James Weldon Johnson & J. Rosamond Johnson compose Lift Every Voice and Sing, the black national anthem.

Jazz pianist McCoy Tyner born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Blues singer Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton is born in Montgomery, Alabama.

13 black soldiers hanged for alleged participation in Houston riot.

Apartheid activist Bishop Desmond Tutu is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. wins Nobel Peace Prize.

Dr. Ralph J. Bunche becomes first black awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Women are granted the right to vote in Wyoming Territory.

Roy DeCarava, the first African-American photographer to be awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship, is born in New York City.

Pickney Benton Stewart Pinchback of Louisiana becomes the first African-American governor in U.S.