Thomas Bradley was elected mayor of Los Angeles at a time when Blacks represented only 15 percent of the Los Angeles electorate, becoming one of the first two Black mayors of city with over a million citizens, 1973
On this date in 1990, Sharon Pratt Dixon (now Kelly) was elected mayor of Washington, D.C., making this a first for a woman of any race.
On this date in 1976, Benjamin Hooks, Federal Communications Commission member, named to succeed Roy Wilkins as executive director of the NAACP.
On this date in 1973, Coleman Young was elected mayor of Detroit, becoming one of the first two Black mayors of city’s with over a million citizens.
On this date in 1973, Spingarn Medal presented to Wilson C. Riles, superintendent of public instruction, California, “in recognition of the stature he has attained as a national leader in the field of education.”
ON this date in 1973, Marcus A. Foster, superintendent of schools in Oakland, Calif., killed in ambush after Board of Education meeting. Two members of the Symbionese Liberation Army, a West Coast terrorist group, were convicted of the slaying, but the conviction of one of the men was overturned on a legal technicality.
In one voting day, ninety-seven Blacks were elected to state legislatures, seven were elected to mayor, and four hundred to local governments in the former Confederate states.
On this date in 1962, Edward W. Brooke elected attorney general of Massachusetts. Gerald Lamb elected treasurer of Connecticut. Otis M. Smith elected to a full term on the Michigan Supreme Court. Five Blacks, including one newcomer, were elected to the House of Representatives. The newcomer, Augustus F. Hawkins, was elected from Los Angeles.
ON this date in 1928, Oscar DePriest elected to Seventy-first Congress from Illinois’ First Congressional District (Chicago). He was the first congressman from the North and the first Black in Congress since the departure of George H. White in 1901.
ON this date in 1928, the Atlanta Daily World founded by W.A. Scott Jr. The newspaper became a daily in 1933.
On this date in 1928, Spingarn Medal presented to Charles W. Chestnutt, the first Black to receive widespread critical recognition as a novelist. He was cited for his “pioneer work as a literary artist depicting the life and struggle of Americans of Negro descent.”
ON this date in 1920, James Weldon Johnson became the first Black executive secretary of the NAACP.
On this date in 1920, Fifty-three Blacks reported lynched.
On this date in 1920, Spingarn Medal awarded to W.E.B. Du Bois for “the founding and calling of the Pan African Congress.”
On this date in 1906, Sixty-two Blacks reported lynched.
On this date in 1906, President Roosevelt ordered discharge of three companies of Twenty-fifth Regiment for alleged involvement in the Brownsville Raid.
On this date in 1901, Juanita Long Hall was born in Keyport, New Jersey, and died February 29, 1968, in Bayshore, New York. This singer, actress, and choral director was best-known for her role as Bloody Mary in the 1949 Broadway stage production of South Pacific.
On this date in 1900, Republican William McKinley defeated William Bryan in presidential elections.
ON this date in 1900, One hundred and six Blacks reported lynched.
On this date in 1900, James Weldon Johnson and J. Rosamond Johnson composed “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing.”
On this date in 1888, Sixty-nine Blacks reported lynched.
On this date in 1888, Republican Benjamin Harrison elected president.
On this date in 1884, Novelist and dramatist, William Wells Brown, dies.
On this date in 1868, Jonathan Gibbs, minister and educator, appointed secretary of state by the Florida governor.
On this date in 1860, Abraham Lincoln elected president.
On this date in 1858, Samuel E. Cornish died. Samuel Cornish was an American Presbyterian minister, abolitionist, publisher, and journalist. He was a leader in New York City’s small free black community, where he organized the first congregation of black Presbyterians in New York.
ON this date in 1746, Absalom Jones rose from slavery in Sussex, Delaware to become the first black Episcopal priest and principal founder of St. Thomas, the first black Episcopal church. Jones was a major leader of Black Pioneer period.
On November 6, 1934, Arthur W. Mitchell defeated incumbent Oscar De Priest in Chicago’s First Congressional District election, becoming the first African American Democrat elected to the U.S. Congress.
Background:
Significance:
Mitchell’s election marked a pivotal shift in African American political alignment, reflecting a broader trend of Black voters transitioning from the Republican to the Democratic Party during the Great Depression.
This victory not only highlighted changing political affiliations but also underscored the impact of New Deal policies on African American communities, as many began to see the Democratic Party as more supportive of their economic and social needs during that era.
Mitchell’s tenure in Congress further solidified this shift, as he advocated for civil rights and introduced legislation aimed at combating racial discrimination.
His election is a significant milestone in Black history, symbolizing both political change and the ongoing struggle for equality in the United States.
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