1904 – Paul Laurence Dunbar Honored in London

On June 8, 1904, African American poet Paul Laurence Dunbar was honored during a literary reception in London, recognizing his influence across the Atlantic. Dunbar, born to formerly enslaved parents in the United States, had already become internationally known for his dialect poetry and eloquent standard English verse. His visit to London was part of a broader transatlantic cultural exchange where Black intellectuals, artists, and writers shared experiences of racism, resistance, and art. The event brought attention to the global reach of Black literature and marked one of the first times a Black American poet was publicly celebrated in Europe. Though Dunbar would die just two years later, the June 8 reception stands as a milestone in the global recognition of African diasporic creativity and intellectual power at a time when colonial racial ideologies still dominated Western thought.