1922 – Bert Williams – a Leading Comedian Dies At the turn of the century Bert Williams was one of America’s stop comedians. Comedian Eddie Cantor called him a comic “genius,” W.C. Fields, a comic genius himself, once described Williams as...

1841 – Blanche Kelso Bruce, the first Black to serve a full term in the United States Senate was born a slave in Prince Edward County, Virginia. In February 1874, Bruce was elected to the U. S. Senate, the second African American to serve in the upper house of Congress.  ...

   1943 – Porgy and Bess opened on Broadway with Anne Brown and Todd Duncan in starring roles. The musical was based on an English-language opera by the American composer George Gershwin, which was adapted from of DuBose Heyward’s 1925 novel of the same name. 1984...

   1940 – Hattie McDaniel wins an Oscar for Best Supporting actress in the movie “Gone With The Wind.” McDaniel portrayed “Mammy,” the house servant in the production based on the book by Margaret Mitchell. Hattie was the first African American to win...

   1844 – Members of a secret society called La Trinitaria declared the complete independence of the Dominican Republic from Haiti. The nation’s first Constitution, based upon that of the United States, was adopted on November 6, 1844. 1872 – Charlotte E. Ray...

1926 – Theodore “Georgia Deacon” Flowers  becomes first Black middle-weight boxing champion. In front of a crowd of 16,311 at Madison Square Garden, Flowers defeated champion Harry Greb by unanimous decision to take the belt.     1928 – Singer...