AUGUST 2015

SATURDAY, 1^st 

Three straight centuries of slavery in Jamaica, instituted by Spanish colonialists, ended on this date when it was abolished by the imperial British government in 1838.

TUESDAY, 4^th

Happy 54th birthday to President Barack Obama! Right now, you’re the man. From the Supreme Court ruling that ObamaCare is here to stay to marriage equality for all...and can’t nobody say a thing about it.

TUESDAY, 11^th

Today in 1965, the Watts Riots began in L.A., raging for six days and leading to 34 deaths, 3,000 arrests, and $40 million in damages. The inciting incident? An altercation between a white cop and a Black motorist. The more things change…

FRIDAY, 14^th

The timelessly fine Halle Berry turns 49 today. If you ever feel like sharing that fountain of youth you got in your basement, babygirl, you know where to find us.

SATURDAY, 29^th

The Soviet Communist Party was suspended on this date in 1991. With the end of America’s greatest enemy, the country now had enough free time to worry about whether or not the president was getting to third base in the Oval Office.

SEPTEMBER 2015

THURSDAY, 3^rd

Abolitionist and all-around badass Frederick Douglass initiated his escape from slavery today in 1838 by boarding a train in Baltimore dressed as a sailor, beginning a journey that would take him to New York City and freedom.

FRIDAY, 4^th

Beyoncé Knowles, undisputed queen of the known universe and beyond, celebrates her 34th birthday today. Long may she reign.

SUNDAY, 6^th

Today, Idris “The Black James Bond” Elba begins his 43rd consecutive year of making every other man on earth look kind of lame by comparison.

WEDNESDAY, 9^th

America got an official rebrand today in 1776 when the Continental Congress changed the name of the fledgling nation from the United Colonies to the United States. It’s like when Puffy tried to get everyone to call him Diddy, only it worked.

WEDNESDAY, 28^th

Today in 1542, California was discovered by Portuguese navigator Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo upon his arrival at San Diego Bay, much to the surprise of the native people who had been living there for thousands of years.