The Unhidden Minute

Mildred Hemmons Carter (1913–2011) was a pioneering Black American aviator who defied racial and gender barriers to pursue her passion for flying. Born in Alabama, Carter faced discrimination and limited opportunities due to segregation and sexism. Despite these challenges, she became the first known Black American woman in Alabama to earn a pilot's license in 1941. Carter's love for aviation led...

Delilah Leontium Beasley was a pioneering historian and journalist. Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1867, Beasley began her writing career in 1883 with the Cleveland Gazette, focusing on church and social events. After moving to Oakland, California, in 1910, she immersed herself in documenting the contributions of Black Americans to the history of the West. Her extensive research culminated in the 19...

Black History Month originated as Negro History Week in 1926. Founded by historian Carter G. Woodson and the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History , the observance is a celebration of the contributions of Black Americans to our culture and way of life. Woodson, often called the “Father of Black History,” First chose the second week of February to coincide with the birthdays of Abraha...

On October 16, 1859, John Brown , an ardent abolitionist, led a group of 21 men, including both Black and white supporters, in an attempt to seize the federal armory at Harpers Ferry , Virginia (now West Virginia). His goal was to incite a large-scale slave rebellion by arming enslaved people with weapons from the arsenal. Although the group initially succeeded in taking the armory, local militia...

Thurgood Marshall was a pioneering civil rights lawyer and the first Black American Supreme Court Justice. Born in 1908, he played a crucial role in challenging racial segregation, most notably through the landmark case  Brown v. Board of Education  in 1954, which declared segregated public schools unconstitutional. As chief counsel for the NAACP, Marshall argued numerous cases before the Supreme...

The first recorded instance of a Black person voting in a U.S. presidential election occurred on November 3, 1872.   Thomas Mundy Peterson had already gained recognition for being the first Black American to vote under the 15th Amendment to the Constitution in a local election in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, on March 31, 1870. Peterson's courageous act of voting symbolized the beginning of Black Ameri...

Marsha P. Johnson , a Black transgender woman, played a crucial role in the Stonewall Uprising on June 28, 1969, in New York City's Greenwich Village. Known for her vibrant personality and activism, Johnson was a prominent figure in the LGBTQ+ community. The uprising began as a response to a police raid at the Stonewall Inn, a popular gay bar, and quickly escalated into a series of protests and cl...

Bronzeville , a neighborhood near the shores of Lake Michigan in Chicago, has a deep and rich history, significantly shaped by its Black LGBTQ+ community. Among its notable figures is Ma Rainey, often hailed as the "Mother of the Blues." Born Gertrude Pridgett in 1886, Rainey was one of the earliest Black American professional blues singers and an influential figure in the development of the genre...

On June 19th, 1865, Union General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, and announced that all enslaved people in United States were free. In accordance with the Emancipation Proclamation issued by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, this moment formally recognized the liberation of Black Americans. This announcement came more than two years after the proclamation, making Texas the...

Decided on June 12, 1967, Loving v. Virginia , a landmark civil rights decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, invalidated laws prohibiting interracial marriage. The case centered on Richard Loving, a white man, and Mildred Jeter, a Black woman, who married in Washington, D.C., and then returned to Virginia, where interracial marriage was illegal. Arrested and sentenced to a year in prison, the Loving...

Corporal Waverly B. Woodson Jr. was a courageous Black American U.S. Army medic who served with the 320th Barrage Balloon Battalion , the only all-black unit to land on Omaha Beach during D-Day on June 6, 1944 . Amid the chaos of the invasion, Woodson displayed extraordinary bravery and resilience. Despite being wounded by shrapnel, he continued to tend to his fellow soldiers for over 30 hours. Wo...

The 320th Barrage Balloon Battalion was a pioneering Black American unit in World War II, notable for its critical role during the D-Day invasion on June 6, 1944 . This battalion was tasked with deploying barrage balloons, which were large, hydrogen-filled balloons tethered with steel cables to deter low-flying enemy aircraft. Their deployment over Omaha and Utah Beaches provided essential protect...

Give me a minute and let me thank you for your time. Over the last several weeks you’ve listened along to this daily series of stories that detail the often-hidden legacy of Black American history. Today we celebrate the conclusion of this enterprise with our 100th episode. Spanning more than 400 years on the ancestral homeland of displaced native people, this expansive narrative aimed to highligh...

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (1929–1968) was a Baptist minister and civil rights leader who played a central role in the American Civil Rights Movement . Born in Atlanta, Georgia, King emerged as a prominent figure in the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955 and subsequently became the leader of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). King advocated for nonviolent resistance and civil disobed...

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was a landmark piece of federal legislation in the United States aimed at combating racial discrimination in voting practices. Signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on August 6, 1965, the act aimed to enforce the 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution , which prohibits the denial of voting rights based on race or color. The Voting Rights Act targeted discrim...

Malcolm X (1925–1965), born Malcolm Little, was a prominent Black American Muslim minister and human rights activist. His early life was marked by poverty and crime, but while serving a prison sentence, he became a member of the Nation of Islam (NOI) and adopted the name Malcolm X. He quickly rose through the ranks of the organization, becoming one of its most influential leaders. Malcolm X advoca...

The Black Panther Party was a revolutionary organization founded in 1966 by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale in Oakland, California. Born out of the Civil Rights Movement , the Black Panthers aimed to combat racial injustice, police brutality, and systemic oppression faced by Black Americans. The Black Panthers advocated for Black empowerment, self-defense, and community organizing. They established...

Huey P. Newton (1942–1989) was a pivotal figure in the Black Panther Party (BPP), an organization founded in 1966 to combat police brutality and promote Black empowerment. Born in Monroe, Louisiana, Newton co-founded the Black Panthers in Oakland, California, alongside Bobby Seale . As the Black Panther’s Minister of Defense, Newton advocated armed self-defense against police violence and oppressi...

Julian Bond was a prominent civil rights activist, politician, and leader in the American Civil Rights Movement . Born in 1940 in Nashville, Tennessee, Bond emerged as a key figure in the fight against racial segregation and discrimination. As a co-founder of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee or SNCC, Bond played a vital role in organizing sit-ins and voter registration drives througho...

Stokely Carmichael , later known as Kwame Ture, was a prominent figure in the American Civil Rights Movement and a leader in the fight against racial injustice. Born in Trinidad in 1941, Carmichael immigrated to the United States as a child and became involved in activism while studying at Howard University. As a leader of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee or SNCC, Carmichael advocated...

The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) was a prominent organization in the American Civil Rights Movement , formed in April 1960. Composed mainly of young students, SNCC played a crucial role in organizing and leading grassroots campaigns against racial segregation and discrimination. Embracing nonviolent resistance and direct-action tactics, SNCC members conducted sit-ins, voter reg...

In the 1960s, the Woolworth’s lunch counter sit-ins were pivotal protests in the Civil Rights Movement against racial segregation in public spaces. Beginning on February 1, 1960, in Greensboro, North Carolina, four African American college students— Ezell Blair Jr., David Richmond , Franklin McCain , and Joseph McNeil —sat at the "whites only" lunch counter at Woolworth's and refused to leave unti...

Joan Trumpauer Mulholland is an American civil rights activist known for her courageous service during the Civil Rights Movement . Born in 1941, Mulholland became involved in the movement as a student at Tougaloo College in Mississippi, where she participated in sit-ins and protests against segregation. Mulholland gained national attention for her bravery, including participating in the Freedom Ri...

At the height of the Civil Rights Movement, a series of bus journeys were undertaken by activists to challenge segregation in interstate transportation in the Southern United States. Known as the Freedom Rides , these bus trips were conducted by the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), Interracial groups of riders boarded buses bound for Sout...

John Lewis (1940–2020) was a leading figure in the American Civil Rights Movement and a respected politician. Born to sharecroppers in Alabama, Lewis became a prominent activist in the struggle for racial equality and social justice. As a young man, he played a pivotal role in organizing nonviolent protests and participating in historic events such as the Freedom Rides and the March on Washington...