Shortly after the Civil War, on November 24, 1865, Mississippi became the first former Confederate state to pass the so-called Black Codes. These laws severely restricted the rights and freedoms of newly emancipated African Americans. The codes:

• Barred Black people from serving on juries

• Prohibited them from testifying against white people in court

• Forbade Black ownership or possession of firearms

• Banned Black children from attending schools with white children

These codes were designed to maintain white supremacy and control over Black labor, effectively continuing the oppression of slavery under a different name. They sparked outrage in the North and were a major factor that led to Radical Reconstruction and the passage of the 14th and 15th Amendments.

On November 24, 1971, a significant prison rebellion erupted at Rahway State Prison (now known as East Jersey State Prison) in New Jersey. The unrest began when inmates violently assaulted Superintendent U. Samuel Vukcevich during an attempt to address their grievances in the prison auditorium. Vukcevich, along with three correction officers, was seized and held hostage in a cell for approximately 24 hours while negotiations took place. ?Justia Law

The inmates’ demands included improvements in their diet, regulation of commissary prices, enhanced educational and vocational training programs, better discipline among officers, and increased medical supplies. The situation was resolved without loss of life, and the hostages were released without the use of firearms. ?Wikipedia

This rebellion at Rahway State Prison occurred in the same year as the more widely known Attica Prison uprising in New York, highlighting a period of significant unrest and calls for reform within the U.S. prison system. ?American Friends Service Committee

Southern University was officially established in Louisiana on November 24, 1880, by the state legislature as a public institution for the education of African Americans. Initially located in New Orleans, the university later moved to Baton Rouge in 1914. It became the flagship of the Southern University System, the only historically Black university system in the United States.

Southern University has played a critical role in advancing higher education and civil rights for Black Americans, producing generations of educators, professionals, and leaders.

On this day, more than 150 delegates from Baptist churches across eleven U.S. states gathered in Montgomery, Alabama, to organize the Baptist Foreign Mission Convention of the United States. This historic gathering marked a major step in the development of independent Black religious institutions after Reconstruction.

Rev. William H. McAlphine, a prominent Alabama Baptist leader and educator, was elected as the first president. The convention focused on supporting foreign missionary work and strengthening the global outreach of African American Baptists.

This organization later became part of what is now the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc., one of the largest African American religious organizations in the world.

Stephen Atkins Swails (1832–1900) was a notable African American figure during the Reconstruction era. After serving with distinction in the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry during the Civil War, becoming the first African American commissioned as a combat officer in the U.S. military, Swails transitioned into politics in South Carolina. He served as a state senator from 1868 to 1878, during which he held the influential position of president pro tempore for three terms. While specific records of his re-election date as president pro tempore are limited, his decade-long tenure underscores his significant role in South Carolina’s legislative leadership during Reconstruction.

On November 24, 1874, Robert Brown Elliott, a distinguished African American politician and orator, was elected Speaker of the South Carolina House of Representatives. This achievement marked a significant milestone during the Reconstruction era, reflecting Elliott’s leadership and the increasing political engagement of African Americans in the post-Civil War South. ?House History Archives

Born on August 11, 1842, in Liverpool, England, Elliott moved to South Carolina in 1867. He quickly became an influential figure in state politics, serving as a delegate to the 1868 constitutional convention and as a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives from 1868 to 1870. Elliott was also elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1870, serving until his resignation on November 1, 1874, when he returned to state politics. ?

As Speaker from 1874 to 1876, Elliott played a pivotal role in advocating for civil rights and combating the pervasive influence of groups like the Ku Klux Klan. His tenure exemplified the strides African Americans were making in political representation during Reconstruction. However, with the end of Reconstruction and the resurgence of white Democratic control in South Carolina, Elliott’s political career waned. He passed away on August 9, 1884, in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Scott Joplin, a pioneering African American composer and pianist, was born in Texarkana, Texas. Widely known as the “King of Ragtime,” Joplin helped popularize the genre with his groundbreaking 1899 composition “Maple Leaf Rag” (published in 1899, though composed earlier), which ignited a ragtime music craze across America during the Gay Nineties and early 20th century.

His music laid the groundwork for jazz and American popular music. Joplin composed over 40 ragtime pieces, two operas, and a ballet, including the celebrated opera Treemonisha.