At the Olympic Games in Mexico City on this day in 1968, Tommie Smith and John Carlos struck a blow for human rights. They demonstrated the plight of Blacks in America by raising their Black-gloved fists on the victory stand.
On this day in 1859, one of the greatest blows against slavery was struck. John Brown and his small band of supporters, including some of his sons, led a raid on the U.S Armory at Harpers Ferry. It was a direct action against the institution of slavery. He failed, and was convicted of treason, murder, and conspiracy.
George Washington Williams is perhaps the first major historian of African descent in the United States. On this day in 1849 he was born in Bedford Springs, Pennsylvania. He was an international figure who wrote of the plight of Africans under colonialism and of slavery and segregation in the United States.
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