On this day, African American explorer Matthew Henson became one of the first people to reach the North Pole, arriving nearly 45 minutes ahead of Admiral Robert Peary and the rest of the expedition. Henson, known for his extraordinary navigational skills and deep knowledge of Arctic survival, played a pivotal role in the success of the journey. His contributions were largely overlooked at the time due to racism, but he is now recognized as a trailblazing explorer and hero in American history.

Billy Dee Williams, iconic African American actor, was born in New York City. He rose to fame with roles in films such as Mahogany and gained global recognition as Lando Calrissian in the Star Wars sequels The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Williams’ suave screen presence helped break barriers for Black actors in Hollywood and established him as a cultural icon.

The first trial of the Scottsboro Nine—nine Black teenagers falsely accused of raping two white women on a freight train—began in Scottsboro, Alabama. Despite weak evidence and recanted testimony, all but one were quickly convicted by all-white juries. The case drew national and international attention, becoming a symbol of racial injustice in the American legal system and sparking widespread protest and legal reform efforts. It remains a landmark in the fight for civil rights and fair trials.

On this day, President Woodrow Wilson asked Congress to declare war on Germany, officially entering the United States into World War I. At the same time, Wilson had recently instituted policies that re-segregated federal government agencies, reversing prior gains in racial integration. While Wilson declared that “the world must be made safe for democracy,” Black Americans noted the contradiction between fighting for freedom abroad while being denied equality at home. This hypocrisy would fuel a new wave of Black activism and set the stage for the “New Negro” movement and the civil rights struggles to follow.

Ebenezer Don Carlos Bassett, then Principal of the Institute for Colored Youth in Philadelphia, was appointed by President Ulysses S. Grant as U.S. Minister to Haiti. This made Bassett the first African American to receive a major diplomatic appointment from the U.S. government. As a respected educator and abolitionist, his role marked a historic breakthrough in Black representation in international diplomacy.

On this day, Dred Scott and his wife Harriet filed a lawsuit against Irene Emerson in St. Louis, Missouri, seeking their freedom. The Scotts argued that their extended residence in free territories—Illinois and the Wisconsin Territory—entitled them to emancipation. Their case was first heard in 1847 in the St. Louis Courthouse. Though they initially lost, the case would escalate over the next decade to the U.S. Supreme Court, culminating in the infamous 1857 Dred Scott v. Sandford decision, which denied citizenship and legal rights to all Black people in America, free or enslaved. The ruling intensified national tensions over slavery and pushed the nation closer to civil war.

James Augustine Healy, the first known Black Roman Catholic bishop in the United States, was born near Macon, Georgia. He was the son of an Irish immigrant planter and a mixed-race enslaved woman. Despite laws forbidding education for enslaved children, Healy was sent north to be educated and later entered the priesthood. In 1875, he became Bishop of Portland, Maine, breaking racial and religious barriers in American history.

James Beckwourth was born in Fredericksburg, Virginia, to a white slaveowner and an enslaved Black woman. As a teenager, he moved to St. Louis and joined the Rocky Mountain Fur Company as a skilled trapper and scout. In 1824, Beckwourth was adopted by the Crow Nation, who gave him the names “Bloody Arm” and “Bull’s Robe.” He married a Crow woman and rose to prominence as a war chief, participating in numerous battles. Beckwourth later became a guide for settlers heading west and discovered what became known as Beckwourth Pass, a critical route through the Sierra Nevada Mountains. His adventurous life helped shape the legend of the American frontier.

On May 6, 1967, approximately 400 students at Cheyney State College (now Cheyney University of Pennsylvania), the nation’s oldest historically Black college, staged a takeover of the administration building to protest inadequate funding, poor facilities, and a lack of representation in academic decision-making. The peaceful protest lasted several days and called attention to systemic inequalities within higher education. The students’ demands included curriculum reforms, more Black faculty, and better campus conditions—sparking a broader movement for equity at HBCUs across the country.