JANUARY

January 1, 1804 – Jean Jacques Dessalines proclaimed independence of Haiti, the second republic in the Western Hemisphere and the first nation to gain independence through a slave revolt.

January 1, 1808 – The US Congress banned the slave trade, prohibiting "the importation of slaves into the United States or the territories thereof" after January 1, 1808 

January 1, 1863 – President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. The proclamation declared "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free."

January 1(?), 1864 – agricultural scientist and inventor George Washington Carver was born near Diamond Grove, Missouri (like many women and men born into slavery, the exact date of Carver’s birthday is unknown).  

January 2, 1915 – historian John Hope Franklin was born in Rentiesville, Oklahoma 

January 2, 1936 – orchestra conductor Paul Douglas Freeman was born in Richmond, Virginia 

January 3, 1853 – Solomon Northup regained his freedom after being kidnapped and enslaved 12 years earlier. Northrup published a book about his experiences entitled “12 Years a Slave” 

January 4, 1937 – opera singer Grace Bumbry was born in St. Louis, Missouri 

January 5, 1911 – Kappa Alpha Psi, Fraternity founded at Indiana University by Elder W. Diggs, Byron K. Armstrong, John M. Lee, Harvey T. Asher, Marcus P. Blakemore, Guy L. Grant, Paul Caine, George W. Edmonds, Ezra D. Alexander and Edward G. Irvin.

January 6, 1832 – New England Anti-Slavery Society organized at African Baptist Church on Boston's Beacon Hill.

January 7, 1868 – First Arkansas Reconstruction Legislature convenes. Eight Blacks and 43 whites delegates met in Little Rock. 

January 7, 1890 – W.B. Purvis patented the fountain pen 

January 7, 1891 – writer Zora Neale Hurston was born in Notasulga, Alabama

January 7, 1897 – historian Rayford Whittingham Logan was born in Washington D.C. He was best known for his study of post-Reconstruction America, a period he termed "the nadir of American race relations".

January 7, 1986 – The Howard Beach Incident. Michael Griffith and two other black men were set upon by a group of white youths outside a pizza parlor. Two of the victims, including Griffith, were severely beaten. Griffith fled onto a highway where he was fatally struck by a passing car.

Three local teenagers, Jon Lester, Scott Kern, and Jason Ladone were convicted of manslaughter for the death of Griffith. A fourth assailant, Michael Pirone, was acquitted. Griffith's death heightened racial tensions in New York City and was the second of three highly publicized, racially motivated killings of black men by white mobs in New York City in the 1980s. The other victims were Willie Turks in 1982 and Yusuf Hawkins in 1989

January 8, 1811 – Charles Deslandes leads the German Coast uprising, a slave revolt in Louisiana.

January 9, 1914 – Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity was founded at Howard University in Washington, D.C., January 9, 1914, by Honorable A. Langston Taylor, Honorable Leonard F. Morse, and Honorable Charles I. Brown 

January 11, 1870 – First Mississippi reconstruction legislature met in Jackson. 31 of the 106 representatives were Black. Five of the 33 senators were Black.

January 11, 1971 – singer, songwriter and actress Mary Jane Blige was born in the Bronx, New York 

January 12, 1920 – civil rights activist James Leonard Farmer Jr. was born in Marshall, Texas. He organized the first Freedom Rides in 1961.  

January 12, 1944 – Former Heavyweight Champion boxer, Joe Frazier was born in Beaufort, South Carolina 

January 12, 1997 – United States Army first lieutenant, Vernon Joseph Baker was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. He received the nation’s highest military decoration for his actions 51 years prior during World War II. His citation reads:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty: First Lieutenant Vernon J. Baker distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism in action on 5 and 6 April 1945. At 0500 hours on 5 April 1945, Lieutenant Baker advanced at the head of his weapons platoon, along with Company C's three rifle platoons, towards their objective, Castle Aghinolfi – a German mountain strong point on the high ground just east of the coastal highway and about two miles from the 370th Infantry Regiment's line of departure. Moving more rapidly than the rest of the company, Lieutenant Baker and about 25 men reached the south side of a draw some 250 yards from the castle within two hours. In reconnoitering for a suitable position to set up a machine gun, Lieutenant Baker observed two cylindrical objects pointing out a slit in a mount at the edge of a hill. Crawling up and under the opening, he stuck his M-1 into the slit and emptied the clip, killing the observation post's two occupants. Moving to another position in the same area, Lieutenant Baker stumbled upon a well-camouflaged machine gun nest, the crew of which was eating breakfast. He shot and killed both enemy soldiers. After Captain John F. Runyon, Company C's Commander joined the group, a German soldier appeared from the draw and hurled a grenade which failed to explode. Lieutenant Baker shot the enemy soldier twice as he tried to flee. Lieutenant Baker then went down into the draw alone. There he blasted open the concealed entrance of another dugout with a hand grenade, shot one German soldier who emerged after the explosion, tossed another grenade into the dugout and entered firing his sub-machine gun killing two more Germans. As Lieutenant Baker climbed back out of the draw, enemy machine gun and mortar fire began to inflict heavy casualties among the group of 25 soldiers, killing or wounding about two-thirds of them. When expected reinforcements did not arrive, Captain Runyon ordered a withdrawal in two groups. Lieutenant Baker volunteered to cover the withdrawal of the first group, which consisted mostly of walking wounded, and to remain to assist in the evacuation of the more seriously wounded. During the second group's withdrawal, Lieutenant Baker, supported by covering fire from one of the platoon members, destroyed two machine gun positions (previously bypassed during the assault) with hand grenades. In all, Lieutenant Baker accounted for nine enemy dead soldiers, elimination of three machine gun positions, an observation post, and a dugout. On the following night, Lieutenant Baker voluntarily led a battalion advance through enemy mine fields and heavy fire toward the division objective. Lieutenant Baker's fighting spirit and daring leadership were an inspiration to his men and exemplify the highest traditions of the military service.

(Signed) Bill Clinton

January 13, 1913 – Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Founded by 22 collegiate women at Howard University.

January 14, 1868 – First South Carolina reconstruction legislature met in Charleston. There were 76 Black delegates and 48 White delegates, making this the first official assembly in the United States with a Black majority. Two-thirds of the Black delegates were former enslaved persons. A New York Herald reporter wrote: "Here in Charleston is being enacted the most incredible, hopeful, and yet unbelievable experiment in all the history of mankind." 

January 14, 1940 – civil rights activist Horace Julian Bond was born in Nashville, Tennessee. In 1971, he co-founded the Southern Poverty Law Center.

January 15, 1908 – Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc, founded at Howard University

January 15, 1929 – Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia 

January 16, 1865 – Major General William T. Sherman issued his Special Field Order No. 15 setting aside "the islands from Charleston, south, the abandoned rice fields along the river for thirty miles back from the sea, and the country bordering the St. John's River, Florida," for exclusive settlement by Blacks. The order provided that "each family should have a plot of not more than forty (40) acres of tillable ground...in the possession of which land the military authorities will afford them protection until such time as they can protect themselves...."

January 16, 1920 – Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated was founded on January 16, 1920, at Howard University, Washington, D.C., by Arizona Cleaver Stemons,  Pearl Anna Neal, Myrtle Tyler Faithful, Viola Tyler Goings, and Fannie Pettie Watts

January 17, 1759 – businessman, whaler and abolitionist Paul Cuffee was born on Cuttyhunk Island, Massachusetts

January 17, 1923 – Spingarn Medal awarded to George Washington Carver, head of the department of research at Tuskegee Institute, for his pioneering work in agricultural chemistry 

January 17, 1927 – Actress and Singer, Eartha Kitt was born in the small town of North, South Carolina

January 17, 1942 – Former Heavyweight Champion boxer, Muhammad Ali (Cassius Clay Jr.) was born in Louisville, Kentucky 

January 18, 1856 – Dr. Daniel Hale Williams was born in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania. He is known for being the first to perform a successful heart surgery.

January 20, 1895 – Choral conductor, Eva Jessye was born in Coffeyville, Kansas 

January 20, 1900 – Black Congressman George H. White (R-North Carolina) introduced a bill to make lynching of Americans a federal offense. The bill died in committee. In 1900, 105 African Americans were lynched in the United States. The US would not pass a federal anti-lynching bill until March 29, 2022 – 122 years later. There were more than 1800 Black people lynched in that time. 

January 20, 1986 – Martin Luther King Jr. Day was observed for the first time. 

January 20, 2009 – Barack H. Obama became the 44th President of the United States. He was the first Black President in the history of the United States. 

January 21, 1773 – poet Phillis Wheatley was emancipated

January 23, 1889 – Dr. Daniel Hale Williams founded Provident Hospital in Chicago. It is the first non-segregated hospital in the United States. 

January 23, 1964 – The 24th Amendment to the US Constitution is ratified. It abolishes poll tax, which was used as a means of preventing Black-Americans from voting

January 25, 1851 – Sojourner Truth addressed the first Black Women's Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio.  

January 26, 1863 – 54th Regiment (Black) infantry formed 

January 26, 1892 – Elizabeth "Bessie" Coleman was born in Atlanta, Texas. Coleman was the first Black woman to hold a pilots' license 

January 26, 1944 – political activist, author, and teacher, Angela Davis was born in Birmingham, Alabama

January 26, 1948 – President Harry Truman signed Executive Order 9981 ending segregation in United States Armed Forces 

January 26, 1958 – Grammy Award winning singer, Anita Baker was born in Toledo, Ohio 

January 28, 1787 – The Free African Society was organized in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania by Bishop Richard Allen and Absalom Jones. 

January 29, 1890 – Phi Beta Sigma fraternity co-founder A. Langston Taylor was born in Memphis, Tennessee

January 29, 1926 – Attorney, Violette Neatley Anderson became the first Black woman to practice law before the United States Supreme Court.  

January 30, 1844 – America’s first Black diplomat to a white country (Russia), Richard Theodore Greener was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was also Harvard University’s first Black graduate. 

January 31, 1919 – Jack Roosevelt “Jackie” Robinson was born in Cairo, Georgia.