Project Reach Out


Marian Anderson, Opera Singer

May 1
St. Joseph
the Worker
Gwendolyn Brooks, 1st African American to win a Pulitzer Prize for "Annie Allen", 1950
Gwendolyn Brooks, May 1st
May 2Poor People's March to Washington began 1968.
May 3
St. Philip and James
Ernest N. Morial, first Black Mayor of New Orleans, LA 1978
May 4Freedom Rides started in protest to segregate bus terminals 1961
May 5Eugene A. Marino, SSJ, 1st Black Archb. in U.S. Atlanta, GA, 1988
Terry Steib, SVD, installed as Catholic Bishop of Memphis, TN, 1993
Freedom Riders, May 4th
May 6St. Martin De Porres canonized a Saint, Rome, 1962
May 7Fenton Johnson, one of first Black writers to emphasize awareness b. 1888
William Grant Still, May 11th
May 8
Mother's Day
Brotherhood Sleeping Car Porters founded, 1926
May 9John Brown, abolitionist b. 1800
May 10P.B.S. Pinchback, Lieut. Gov. LA Reconstruction b. 1837
Nelson Mandela inaugurated as 1st Black President, South Africa
May 11William Grant Still, composer b. 1895
Athur Ashe, May 15th
May 12Oscar de Priest III, Congressman elected 1951
May 13Joe Louis, heavyweight champion, b. AL, 1914
May 14
St. Matthias
Clara Stanton Jones, 1st African American director of the Detroit Public Library and 1st African American president of the ALA, b.St. Louis, MO 1913
May 15Arthur Ashe chosen U.S. Davis Cup Tennis Team, 1963
John Conyers, Jr., May 16th
May 16
St. Brendan
John Conyers, Jr., Congressman, principal sponsor of 1965 Voting Rights Act and 1983 MLK holiday bill, and founder of the Congressional Black Caucus, b. 1929, Detroit, MI
Sammy Davis Jr., actor, dancer, singer and world class entertainer, d. Beverly Hills, CA, 1990
May 17
St. Paschal Baylon
The 1st Kentucky Derby is won by African American jockey Oliver Lewis riding a horse named Aristides, 1875. 14 of the 15 jockeys in the race are African Americans.
Oliver Lewis, May 17th
May 18Mary McLeod Bethune d. Daytona Beach, FL, 1955
May 19Malcolm X, b. 1925
Patricia R. Harris, 1st Black American Ambassador 1965
Patricia Harris, May 19th
May 20
St. Bernadine of Siena
P.B.S Pinchback and James J. Harris are the 1st African American delegates to a Republican convention, 1858. They will participate in the nomination of Ulysses S. Grant for President.
May 21National Black Catholic VI Congress, Wash., DC, 1987
Thomas "Fats" Waller, b. 1904
William H. Carney, May 23rd
May 22Claude McKay, novelist, poet d. 1948
Bernard Shaw, journalist, anchor CNN, b. 1940
May 23Civil War hero, Sgt. William H. Carney of the 54th Mass. Colored Infantry becomes the 1st African American Congressional Medal of Honor winner, 1900
Florence Mills opened in "Shuffle Along" the 1st all black musical, 1921
May 24Lincoln U. 1st Black College founded by Presbyterian, PA, 1854
Sojourn Truth, May 28th
May 25Lillia Mae Jackson, pioneer Human Rights Champion, b. 1889
May 26
St. Philip Neri
Senate Passes Voting Rights Bill, 1965
May 27
St. Augustine
of Canterbury
Dorie Miller awarded Navy Cross for heroism Pearl Harbor, 1942
May 28Sojourner Truth participates in Women's Rights Convention, 1851
May 29Buck (John) O'Neil, becomes the 1st African American coach in major-league baseball, 1962
Shirley Verrett, May 31st
May 30Countee Cullen, poet, b. 1903
Gale Sayers, youngest player to be elected to the Football Hall of Fame, b. Wichita, KS, 1943
May 31
Pentecost
Josephite became independent American Community, 1893
Shirley Verrett, Mezzo-Soprano, b. New Orleans, LA, 1931

Black History Facts courtesy of the
Josephite Pastoral Center
1200 Varnum Street, N.E.
Washington, D.C. 20017
(202) 526-9270
The Josephite Fathers and Brothers




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text ©1998-2011 by Rev. Warren J. Savage
Creativity Consultant: Christina Melville thequeenoftheland@verizon.net