This Week In Black History September 17-23, 2025

• SEPTEMBER 17

1787—The United States Consti­tution is approved but it includes three clauses allowing for the con­tinuation of slavery even though it was supposed to be a document of freedom.

1861—Hampton Institute (now university) is founded. It has now become one of the nation’s leading predominately Black educational in­stitutions.

1970—The “Flip Wilson Show” premieres on NBC television. It is the first variety show (in prime time) to star an African American male since the “Nat King Cole Show.” During its first two seasons, its Nielsen ratings made it the nation’s second most watched show. Wilson was most fa­mous for creating the role of Geral­dine Jones, a sassy, modern woman who had a boyfriend named Killer (who, when not in prison, was at the pool hall). Wilson popularized such catchphrases as “What you see is what you get” and “The Devil made me do it!”

1973—Illinois becomes the first state to honor Civil Rights Move­ment icon Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with a state holiday.

• SEPTEMBER 18

1850—Congress passes the Fugi­tive Slave Law as part of the Com­promise of 1850. The Compromise was essentially a vain attempt to reconcile differences between the slave states of the South and the free states of the North as to wheth­er Midwest states would be slave or free. The law basically required Free states to help slave states capture escaped slaves.

1895—Booker T. Washington de­livered his famous (or infamous) “Atlanta Compromise” speech in which he promotes Black econom­ic betterment at the expense of civil and political rights. The speech en­deared him to Whites opposed to the social integration of Blacks, but it angered progressive Blacks, in­cluding scholar W.E.B. DuBois, who began to portray Washington as an “Uncle Tom.”

1980—Cuban cosmonaut Arnold Tamayo becomes the first Black person to fly on a space mission. He flew on a space craft from the then-Soviet Union.

• SEPTEMBER 19

1865—Atlanta University is founded in Atlanta, Ga. It was one of many educational institutions es­tablished during the Reconstruction period after the Civil War to educate former slaves.

1931—Soul singer Brook Benton, born Benjamin Franklin Peay, was born this day in Lugoff, S.C. He has more than 50 billboard chart hits as an artist including “A Rainy Night in Georgia,” “It’s Just A Matter Of Time” and “Endlessly.”

1963— Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc. is founded at then Morgan State College now Morgan State Universi­ty in Baltimore, Maryland by twelve men. Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc is the last of the D9 which comprises of Historically African American Fra­ternities & Sororities

1981—An estimated 400,000 peo­ple from various labor and civil rights organizations rally in Wash­ington, D.C., to protest the domes­tic policies of President Ronald Rea­gan. His policies were viewed by the demonstrating groups as anti-Black and opposed to the best interests of working-class people.

• SEPTEMBER 20

1664—Maryland enacts the na­tion’s first “Anti-Amalgamation Law.” It specifically outlawed mar­riages between Black men and White women. Soon, several oth­er colonies followed the Maryland example. It would not be until the 1960s that U.S. Supreme Court in the famous Loving v. Virginia case declared all such laws un-Constitu­tional. And even though it was not being enforced, it was not until 2000 that Alabama officially became the last state to strike from the books its law banning interracial marriages.

1830—The first National Negro Convention of Free Men meets in Philadelphia, Pa. Among a wide range of items on the agenda was a resolution encouraging free Blacks to boycott the purchase of items produced by slave labor. African Methodist Episcopal Church found­er Richard Allen was elected presi­dent of the convention. Despite the fact that Allen had founded the AME Church, the name of the convention also reflected an attempt by free Blacks to reduce identification with Africa. At the time, most slaves and many free Blacks tended to refer to themselves as “Africans.”

1958—A deranged woman stabs then-rapidly emerging civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. during a book signing ceremony at a Har­lem, N.Y., department store. Rumors circulated that the stabbing was part of a government conspiracy against King but no evidence was ever pro­duced to support the theory.

1984—“The Cosby Show,” star­ring comedian and activist Bill Cos­by, debuts on NBC Television. It becomes one of the nation’s high­est rated television series and was widely praised by civil rights activ­ists because of its generally positive portrayal of a Black middle-class family.

• SEPTEMBER 21

1872—John Henry Conyers be­comes the first Black student at the U.S. Naval Academy. However, rac­ism and often violent harassment forced him to leave the academy before he was able to graduate.

1905—The Atlanta Life Insurance Co. is established in Atlanta, Ga., and becomes one of the largest in­surance companies in America serv­ing a predominantly African Ameri­can clientele.

1984—Gen. Colin Powell becomes the first African American named as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. As the nation’s top military leader, Powell was praised by some Blacks as a role model while he was criticized for supporting what crit­ics considered the government’s war-mongering policies. His gen­erally positive reputation was dam­aged by his speaking before the United Nations and providing misin­formation in 2003 in support of the Bush administration’s war in Iraq.

• SEPTEMBER 22

1863—Mary Church Terrell is born on this day in 1863. She became one of the nation’s leading activists advocating greater education for Blacks and women. She was the first Black person to sit on the Washing­ton, D.C., school board and played a major role in desegregating that city’s restaurants.

1961—The Interstate Commerce Commission officially prohibits segregation in buses traveling in interstate commerce. It also banned segregated terminal facil­ities even though the ruling was largely ignored in many Southern states. But during the mid-1960s civil rights activists would frequently cite the ruling as they integrated fa­cilities throughout the South.

• SEPTEMBER 23

1926—Legendary jazz great John Coltrane is born on this day in Ham­let, N.C. He is generally credited with reshaping modern Jazz and setting a pattern which would be followed by generations of Jazz sax­ophonists.

1930—Singer-performer Ray Charles is born on this day in Alba­ny, Ga. Charles pioneered the soul music genre during the 1950s by combining blues, R&B and gospel styles into the music he recorded for Atlantic Records. He also contribut­ed to the integration of country mu­sic, R&B and pop music during the 1960s with his crossover success on ABC Records, most notably with his two Modern Sounds albums. While he was with ABC, Charles became one of the first Black musicians to be granted artistic control by a mainstream record company.