Topics Related to African American History

On February 10, 1854, African American orator and teacher, Joseph C. Price was born in Elizabeth City. In 1863 his family moved to New Bern where he was enrolled in St. Andrew’s School. Price, though late in beginning his formal education, made exceptional progress.

On February 9, 1956, basketball legend Phil Ford was born in Kannapolis.

Ford was raised in Rocky Mount, where he graduated from high school in 1974.

On February 8, 1898, Warren Coleman and his associates laid the cornerstone for the nation’s first black-owned cotton mill in Concord.

On February 6, 1971, Mike’s Grocery, a mom-and-pop store in Wilmington, was firebombed and burned. It’s unclear who was responsible for the arson, which came after a week of increasing racial tension and violence over the desegregation of the city’s high schools.

On February 1, 1960, four African American college students sat down at the lunch counter at Woolworth’s Department Store in downtown Greensboro and asked to be served.

On January 25, 1946, noted educator Orishatukeh Faduma died.