A Month Long Celebration
Febuary is African-American History Month. Many significant events in African-American history occurred in the month of February. Each week of this month we will share historical information for each date. The source for this information is here.
On February 23:
Feb. 23, 1965 – Constance Baker Motley elected Manhattan Borough president, the highest elective office held by a black woman in a major American city.
On February 24:
Feb. 24, 1864 – Rebecca Lee became the first black woman to receive an M.D. degree.
On February 25:
Feb. 25, 1870 – Hirman R. Revels of Mississippi was sworn in as first black U.S. Senator and first black Representative in Congress.
Feb. 25, 1948 – Martin Luther King was ordained as a Baptist minister.
Feb. 25, 1971 – President Nixon met with members of the Congressional Black Caucus and appointed a White House panel to study a list of recommendations made by the group.
On February 26:
Feb. 26, 1869 – Fifteenth Amendment guaranteeing the right to vote sent to the states for ratification.
Feb. 26, 1926 – Carter G. Woodson started Negro History Week. This week would later become Black History Month.
On February 27:
Feb. 27, 1869 – John W. Menard spoke in Congress in defense of his claim to a contested seat in Louisiana’s Second Congressional District. Congress decided against both claimants. Congressman James A. Garfield of the examining committee said “it was too early to admit a Negro to the U.S. Congress.” Menard was the first black
to make a speech in Congress.
Feb. 27, 1988 – Figure skater Debi Thomas becomes the first African American to win a medal (bronze) at the winter Olympic Games.
On February 28:
Feb. 28, 1859 – Arkansas legislature required free blacks to choose between exile and enslavement.
Feb. 28, 1932 – Richard Spikes invented/patented the automatic gear shift.