Black History
BlackHistoryEveryday.com
Springfield Race Riot of 1908, Sixteen people died. $150,000 in property damage. The riot was a catalyst of the formation of the NAACP. The population of Springfield, Illinois was 45,000 at that time.
10/6/2021: We Dream in Black “Black Domestic Workers Continue the Call for Standards in the Care Industry. Pay, professionalism, and respect”
9/29/2021: William Branch 1927 – 2019 playwright.
9/22/2021: Carl Bean 1944-2021 singer and founder Unity Fellowship Church Movement, Black LGBT denomination.
9/15/2021: Black Theatre United “. . . stand[s] together to help protect Black people, Black talent and Black lives of all shapes and orientations in theatre and communities across the country.”
9/08/2021: Alliance for Digital Equality (Julius Hollis founder) was a “non-profit consumer advocacy organization that serves to facilitate and ensure equal access to technology in underserved communities.”
8/25/2021: Eugene Williams first victim at age 17, by being stoned and drowned on July 27, 1919, during “Red Summer” of 1919 race riot in Chicago.
8/18/2021: Springfield Race Riot of 1908, Sixteen people died. $150,000 in property damage. The riot was a catalyst of the formation of the NAACP. The population of Springfield, Illinois was 45,000 at that time.
8/11/2021: Enslaved Africans politically correct term coined for slaves who landed on the now U.S. shores in 1619.
8/4/2021: Trini Ross nominated to lead the U.S. attorney’s office for the Western District of New York based in Buffalo, if confirmed she will be the first Black woman to head that office.
7/28/2021: Kimberly Drew born 1990 art curator and writer. Former Metropolitan Museum social media manager.
7/21/2021: Ketanji Brown Jackson born 1970, in 2021 elevated by Biden to U.S. Court of Appeals for D.C. and is a contender to be the first Black woman on the U.S. Supreme Court.
7/14/2021: Mary Ellen Pleasant 1814 – 1904 “The Mother of Civil (or Human) Rights in California.” Also a chef.
7/7/2021: Florence Price 1887-1953 first Black woman to be recognized as a symphonic composer, and the first to have a composition played by a major orchestra.
6/30/2021: Skylar Heath, 20, Black transgender woman shot and killed in Miami, FL in November 20, 2020.
6/23/2021: Dior H Ova (aka Tiffany Harris), 32, Black transgender woman, killed July 26, 2020 in Bronx, NY.
6/16/2021: Danika “Danny” Henson, 31, Black transgender woman shot and killed May 4. 2021 in Baltimore, Maryland.
6/9/2021: Alexus Braxton, 45, Black transgender woman aka Kimmy Icon Braxton, killed on 2/4/2021 in Miami, Florida.
6/2/2021: Serenity Hollis, 24, Black transgender woman shot and killed May 8, 2021 in Albany, Georgia.
5/26/2021: Cassie Ventura born in 1986 is a Black and Filipino singer, songwriter, actor, and dancer.
5/19/2021: Naomi Campbell born 1970. British actress, business woman and model of Afro-Jamaican and Chinese-Jamaican descent.
5/12/2021: George Maxwell Richards 1931-2018, first president of Trinidad and Tobago to be of Amerindian (and Chinese) descent.
5/5/2021: Marabou is Haitian and means mixed-race including European, African, Taíno and South Asian.
4/28/2021: Thelma Harper 1940 – 2021. First Black woman elected to the Tennessee legislature in 1989.
4/21/2021: Baby Esther born Esther Lee Jones 1918 – 1921, date of death unknown. Singer and child entertainer in the 1920s.
4/14/2021: Tishaura O. Jones born March 10. 1972, first Black woman mayor of St. Louis, MO in April 2021.
4/7/2021: Something Good—Negro Kiss 1898 first recorded kiss between Black folks on film.
3/31/2021: Jayla Roxx first transgender woman of color to launch a beauty brand, “BatMe! Cosmetics” in the United States.
3/24/2021: Nnenna Stella founded The Wrap Life out of her exploration of her individuality and the wraps are for everyone.
3/17/2021: Maia Chaka first Black woman to officiate in the NFL.
3/10/2021: Sheila Edwonna Branford 1/27/1960 – 1/29/2021 created Scottsboro Boys Museum and Cultural Center.
3/3/2021: Katrina Adams born 8/5/1968. First Black president of the United States Tennis Association (USTA).
1/27/2021: Calendly is a Black owned scheduling app.
more facts log onto BlackHistoryEveryday.com
Activism
Oakland Post: Week of November 26 – December 2, 2025
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of November 26 – December 2, 2025
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Activism
Oakland Post: Week of November 19 – 25, 2025
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of November 19 – 25, 2025
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Activism
IN MEMORIAM: William ‘Bill’ Patterson, 94
Bill devoted his life to public service and education. In 1971, he became the founding director for the Peralta Community College Foundation, he also became an administrator for Oakland Parks and Recreation overseeing 23 recreation centers, the Oakland Zoo, Children’s Fairyland, Lake Merritt, and the Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center.
William “Bill” Patterson, 94, of Little Rock, Arkansas, passed away peacefully on October 21, 2025, at his home in Oakland, CA. He was born on May 19, 1931, to Marie Childress Patterson and William Benjamin Patterson in Little Rock, Arkansas. He graduated from Dunbar High School and traveled to Oakland, California, in 1948. William Patterson graduated from San Francisco State University, earning both graduate and undergraduate degrees. He married Euradell “Dell” Patterson in 1961. Bill lovingly took care of his wife, Dell, until she died in 2020.
Bill devoted his life to public service and education. In 1971, he became the founding director for the Peralta Community College Foundation, he also became an administrator for Oakland Parks and Recreation overseeing 23 recreation centers, the Oakland Zoo, Children’s Fairyland, Lake Merritt, and the Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center.
He served on the boards of Oakland’s Urban Strategies Council, the Oakland Public Ethics Commission, and the Oakland Workforce Development Board.
He was a three-term president of the Oakland branch of the NAACP.
Bill was initiated in the Gamma Alpha chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity.
In 1997 Bill was appointed to the East Bay Utility District Board of Directors. William Patterson was the first African American Board President and served the board for 27 years.
Bill’s impact reached far beyond his various important and impactful positions.
Bill mentored politicians, athletes and young people. Among those he mentored and advised are legends Joe Morgan, Bill Russell, Frank Robinson, Curt Flood, and Lionel Wilson to name a few.
He is survived by his son, William David Patterson, and one sister, Sarah Ann Strickland, and a host of other family members and friends.
A celebration of life service will take place at Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center (Calvin Simmons Theater) on November 21, 2025, at 10 AM.
His services are being livestreamed at: https://www.facebook.com/events/1250167107131991/
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Euradell and William Patterson scholarship fund TBA.
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