On January 18, 1981, Grant Fuhr became the first Black player to be drafted in the first round of the National Hockey League (NHL) Draft. Selected by the Edmonton Oilers, Fuhr would go on to have a Hall of Fame career as a goaltender, becoming a five-time Stanley Cup champion and the first Black player inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

On September 16, 1928, a devastating hurricane struck Palm Beach County, Florida. Known as the Okeechobee Hurricane or the Storm of ’28, it caused the third largest death toll from a natural disaster in U.S. history. The storm disproportionately affected Black migrant workers in the area, many of whom were buried in mass graves. On January 18, 1999, the tragedy was officially recognized, and efforts to preserve its memory became more prominent.

“The Jeffersons” premiered as one of the first American sitcoms centered on an African-American family. A spin-off from “All in the Family,” the show followed George and Louise Jefferson as they moved to Manhattan’s East Side, breaking new ground in mainstream media representation and longevity for Black-led television series.

Robert C. Weaver made history when he was sworn in as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) under President Lyndon B. Johnson. This appointment marked the first time an African American held a U.S. presidential cabinet position, breaking a significant racial barrier in American politics.

Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, was temporarily closed after student demonstrations erupted in protest of the expulsion of classmates who had participated in sit-ins against segregation. The closure highlighted the growing student-led activism during the Civil Rights Movement and the resistance such efforts faced from educational institutions.

Congressman William L. Dawson of Illinois was elected chairman of the House Expenditures Committee, becoming the first African American to lead a standing committee in the U.S. Congress. His appointment marked a historic step forward in Black political leadership and representation at the federal level.

Daniel Hale Williams, the pioneering African American surgeon who performed one of the first successful open-heart surgeries in the United States, is born. He also founded Provident Hospital in Chicago, the first non-segregated hospital in the U.S.