Topics Related to African American History

Selma Burke, Renowned for FDR Portrait on the Dime

On December 31, 1900, renowned sculptor Selma Burke was born in Mooresville.

Henry Plummer Cheatham, Educator and Advocate for Equality

On December 27, 1857, Republican Congressman, educator, and conservative and diplomatic advocate for racial equality Henry Plummer Cheatham was born with slave status near Henderson.

Ella Baker and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee

On December 13, 1986, Ella Baker, civil rights leader and organizer of the Student

Desegregation of Hospitals at Issue in Greensboro, 1962

On December 5, 1962, a U.S. district court dismissed a suit against two Greensboro hospitals challenging “separate but equal” treatment in private, non-profit hospitals. The case was ultimately overturned on appeal.

North Carolina Approves the 13th Amendment

(Image: African American Heritage Commission Chair Harry Harrison, Historical Commission Chair Jerry Cashion, Secretary of Cultural Resources Linda Carlisle, and N.C.

Mel Tomlinson, Master of Ballet and Modern Dance

On November 27, 1981, Mel Tomlinson made his debut as the only African American member of the New York City Ballet.

Martin Luther King Jr.’s Rehearsal Speech in Rocky Mount

On November 27, 1962, Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered a speech in Rocky Mount. Before a crowd of nearly 2,000 in the gymnasium at Booker T.

Jim Crow-Era Fair for African Americans

On November 18, 1879, the first North Carolina Colored State Fair opened in Raleigh.

Wilmington Coup

On November 10, 1898, the year’s white supremacy campaign culminated with a violent political coup in Wilmington, marking the onset of the Jim Crow era of segregation in the state.

Floyd McKissick and Soul City

A 1970 U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development advertisement for Soul City.