November 18th

November 18th in Black History:


1797. Assumed birth date of Isabella Baumfree, born into slavery in Ulster County NY. After a life of extreme hardship, Isabella changes her name to Sojourner Truth and becomes a tireless worker for Black liberation and women’s rights.
Read Her Story Here



1803. In the final battle of the Haitian Revolution, Haitians attacked the French fort at Vertieres, in Haiti, and win a resounding victory. The French are trounced, and forced to abandon the fort. 45 days later, Jean-Jacques Dessalines announces Haitian Independence, and declares himself Emperor of Haiti. This is Napoleon’s first major military defeat, and a crushing one. Battle of Vertieres day is now a national holiday in Haiti. Vive la Revolution!

1927. Bishop State Community College (BSCC) was founded in Mobile, Alabama, BSCC is one of more than 100 Historical Black Colleges and Universities (HCBUs) in the U.S.

1977. Robert Edward “dynamite bob” Chambliss, a member of the KKK, is convicted of first degree murder in connection with the 1963 bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala., that killed four little Black girls.

1978. Over 900 people, mostly Black Americans, were killed in a mass murder/suicide in Jonestown, Guyana. They were followers of Jim Jones, a white cult leader, who claimed he was God. Never drink the Kool-Aid, children.

1992. Spike Lee’s movie Malcolm X premieres to a national audience. Theatres are found to be giving patrons tickets for other movies to keep receipts down.


1993. South Africa approves the new democracy constitution that gives blacks the vote, effectively ending white minority rule.

1994. Cabell (Cab) Calloway III, bandleader and first jazz singer to sell a million records, dies in Hockessin, Delaware as a result of a stroke suffered the past June.