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.

On June 3, 1963, civil rights activist Medgar Evers gave his final public speech at a mass meeting at New Jerusalem Baptist Church in Jackson, Mississippi. As the NAACP’s first field secretary in the state, Evers had been a tireless advocate against segregation, voter suppression, and racial violence. Just ten days later, he would be assassinated in his own driveway. His June 3 speech called out systemic racism in Mississippi, demanding federal action to protect Black citizens\’ civil rights. Despite threats on his life, Evers remained undeterred, declaring, “Freedom has never been free.” His work helped pave the way for the Civil Rights Act of 1964. His death shocked the nation and galvanized civil rights efforts across the country. Today, Evers is remembered as one of the movement’s bravest leaders, and June 3 stands as a haunting milestone in the timeline of his courageous fight for justice.

While the final ruling in Shelley v. Kraemer was on May 3, the enforcement and legal impact of the case reverberated into early June. On June 3, 1946, states began official responses to the decision, which ruled that racially restrictive housing covenants could not be enforced by courts. These covenants, often used to keep Black families out of white neighborhoods, had been legal mechanisms of segregation for decades. The Shelley family, a Black couple from Missouri, had purchased a home in a previously all-white area, prompting legal opposition. Their victory set a nationwide precedent. Though it did not outlaw private discrimination, it effectively eliminated judicial support for race-based zoning. June 3 marks the beginning of a new era in fair housing advocacy and is a critical legal moment in the broader civil rights movement’s march toward equality in American cities.

On June 3, 1977, Dennis Archer was elected president-elect of the American Bar Association (ABA), marking the first time an African American would lead the influential organization. Archer’s election represented a major step forward in the legal profession, which had long been dominated by white elites. A former Michigan Supreme Court Justice and later the mayor of Detroit, Archer used his ABA leadership to champion legal access for marginalized communities and to diversify the ranks of law firms and judgeships across the country. His tenure helped reshape the narrative around Black leadership in American jurisprudence. June 3 celebrates not just Archer’s victory, but the broader advancement of African Americans into leadership positions within institutions that shape the law, public policy, and civil rights nationwide.

On June 3, 1833, Mary Ann Shadd Cary was born in Wilmington, Delaware. She would go on to become the first Black woman publisher in North America and one of the first Black female lawyers in the United States. After the Fugitive Slave Act passed in 1850, Shadd Cary moved to Canada and founded The Provincial Freeman, an anti-slavery newspaper advocating for Black self-reliance and abolition. She later returned to the U.S., earning a law degree from Howard University at age 60 and becoming active in the women’s suffrage movement. Her life exemplifies cross-border Black activism and the intellectual leadership of Black women in the 19th century. June 3 commemorates her birth and reminds us of the importance of literacy, legal rights, and the pen as a weapon in the fight for freedom.

On June 3, 1956, civil rights pioneer Claudette Colvin had the final charges against her dropped, more than a year after she refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery bus—nine months before Rosa Parks\’ historic protest. At just 15 years old, Colvin had been arrested and charged with assault and violating segregation laws. Though she played a vital role in the lawsuit Browder v. Gayle, which ultimately led to the end of bus segregation in Montgomery, her contributions were largely overshadowed. On this date, the legal system quietly erased the final obstacle to her freedom, but not her courage. Today, June 3 serves as a moment to lift up Colvin’s legacy as one of the youngest and boldest figures in the civil rights movement—proof that age is no barrier to resistance.

On June 3, 1980, the French government formally banned the Senegalese film Ceddo, directed by Ousmane Sembène, one of Africa’s greatest filmmakers. The film criticized colonialism, forced religious conversion, and the manipulation of traditional African society. The ban was imposed under the pretext of a bureaucratic spelling error in the film\’s title, though the real motive was its political message. The censorship reflected France’s ongoing struggle to reckon with its colonial past and the power of African storytelling. Sembène later called the move a form of \”cultural assassination.\” The date is a stark reminder of how African voices were often suppressed even after formal independence. June 3 marks a turning point in the global recognition of African cinema as a tool for historical reclamation and resistance.

On June 3, 1870, Hiram Rhodes Revels concluded his historic service as the first African American U.S. Senator. Representing Mississippi during Reconstruction, Revels had stepped into a seat previously held by Jefferson Davis, the former president of the Confederacy. His tenure was brief—just over a year—but deeply symbolic. He advocated for racial reconciliation and equal rights, including Black education and integration in the armed forces. Though the Reconstruction era would soon face violent backlash, Revels’ presence in the Senate was a milestone of progress and possibility. June 3 serves as a reminder of early Black political leadership in the post-Civil War South—and how short-lived but powerful those gains were before the rise of Jim Crow laws.

On June 3, 1854, Anthony Burns, a formerly enslaved man who escaped to Boston, was ordered returned to slavery under the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. His courtroom trial drew massive public attention and protests. Federal troops were used to escort Burns back to a ship bound for Virginia, a display that cost the government over $40,000—an enormous sum at the time. The injustice of the event fueled abolitionist sentiments across the North, leading many moderates to embrace anti-slavery activism. Boston\’s Black community and white allies continued efforts to free him, and within a year, his freedom was purchased. Burns later became a minister and a symbol of the injustice of slavery. His case exposed the brutality of the Fugitive Slave Law and became a flashpoint in the growing national debate that would lead to the Civil War.

Sengbe Pieh, later known as Joseph Cinqué, was born around June 3, 1831, in what is now Sierra Leone. In 1839, he led a revolt aboard the Spanish slave ship La Amistad after being illegally kidnapped and sold into slavery. Cinqué and the other captives took control of the ship and attempted to sail back to Africa, but were captured off the U.S. coast. Their trial became a landmark case in international law and the fight against slavery. Defended by former U.S. President John Quincy Adams, the captives were ultimately declared free by the Supreme Court. Cinqué returned to Africa in 1842. His courageous leadership challenged global slavery and highlighted African resistance against European and American exploitation. His story remains a potent symbol of freedom and justice in the face of oppression.

On June 3, 1979, St. Vincent and the Grenadines officially became an independent nation after nearly two centuries of British colonial rule. This Caribbean country, with a majority population of African descent, had long been shaped by the transatlantic slave trade and plantation economy. The road to independence was part of a broader regional movement for self-determination in the post-colonial era. Upon achieving independence, Milton Cato became the country’s first Prime Minister. The nation joined the Commonwealth of Nations and the United Nations later that year. Independence allowed St. Vincent to pursue economic development, cultural preservation, and diplomatic relations on its own terms, while continuing to navigate challenges inherited from its colonial past. June 3 is now celebrated as a national holiday.

On June 3, 1964, Malawi, then known as Nyasaland, attained internal self-government from British colonial authorities. This milestone marked the beginning of the end of nearly 70 years of colonial rule. Under the leadership of Dr. Hastings Kamuzu Banda, the country’s transition toward sovereignty was part of a broader African liberation movement sweeping the continent. Though full independence would come a month later, this date marked the beginning of African-majority rule and the assertion of national identity. Dr. Banda would later become the first President of Malawi. This shift toward self-determination reflected a broader rejection of colonialism and racial subjugation in southern Africa. It paved the way for institutional development and Pan-African political alignment.

Arthur Wint was born on June 3, 1920, in Plowden, Jamaica. He would go on to become the first Jamaican to win an Olympic gold medal. Wint was a standout track athlete and also trained as a pilot during World War II. At the 1948 London Olympics, he won gold in the 400 meters and silver in the 800 meters, marking Jamaica’s arrival on the global sports stage. Wint later added a relay gold at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics. Beyond athletics, he became a medical doctor and Jamaican diplomat, earning the nickname “The Flying Doctor.” His achievements helped lay the foundation for Jamaica’s later dominance in sprinting and became a symbol of Black excellence on and off the field. His birthday, June 3, is remembered in Jamaica as the beginning of a national icon\’s legacy.

On June 3, 1989, during the bicentennial of the U.S. Congress, lawmakers formally recognized Crispus Attucks, the first person killed in the 1770 Boston Massacre and widely considered the first martyr of the American Revolution. Attucks, of African and Native American descent, symbolized both the complexity of racial identity in colonial America and the deep roots of Black sacrifice in the nation’s founding. The Congressional ceremony included the presentation of a commemorative medal to Attucks’ descendants, acknowledging the long-overdue recognition of his role. This event not only honored Attucks’ heroism but also highlighted the broader historical contributions of African Americans to U.S. independence. It was a rare moment of bipartisan historical reflection on Black patriotism.

Henry Sylvester-Williams, a Trinidadian lawyer and activist, died on June 3, 1911. He was a pioneering figure in the early Pan-African movement and convened the first Pan-African Conference in London in 1900. The conference brought together Black intellectuals from the U.S., Africa, and the Caribbean to discuss colonialism, racism, and global Black unity. Williams’s efforts laid the ideological foundation for future Pan-Africanists like W.E.B. Du Bois and Kwame Nkrumah. He also served as one of the first Black elected officials in the British Empire, winning a seat on the Marylebone Borough Council in London. His death marked the end of a critical early chapter in the global Black liberation movement. His vision of African unity and resistance to imperialism remains influential.

Born on June 3, 1950, Brinsley Samaroo became one of Trinidad and Tobago’s most respected historians and scholars. His work focused on the post-slavery society of the Caribbean, Indo-Afro relations, and political transformation in the colonial and post-colonial eras. Samaroo’s scholarship helped illuminate the intertwined histories of African and Indian descendants in Trinidad, fostering greater understanding of identity, nationalism, and class struggle. He served as a professor at the University of the West Indies and also played an active role in politics, emphasizing the importance of inclusive Caribbean identity. His academic contributions reshaped how Trinidadians understood their multiethnic legacy and provided an important voice in debates about race, religion, and post-colonial governance.

On June 3, 1969, Ghana’s exiled former president, Kwame Nkrumah, published Handbook of Revolutionary Warfare, a militant guide for African liberation movements. Written in Guinea, where Nkrumah was living after a 1966 coup, the book outlined strategies for continental unity, anti-colonial guerrilla warfare, and ideological revolution. It called for the establishment of the All-African People\’s Revolutionary Army and the creation of a socialist Pan-African federation. Though controversial, the handbook became a key ideological text for liberation groups across southern Africa and inspired leaders like Thomas Sankara and Samora Machel. Nkrumah’s vision extended beyond Ghana to the broader decolonization struggle across the continent. This publication represented his enduring influence on global Black liberation thought.

On June 3, 1979, a wave of student-led anti-apartheid protests erupted in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, led by Black students defying government-imposed Bantu Education policies. The protests, organized through underground student councils and church networks, opposed racially inferior education and police brutality following a series of detentions under the 1976 Terrorism Act. While the 1976 Soweto Uprising is widely known, these 1979 Port Elizabeth protests are largely unrecognized outside South Africa. The demonstrations drew harsh crackdowns from the apartheid regime, including mass arrests, school closures, and violent dispersals by police. Despite repression, the actions in Port Elizabeth galvanized broader resistance across Eastern Cape and laid the groundwork for growing student involvement in the United Democratic Front (UDF) in the early 1980s. This lesser-known event reflects how grassroots Black resistance persisted between the major flashpoints in South Africa’s liberation struggle, sustained by youth activism in smaller but pivotal cities.