S.H. Love, an African American inventor, was granted U.S. Patent No. 1,936,515 for an improved vending machine. His design allowed for better control of coin-operated mechanisms, improving how goods were dispensed and helping reduce theft and malfunction. This invention contributed to the advancement of automated retail and vending technology in the early 20th century.

Randall Robinson (founder of TransAfrica), Walter Fauntroy (congressional delegate), and Mary Frances Berry (U.S. Civil Rights Commissioner) were arrested during a sit-in at the South African Embassy in Washington, D.C. The protest was a bold stand against apartheid and marked the beginning of a sustained, high-profile civil disobedience campaign in the United States.

Their arrests helped galvanize public and political pressure, leading to increased U.S. sanctions on South Africa and support for the global anti-apartheid movement.

On November 21, 1918, Henry Beard Delany was consecrated as the Suffragan Bishop for Colored Work in the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina, becoming the first African American bishop in North Carolina and only the second in the United States. ?

Born into slavery on February 5, 1858, in St. Marys, Georgia, Delany pursued education after emancipation, attending St. Augustine’s College in Raleigh, North Carolina. After graduating in 1885, he joined the faculty, teaching carpentry and masonry, and later served as vice-principal, chaplain, and musician. He was ordained a deacon in 1889 and a priest in 1892. ?

As Suffragan Bishop, Delany oversaw African American congregations not only in North Carolina but also in the dioceses of East and Western North Carolina, South Carolina, and Upper South Carolina. His role was pivotal in advocating for the inclusion and unity of African American Episcopalians within the church during a period marked by segregationist practices. ?

Delany’s legacy extends beyond his ecclesiastical contributions; two of his daughters, Sarah Louise Delany and Annie Elizabeth Delany, gained national recognition for their memoir, Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters’ First 100 Years, which chronicles their experiences as African American women navigating the 20th century.

Shaw University, located in Raleigh, North Carolina, was founded on this day by Henry Martin Tupper, a Union Army chaplain. It holds the distinction of being the first historically Black university (HBCU) in the southern United States.

Shaw played a critical role in the education of African Americans during Reconstruction and beyond. It was a trailblazer in many ways, including founding the first four-year medical school for African Americans in the U.S. (Leonard Medical School, 1881–1918) and training future leaders in education, religion, and civil rights.

On this day in 1654, Richard Johnson, a free Black man, was granted 100 acres of land in Northampton County, Virginia, as a reward for importing two individuals (a common colonial practice under the “headright” system). Johnson’s land grant is a rare example of Black land ownership in 17th-century colonial America, during a period when slavery and racial discrimination were rapidly expanding.

His case reflects the complex and shifting status of Africans in early America—where, for a brief time, some free Black individuals could own land, import labor, and participate in colonial economic systems before the codification of racial slavery.