#OnThisDay in 1892, civil rights pioneer Vernon Johns was born in Darlington Heights VA. In 1948, the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery hired Johns, but he butted heads when he pressed civil rights issues. In 1953, he resigned. His successor? #MLK.
mississippitoday.org/2025/04/22/1...

1966: Milton Olive III awarded Congressional Medal of Honor On this day in 1966, Milton Olive III became the first Black soldier awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor in the Vietnam War.

#OnThisDay in 1966, Milton Olive III became 1st Black soldier awarded Medal of Honor in Vietnam. On Oct. 22, 1965, he fell on an enemy grenade to protect his fellow soldiers. “The most incredible display of selfless bravery I ever witnessed,” the commander said.
mississippitoday.org/2025/04/21/1...

Congrats to the @mississippitoday.org team of Mukta Joshi, @jmitchellnews.bsky.social, Brian Howey & Nate Rosenfield whose reporting in partnership with @nytimes.com this month won second prize in the Collier Awards & was a finalist for the Goldsmith Prize.

ethicsandjournalism.org/2026/04/20/n...

1939: Billie Holiday recorded 'Strange Fruit' - Mississippi Today On this day in 1939, legendary jazz singer Billie Holiday recorded “Strange Fruit" about the lynchings of Black Americans.

#OnThisDay in 1939, legendary jazz singer Billie Holiday recorded “Strange Fruit,” called “the first significant protest in words and music, the first unmuted cry against racism.” The song sold 1M+ copies.
mississippitoday.org/2025/04/20/1...

1977: Alex Haley awarded Pulitzer Prize for 'Roots' - Mississippi Today On this day in 1977, Alex Haley was awarded a special Pulitzer Prize for “Roots,” which was also adapted for television.

#OnThisDay in 1977, Alex Haley was awarded a special Pulitzer Prize for “Roots.” When the adaptation aired, 85% of US households watched the miniseries, which received 36 Emmy nominations and won 9.
mississippitoday.org/2025/04/19/1...

1863: Charlotte Brown refused to leave streetcar - Mississippi Today On this day in 1863, Charlotte Brown refused to give up her seat on the “whites-only” horse-drawn streetcar in San Francisco.

#OnThisDay in 1863, Charlotte Brown took a seat on the “whites-only” streetcar & refused to move. Forced off the streetcar, she sued & won. Her victories paved the way to end racial discrimination on streetcars in San Francisco & beyond.
mississippitoday.org/2025/04/17/1...

#OnThisDay in 1947, Jackie Robinson became the 1st Black player in #MLB in the 20th century. Active in Civil Rights Movement. 1st Black TV analyst in #MLB & 1st Black VP of major American corporation. Awarded #POTUS Medal of Freedom & Congressional Gold Medal.
mississippitoday.org/2025/04/15/1...

1952: Ralph Ellison's 'Invisible Man' wins National Book Award On this day in 1952, Ralph Ellison’s only novel, “Invisible Man,” became the first by a Black author to win the National Book Award.

#OnThisDay in 1952, Ralph Ellison’s novel, “Invisible Man,” confronted many issues facing Black Americans and became the first by a Black author to win the National Book Award. Time magazine called it one of the best English-language novels of the 20th century.
mississippitoday.org/2025/04/14/1...

1873: Colfax Massacre begins at Louisiana courthouse - Mississippi Today On this day in 1873, In Colfax Massacre, 150 white men killed an all-Black militia defending a Louisiana courthouse after Republicans won the governor’s race.

#OnThisDay in 1873, the KKK & others killed up to 150 Black men in the Colfax Massacre. Federal prosecutors convicted 3 killers, but the Supreme Court tossed out the convictions, ending Reconstruction in Louisiana.
mississippitoday.org/2025/04/13/1...

1864: Confederates kill Union soldiers in Fort Pillow Massacre - Mississippi Today On this day in 1864, Confederate cavalry killed as many as 300 Union soldiers, most of them Black, in the Fort Pillow Massacre.

#OnThisDay in 1864, a massacre took place when a Confederate cavalry attacked Fort Pillow. According to survivors’ accounts, Confederates continued to fire at Union soldiers and bayonet the mostly Black soldiers, even after they surrendered.
mississippitoday.org/2025/04/12/1...

#OnThisDay in 1968, LBJ signed a new Civil Rights Act, paving the way for federal prosecution for interfering with voting, working, attending school or acting as a juror. The new law included the Fair Housing Act, which barred racial discrimination in housing.
mississippitoday.org/2025/04/11/o...

#OnThisDay in 1967, Fannie Lou Hamer, Unita Blackwell & others testified about poverty in the Mississippi Delta as U.S. Sen. Robert Kennedy & others listened. He toured the Delta & saw malnutrition similar to Third World countries. Legislation followed.
mississippitoday.org/2025/04/10/1...

#OnThisDay in 1962, Cpl. Roman Ducksworth Jr., a Black military police officer, was traveling home for his child's birth. He was asleep on the bus when he arrived in Taylorsville MS. A white police officer killed him, perhaps believing he was a Freedom Rider.
mississippitoday.org/2025/04/09/1...

1918: Harlem Hellfighters join French Army - Mississippi Today On this day in 1918, the 369th Infantry Regiment, known as the “Harlem Hellfighters,” joined the French Army in battling German forces.

#OnThisDay in 1918, the “Harlem Hellfighters” joined the French Army in battling German forces. 1st Black regiment to fight in WWI. 171 received the Legion of Honor for bravery, 2 received the Croix de Guerre for heroism. Honored with parade on NYC’s 5th Avenue.
mississippitoday.org/2025/04/08/1...

1915: Billie Holiday was born in Baltimore On this day in 1915, Billie Holiday, one of the greatest jazz singers of all time, was born in Baltimore.

#OnThisDay in 1915, Billie Holiday was born in Baltimore & became one of the greatest jazz singers of all time. She became the 1st Black female singer to work with a white orchestra. Her recording of “Strange Fruit” drew both controversy & popularity.
mississippitoday.org/2025/04/07/o...

1909: Matthew Henson reached the North Pole - Mississippi Today On this day in 1909, Matthew Henson reached the North Pole, planting the American flag.

#OnThisDay in 1909, Matthew Henson reached the North Pole, planting the American flag. “As I stood there on top of the world ... I felt profoundly grateful that I had the honor of representing my race.”
mississippitoday.org/2025/04/06/o...

1856: Booker T. Washington was born - Mississippi Today On this day in 1856, Booker T. Washington was born in Hale’s Ford, about 25 miles from Roanoke, Virginia.

#OnThisDay in 1856, Booker T. Washington was born in Hale’s Ford VA. Became a leading voice from the last generation of those once enslaved. His autobiography, “Up From Slavery,” remained the most popular Black biography until “The Autobiography of Malcolm X.”
mississippitoday.org/2025/04/05/o...

1928: Poet Maya Angelou was born - Mississippi Today On this day in 1928, poet, author, playwright, film director, music composer and activist Maya Angelou was born in St. Louis.

#OnThisDay in 1928, author and activist Maya Angelou was born in St. Louis. Her memoir, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” became a bestseller. Three years before she died in 2014, she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
mississippitoday.org/2025/04/04/1...

1968: MLK delivers his last speech - Mississippi Today On this day in 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his last speech, supporting more than 1,300 sanitation workers striking in Memphis.

#OnThisDay in 1968, #MLK delivered his last speech, supporting 1,300+ striking sanitation workers in Memphis: “Masses of people are rising up ... the cry is always the same — ‘We want to be free.’” He was assassinated the next day.
mississippitoday.org/2025/04/03/o...

#OnThisDay in 1855, John Mercer Langston became 1st Black public official in the US. Helped draft Civil Rights Act of 1875, founded the law school at Howard University and became the first Black Virginian to serve in Congress.

His great-nephew? Langston Hughes.
mississippitoday.org/2025/04/02/o...

#OnThisDay in 1935, the “Great Debaters” of Wiley College of Marshall TX defeated national champion, USC. The victory meant a defeat for scientific racism. After the 2007 film, Denzel Washington donated $1M to Wiley, which won the national championship.
mississippitoday.org/2025/04/01/o...

1870: Thomas Mundy Peterson votes - Mississippi Today On this day in 1870, Thomas Mundy Peterson of Perth Amboy, New Jersey, became the first Black American to vote under the 15th amendment.

#OnThisDay in 1870, one day after the ratification of the 15th Amendment, Thomas Mundy Peterson of Perth Amboy NJ became the first Black American to vote in an election under that amendment. NJ now honors his historic vote each March 31.
mississippitoday.org/2025/03/31/o...

1941: Ann Tanneyhill's radio show airs - Mississippi Today On this day in 1941, the nation’s first hour-long network radio show with an all-Black cast conceived by Ann Tanneyhill airs on CBS

#OnThisDay in 1941, CBS aired the 1st hour-long network radio show with an all-Black cast. Until then, Black performers were often barred from radio. In 1948, President Truman announced he was abolishing racial discrimination in the armed forces.
mississippitoday.org/2025/03/30/1...

#OnThisDay in 1973, Tom Bradley became mayor of Los Angeles — the first Black mayor of a predominantly white major city in the U.S. In 1982, he fell short of becoming California’s first Black governor in 1982.
mississippitoday.org/2025/03/29/1...

1968: MLK marches for the last time in Memphis - Mississippi Today On this day in 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. made his last march in support of sanitation workers in Memphis.

#OnThisDay in 1968, #MLK led a march of sanitation workers in Memphis. It was his last march. “You are reminding, not only Memphis, but you are reminding the nation that it is a crime for people to live in this rich nation and receive starvation wages.”
mississippitoday.org/2025/03/28/1...

1961: Tougaloo students hold sit-in at Jackson library - Mississippi Today On this day in 1961, nine Black Tougaloo College students held a sit-in at the all-white Jackson Municipal Library.

#OTD in 1961, 9 Black students from Tougaloo College entered the all-white Jackson Municipal Library and sat down. Police arrested them. The sit-in inspired other protests. Photos of the Tougaloo Nine now hang in the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum.
mississippitoday.org/2025/03/27/1...

On this day in 1964, MLK and Malcolm X met for the only time - Mississippi Today On this day in 1964, Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X met for the only time — a brief encounter in Washington, D.C.

#onthisday in 1964, #MLK & Malcolm X met for the only time. “Malcolm represented the city, while King fought for the rights of the rural poor. Both men were dynamic speakers and intellectuals. And both, sadly, were assassinated at the age of 39.”
mississippitoday.org/2025/03/26/o...

#OnThisDay in 1965, the KKK shot into the car of Viola Gregg Liuzzo 14 times, killing her. She had just taken part in the Selma march. A statue of her now stands in Detroit, honoring her courage.
mississippitoday.org/2025/03/25/1...

Ku Klux Klan items are found as Mississippi Department of Public Safety packs to move - Mississippi Today In a closet at the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, officials found a handbook for the White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, plus Klan charters, a Klan robe, KKK recruitment materials, propaganda...

Mississippi Department of Public Safety officials have found a cache of KKK materials: a handbook for the White Knights of the KKK, a Klan robe, charters, recruitment materials, propaganda, meeting notes, ledgers and a list of who paid (or didn't pay) dues.
mississippitoday.org/2026/03/24/k...

1912: Dorothy Irene Height was born - Mississippi Today On this day in 1912, educator and civil rights pioneer Dorothy Irene Height was born.

Article on her: mississippitoday.org/2025/03/24/1...