July 17. Congress allowed the enlistment of blacks in the Union Army. Some black units precede this date, but they were disbanded as unofficial. Some 186,000 blacks served; of these 38,000 died.
On June 21, 1832, the first African American to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives, Joseph Hayne Rainey, was born in Georgetown, S.C. He was elected in 1870 from the state of South Carolina, served five terms in Congress and died in 1887.
On this date in White House History, September 24, 1957. President Dwight D. Eisenhower sends federal troops to Little Rock, Arkansas, to preserve order and allow African-American students to enter an all-white high school.
What happened on May 22 in Black history?
The War Department issued General Order 143 on May 22, 1863, creating the United States Colored Troops. By the end of the Civil War, roughly 179,000 black men (10 percent of the Union Army) served as soldiers in the U.S. Army, and another 19,000 served in the Navy.
What happened on May 22 in Black history?
The War Department issued General Order 143 on May 22, 1863, creating the United States Colored Troops. By the end of the Civil War, roughly 179,000 black men (10 percent of the Union Army) served as soldiers in the U.S. Army, and another 19,000 served in the Navy.
What happened on April 13th in Black history?
On April 13, 1873—Easter Sunday—a mob of hundreds of white men killed an estimated 150 Black people while attacking the Grant Parish courthouse in Colfax, Louisiana. Many of the Black victims were murdered in cold blood after surrendering. Only three white men died.
