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This Month In Black History: Important Things That Happened In June That You Never Learned

This Month In Black History: Important Things That Happened In June That You Never Learned

Another month full of history!

The summer season has begun and we’re still churning out the historical facts. June birthed some icons, saw the marking of historic firsts, ushered in world-changing moments, and saw the death of some of our giants. As we continue to pay homage to the past, present and future of Black excellence, we continue to spread these truths to expand our collective memory. Share these moments in Black history with those you love and let the lessons continue. For this month in Black history, here are some important things that happened in June that you may have never learned, courtesy of BlackFacts.com.

June 21, 1859 - Artist Henry Ossawa Tanner is born

 

June 19, 1865 - The last enslaved people in Galveston, TX learn slavery is abolished in what becomes known as “Juneteenth”

 

June 17, 1871 - Civil rights activist James Weldon Johnson is born

 

June 27, 1872 - Poet Paul Laurence Dunbar is born

 

June 10, 1893 - Hattie McDaniel, first Black Oscar winner, is born

 

June 5, 1894 - Inventor George W. Murray patents cotton chopper

 

June 20, 1894 - Chemist Lloyd Hall is born

 

June 3, 1904 - Surgeon Charles R. Drew is born

 

June 3, 1906 - Entertainer Josephine Baker is born

 

June 14, 1908 - Musical genius “Blind Tom” Wiggins passes away

 

June 22, 1909 - Dancer and anthropologist Katherine Dunham is born

 


June 10, 1910 - Blues musician Howlin’ Wolf is born

 

June 7, 1917 - Poet Gwendolyn Brooks is born

 

June 30, 1917 - Entertainer Lena Horne is born

 

June 29, 1919 - Director Lloyd Richards is born

 

June 11, 1920 - Singer Hazel Scott is born

 

June 15, 1921 - Bessie Coleman becomes first Black woman to receive pilot’s license

 

June 4, 1922 - U.S. Navy Officer Samuel L. Gravely is born

 

June 27, 1922 - George Theophilus Walker, first Black person to win Pulitzer Prize for Music, is born

 

June 29, 1925 - Classical composer Hale Smith is born

 

June 21, 1927 - Former Cleveland mayor Carl B. Stokes is born

 

June 11, 1930 - Former U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel is born 

 


June 14, 1931 - Actress Marla Gibbs is born

 

June 25, 1933 - Civil rights activist James Meredith is born

 

June 1, 1937 - Actor Morgan Freeman is born

 

June 13, 1937 - D.C. Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton is born

 

June 26, 1938 - Civil rights activist James Weldon Johnson passes away

 

June 6, 1939 - Activist Marian Wright Edelman is born

 

June 10, 1940 - Activist Marcus Garvey passes away

 

June 23, 1940 - Olympic track icon Wilma Rudolph is born

 

June 29, 1941 - Civil rights leader Stokely Carmichael is born

 

June 3, 1942 - Singer Curtis Mayfield is born

  


June 7, 1943 - Poet Nikki Giovanni is born

 

June 5, 1945 - Olympic track star John Carlos is born

 

June 25, 1945 - Former U.S. Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick is born

 

June 25, 1945 - Egyptian playwright Dusé Mohamed Ali passes away

 

June 10, 1946 - Boxer Jack Johnson passes away

 

June 19, 1948 - Actress Phylicia Rashad is born 

 


June 3, 1949 - Wesley A. Brown becomes first Black graduate of Annapolis Naval Academy

 

June 20, 1949 - Singer Lionel Richie is born

 

June 2, 1953 - Philosopher Cornel West is born

 

June 18, 1953 - Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King are married

 

June 9, 1954 - Alain Leroy Locke, first Black Rhodes Scholar, passes away

 

June 5, 1955 - Martin Luther King Jr. receives doctorate from Boston University

 

June 26, 1956 - Former NASA astronaut Bernard A. Harris Jr. is born

 

June 7, 1958 - Music icon Prince is born

 

June 20, 1960 - Harry Belafonte becomes the first Black person to win an Emmy

 

June 12, 1963 - Activist Medgar Evers is assassinated

 

June 12, 1964 - Nelson Mandela sentenced to life imprisonment

 

June 1, 1966 - White House begins Conference on Civil Rights

 

June 30, 1966 - Professional Heavyweight Champion boxer Mike Tyson is born

 

June 25, 1968 - Lincoln Alexander becomes first Black member of the Canadian Parliament

 

June 15, 1969 - Entertainer Ice Cube is born

 

June 16, 1970 - Kenneth A. Gibson elected as first Black mayor of Newark, New Jersey

 

June 4, 1972 - Activist Angela Davis acquitted on all charges in San Jose, California

 


June 4, 1973 - Poet Arna Bontemps passes away

 

June 5, 1973 - Doris A. Davis, former mayor of Compton, becomes first Black woman to govern a metropolitan city

 

June 26, 1974 - Baseball player Derek Jeter is born

 

June 8, 1977 - Entertainer Kanye West is born

 

June 30, 1978 - Larry Doby becomes manager of the Chicago White Sox baseball team

 

June 17, 1980 - Tennis icon Venus Williams is born

 

June 8, 1982 - Baseball Legend Satchel Paige passes away

 

June 7, 1987 - Director Lloyd Richards wins Tony Award for August Wilson’s “Fences”

 

June 2, 1989 - Soccer player Freddy Adu is born

 

June 30, 1995 - Singer Phyllis Hyman passes away 

 


June 15, 1996 - Jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald passes away

 

June 23, 1997 - Civil rights activist Betty Shabazz passes away

 

June 23, 2003 - Former Atlanta mayor Maynard Jackson passes away

 

June 10, 2004 - Entertainer Ray Charles passes away

 

June 29, 2006 - Director Lloyd Richards passes away

 

 


June 2, 2008 - Guitarist Bo Diddley passes away

 

June 25, 2009 - Music icon Michael Jackson passes away

 

June 3, 2013 - NFL Hall of Famer Deacon Jones passes away

 

June 11, 2014 - Actress Ruby Dee passes away

 

June 3, 2016 - Boxing icon Muhammad Ali passes away

Cover photo: This month in Black History: Important things that happened in June that you never learned/Photo Courtesy of Norman Seeff