This Day in History: The Tuskegee Airmen's first aerial combat
On this day in 1943, the Tuskegee Airmen of the 99th Fighter Squadron engage in aerial combat for the first time. “The Tuskegee Airmen...
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tara
- Mar 2
- 3 min
This Day in History: Claudette Colvin, predecessor to Rosa Parks
On this day in 1955, a 15-year-old refuses to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. Rosa Parks would become famous for the...
tara
- Feb 12
- 3 min
This Day in History: Olivia J. Hooker, Coast Guard heroine
On this day in 1915, an American heroine is born. Olivia J. Hooker would become the first black woman to serve in the United States Coast...
tara
- Dec 28, 2021
- 3 min
This Day in History: Mum Bett fights slavery in Massachusetts
On this day in 1829, Elizabeth Freeman passes away. The woman better known as “Mum Bett” was the first woman to be declared free from...
tara
- Oct 12, 2021
- 3 min
This Day in History: Doris Miller, an “improbable American hero”
On this day in 1919, an “improbable American hero” is born. Doris “Dorie” Miller was the grandson of slaves and the son of poor Texas...
tara
- Sep 6, 2021
- 3 min
This Day in History: Calvin Spann, Tuskegee Airman
On this day in 2015, Lt. Calvin J. Spann passes away at the age of 90. Decades earlier, he’d been one of the original members of the...
tara
- Sep 3, 2021
- 3 min
This Day in History: Frederick Douglass, slavery, & the Constitution
On this day in 1838, Frederick Douglass makes his escape from slavery. He’d been a slave for about two decades, but that life was finally...
tara
- Aug 28, 2021
- 3 min
This Day in History: “I have a dream!”
On this day in 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. famously delivers his “I have a dream” speech during the March on Washington for Jobs and...
tara
- Jul 16, 2021
- 3 min
This Day in History: One of the women who came before Rosa Parks
On this day in 1944, a black woman refuses to give up her seat to a white passenger on a Greyhound bus in Virginia. No, it wasn’t Rosa...
tara
- Jun 19, 2021
- 3 min
This Day in History: The origins of Juneteenth
On this day in 1865, slaves in Galveston, Texas, learn that they are free. The anniversary of today’s events has come to be known as...
tara
- Apr 14, 2021
- 3 min
This Day in History: Benjamin Franklin’s efforts to end slavery
On this day in 1775, America’s first abolitionist group is formed. Wait. What? Some of our Founders were trying to end slavery, even...
tara
- Jan 31, 2021
- 3 min
This Day in History: Jackie Robinson breaks the color barrier
On this day in 1919, a baby boy is born to poor sharecroppers in Georgia. Jack “Jackie” Roosevelt Robinson would go on to become the...
tara
- Jan 26, 2021
- 3 min
This Day in History: Bessie Coleman, First Licensed Black Aviator
On this day in 1892, Bessie Coleman is born to a poor sharecropping family in Atlanta, Texas. She would later become the first black...
tara
- Sep 9, 2020
- 3 min
This Day in History: George Washington’s changing views on slavery
On this day in 1786, George Washington writes a letter on a difficult topic. His views on slavery had been changing for many years....
tara
- Jun 12, 2020
- 3 min
This Day in History: Benjamin Davis, Sr., the first black man to become an Army general
At about this time in 1877, a hero is born. Or perhaps Benjamin O. Davis was actually born in May 1880? Davis potentially lied about his...
tara
- May 24, 2019
- 3 min
This Day in History: The shocking capture of Anthony Burns
On this day in 1854, a fugitive slave named Anthony Burns is arrested in Boston, in compliance with the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. The...
tara
- Dec 1, 2018
- 3 min
This Day in History: Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat on a bus
On this day in 1955, Rosa Parks is arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. Fortunately, the unjust...
tara
- Feb 3, 2017
- 3 min
This Day in History: The 15th Amendment is ratified
On this day in 1870, Iowa ratifies the Fifteenth Amendment, thus ensuring that men could vote regardless of race. Women were not included...