Another month full of history!
The summer season has begun and we’re still churning out the historical facts. June birthed some icons, saw the marking of historic firsts, ushered in world-changing moments, and saw the death of some of our giants. As we continue to pay homage to the past, present and future of Black excellence, we continue to spread these truths to expand our collective memory. Share these moments in Black history with those you love and let the lessons continue. For this month in Black history, here are some important things that happened in June that you may have never learned, courtesy of BlackFacts.com.
June 21, 1859 – Artist Henry Ossawa Tanner is born
June 19, 1865 – The last enslaved people in Galveston, TX learn slavery is abolished in what becomes known as “Juneteenth”
June 17, 1871 – Civil rights activist James Weldon Johnson is born
June 27, 1872 – Poet Paul Laurence Dunbar is born
June 10, 1893 – Hattie McDaniel, first Black Oscar winner, is born
June 5, 1894 – Inventor George W. Murray patents cotton chopper
June 20, 1894 – Chemist Lloyd Hall is born
June 3, 1904 – Surgeon Charles R. Drew is born
June 3, 1906 – Entertainer Josephine Baker is born
June 14, 1908 – Musical genius “Blind Tom” Wiggins passes away
June 22, 1909 – Dancer and anthropologist Katherine Dunham is born
June 10, 1910 – Blues musician Howlin’ Wolf is born
June 7, 1917 – Poet Gwendolyn Brooks is born
June 30, 1917 – Entertainer Lena Horne is born
June 29, 1919 – Director Lloyd Richards is born
June 11, 1920 – Singer Hazel Scott is born
June 15, 1921 – Bessie Coleman becomes first Black woman to receive pilot’s license
June 4, 1922 – U.S. Navy Officer Samuel L. Gravely is born
June 27, 1922 – George Theophilus Walker, first Black person to win Pulitzer Prize for Music, is born
June 29, 1925 – Classical composer Hale Smith is born
June 21, 1927 – Former Cleveland mayor Carl B. Stokes is born
June 11, 1930 – Former U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel is born
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June 14, 1931 – Actress Marla Gibbs is born
June 25, 1933 – Civil rights activist James Meredith is born
June 1, 1937 – Actor Morgan Freeman is born
June 13, 1937 – D.C. Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton is born
June 26, 1938 – Civil rights activist James Weldon Johnson passes away
June 6, 1939 – Activist Marian Wright Edelman is born
June 10, 1940 – Activist Marcus Garvey passes away
June 23, 1940 – Olympic track icon Wilma Rudolph is born
June 29, 1941 – Civil rights leader Stokely Carmichael is born
June 3, 1942 – Singer Curtis Mayfield is born
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June 7, 1943 – Poet Nikki Giovanni is born
June 5, 1945 – Olympic track star John Carlos is born
June 25, 1945 – Former U.S. Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick is born
June 25, 1945 – Egyptian playwright Dusé Mohamed Ali passes away
June 10, 1946 – Boxer Jack Johnson passes away
June 19, 1948 – Actress Phylicia Rashad is born
June 3, 1949 – Wesley A. Brown becomes first Black graduate of Annapolis Naval Academy
June 20, 1949 – Singer Lionel Richie is born
June 2, 1953 – Philosopher Cornel West is born
June 18, 1953 – Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King are married
June 9, 1954 – Alain Leroy Locke, first Black Rhodes Scholar, passes away
June 5, 1955 – Martin Luther King Jr. receives doctorate from Boston University
June 26, 1956 – Former NASA astronaut Bernard A. Harris Jr. is born
June 7, 1958 – Music icon Prince is born
June 20, 1960 – Harry Belafonte becomes the first Black person to win an Emmy
June 12, 1963 – Activist Medgar Evers is assassinated
June 12, 1964 – Nelson Mandela sentenced to life imprisonment
June 1, 1966 – White House begins Conference on Civil Rights
June 30, 1966 – Professional Heavyweight Champion boxer Mike Tyson is born
June 25, 1968 – Lincoln Alexander becomes first Black member of the Canadian Parliament
June 15, 1969 – Entertainer Ice Cube is born
June 16, 1970 – Kenneth A. Gibson elected as first Black mayor of Newark, New Jersey
June 4, 1972 – Activist Angela Davis acquitted on all charges in San Jose, California
June 4, 1973 – Poet Arna Bontemps passes away
June 5, 1973 – Doris A. Davis, former mayor of Compton, becomes first Black woman to govern a metropolitan city
June 26, 1974 – Baseball player Derek Jeter is born
June 8, 1977 – Entertainer Kanye West is born
June 30, 1978 – Larry Doby becomes manager of the Chicago White Sox baseball team
June 17, 1980 – Tennis icon Venus Williams is born
June 8, 1982 – Baseball Legend Satchel Paige passes away
June 7, 1987 – Director Lloyd Richards wins Tony Award for August Wilson’s “Fences”
June 2, 1989 – Soccer player Freddy Adu is born
June 30, 1995 – Singer Phyllis Hyman passes away
June 15, 1996 – Jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald passes away
June 23, 1997 – Civil rights activist Betty Shabazz passes away
June 23, 2003 – Former Atlanta mayor Maynard Jackson passes away
June 10, 2004 – Entertainer Ray Charles passes away
June 29, 2006 – Director Lloyd Richards passes away
June 2, 2008 – Guitarist Bo Diddley passes away
June 25, 2009 – Music icon Michael Jackson passes away
June 3, 2013 – NFL Hall of Famer Deacon Jones passes away
June 11, 2014 – Actress Ruby Dee passes away
June 3, 2016 – Boxing icon Muhammad Ali passes away
Cover photo: This month in Black History: Important things that happened in June that you never learned/Photo Courtesy of Norman Seeff