Free Men agreed to boycott slave-produced goods. Sixteenyear-old Hezekiel Grice inspired a convention to discuss whether Black people should migrate to Canada. Forty Black people from nine states attended the National Negro Convention in Philadelphia, including AME Church founder Richard Allen. It formed the American Society of Free People of Color, and named Allen president, to improve conditions in the US, purchase lands, and establish a settlement in the Province of Canada. Africans in America on PBS

OCTOBER 2, 1967

Chief Justice Earl Warren swears in Thurgood Marshall, the first Black justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. As chief counsel for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in the 1940s and ’50s, Marshall was the architect and executor of the legal strategy that ended the era of official racial segregation. History.org

OCTOBER 17, 1888

The first bank organized and operated by African Americans was Capital Savings Bank in Washington, D.C. Just four years after it opened, its deposits had grown to over $300,000. Capital Savings Bank provided the capital essential to the growth of black businesses, capital that whiteowned banks were unwilling to lend. Capital Savings Bank helped many African-American businesses and property owners until it closed in 1902. Partners for Progress

OCTOBER 25, 1940

Benjamin O. Davis, Sr., becomes the first Black general. Davis entered the military service on July 13, 1898, during the War with Spain. He became brigadier general (temporary) on October 25, 1940. Center of Military History