Hiram Rhodes Revels, a Republican from Natchez, Mississippi, is sworn into the U.S. Senate, becoming the first African American ever to sit in Congress. During the Civil War, Revels, a college-educated minister, helped form African American army regiments for the Union cause, …read more

image source: gettyimages

October

This Month in Black History

October 1944
The US Navy admits black women into the WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service). Harriet Ida Pickens (l) and Frances Wills (r) were the first black female commissioned officers.

October 1950
Ralph Bunche becomes the first black man to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

October 1964
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. wins the Nobel Peace Prize.

October 1967
Thurgood Marshall was sworn in as the first Black Supreme Court Justice.

October 1989
Colin Powell began serving as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

October 1993
Toni Morrison wins the Nobel Prize in Literature.

October 2009
Barack Obama wins the Nobel Peace Prize.

October 2019
Simone Biles wins her 5th consecutive all-around world gymnastic title and wins her 25th world medal, the most held by any gymnast.

AND that big moment for America when Simone put her Mental Health ahead of the sport!