January

This Month in Black History

Emancipation Proclamation
January 1863
President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation declaring “that all persons held as slaves,” within the rebellious states, “are henceforward shall be free.”

 

Marian Anderson
January 1955
Marian Anderson became the first African American vocal soloist at the Metropolitan Opera.

 

 

First African American to command a warship
January 1962
Samuel L Gravely became the first African American to command a US warship.

 

 

First black Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
January 1966
Robert C Weaver became the first African American to be appointed to a President’s cabinet. He served as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development for President Lyndon Johnson.

 

MLK Day
January 1986
The United States recognized the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as a federal holiday.

 

 

First black president
January 2009
Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th President of the United States.