Wesley A. Brown becomes first African American graduate of Annapolis Naval Academy.

On this day in 1942, Curtis Mayfield was born in Chicago, Illinois, where he quickly absorbed the music of that area, which consisted of the local blues, gospel and soul musicians. He was leading his first group, The Alfatones , before he was a teenager.

On this day in 1919, Liberty Life Insurance Company (Chicago), the first old-line legal reserve company organized by Blacks in the North, incorporated. U.S. Supreme Court (Irene Morgan v. Commonwealth of Virginia) banned segregation in interstate bus travel.

Born on June 3, 1906, in St. Louis, Missouri, Josephine Baker would rise from poverty to become one of the most dazzling performers of the 20th century and a courageous civil rights activist. After facing intense racism in the U.S., she moved to France in the 1920s, where she achieved international fame. During World War II, she worked with the French Resistance, using her celebrity status to smuggle messages and aid the Allied cause. Baker later returned to the U.S. during the civil rights era, refusing to perform for segregated audiences and speaking alongside Martin Luther King Jr. at the March on Washington in 1963. She adopted 12 children from different ethnic backgrounds, calling them her “Rainbow Tribe” to demonstrate racial harmony. June 3 is a moment to honor the birth of a global symbol of Black resilience, artistic brilliance, and unshakable defiance against injustice.

On June 3, 1904, Charles Richard Drew was born in Washington, D.C. A medical trailblazer, Drew revolutionized the field of blood plasma preservation and storage, saving countless lives during World War II. He directed the “Blood for Britain” program and later became the first director of the American Red Cross Blood Bank. Despite his groundbreaking work, Drew resigned from the Red Cross in protest when the U.S. military insisted on racially segregating blood donations. He went on to become a prominent surgeon and educator, mentoring generations of Black physicians at Howard University. Drew\’s innovations in transfusion science remain foundational to modern medicine. His life is a powerful reminder of how Black excellence has often advanced science, even under the shadow of systemic racism. June 3 marks the birth of a man whose contributions continue to impact medicine and ethics globally.

On this day in 1877, Roland Hayes, the first African American to give a recital in Boston’s Symphony Hall, was born.

ON this date in 1871, Miles Vandehurst Lynk, founder of the first African American medical journal and organizer of the National Medical Association, was born.

On this day in 1854, Anthony Burns, a fugitive slave, was arrested in Boston. His master refused an offer of $1200 made by Boston citizens for his freedom.

On this day in 1833, Fourth national Black convention met in Philadelphia with sixty-two delegates from eight states. Abraham D. Shadd of Pennsylvania was elected president.

On June 3, 1989, then-South African President F.W. de Klerk made a pivotal move by lifting the ban on media coverage of the African National Congress (ANC) and related opposition groups. This was one of the first clear signs that apartheid was beginning to crumble. Although Nelson Mandela was still imprisoned, the decision allowed ANC voices and ideas to be publicly aired for the first time in decades. The international community took this as a signal that democratic reforms might finally be on the horizon. The lifting of censorship helped shift public perception and laid the groundwork for Mandela’s release the following year and the first free elections in 1994. This milestone on June 3 represents a crack in the walls of apartheid and a turning point in the long struggle for Black South Africans’ right to representation and dignity.