Coretta Scott is born in Marion, Ala. She will marry Martin Luther King, Jr. In 1953 and be an integral part of his civil rights activities. After his assassination in 1968, she will continue her civil rights activities, founding the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Change in Atlanta, Ga.

On April 27, 1964, the Republic of Tanganyika and the People’s Republic of Zanzibar united to form the United Republic of Tanzania. This historic merger brought together mainland Tanganyika and the semi-autonomous island of Zanzibar, following their respective independence from British colonial rule in the early 1960s. Under the leadership of President Julius Nyerere and Zanzibar’s Abeid Karume, the union symbolized a Pan-African vision of unity, anti-colonial solidarity, and cooperative development. Tanzania would go on to become a leader in African liberation movements and a key player in shaping post-colonial continental politics.

On April 27, 1961, Sierra Leone officially gained independence from British colonial rule, becoming a sovereign nation under Prime Minister Sir Milton Margai. The country’s journey to independence was shaped by decades of political organizing and nationalist movements, including the Sierra Leone People’s Party. The transition was peaceful, with celebrations across the capital city, Freetown—founded in 1787 as a settlement for freed African slaves. As the Union Jack was lowered and the new green, white, and blue flag was raised, Sierra Leone entered a new era as an independent republic and a symbol of post-colonial progress in West Africa.

On April 27, 1972, Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s first president and a towering figure in African liberation movements, died at the age of 62 while in exile in Conakry, Guinea. Nkrumah was a visionary Pan-Africanist who led Ghana to independence from British colonial rule in 1957—the first sub-Saharan African nation to do so. As president, he championed industrial development, education, and continental unity, but was overthrown in a 1966 coup while on a diplomatic trip to Vietnam. Despite political exile, Nkrumah remained a symbol of African self-determination and his writings continue to inspire movements for Black liberation worldwide.

On April 27, 1960, the Republic of Togo gained full independence from French colonial rule, becoming the first West African nation to achieve independence that year. Led by President Sylvanus Olympio, Togo’s independence signaled the beginning of a major wave of decolonization across the African continent throughout the 1960s. Olympio, a nationalist and Pan-Africanist, became Togo’s first president and aimed to chart a course of self-reliance. Togo’s liberation marked a significant step forward in the global struggle against colonialism and remains a symbol of African sovereignty and resistance.

On April 27, 1903, the U.S. Supreme Court delivered a devastating blow to Black civil rights by upholding Alabama’s constitutional amendments that effectively disenfranchised Black voters. In Giles v. Harris, the Court declined to intervene against racially biased voter registration practices, citing that federal courts could not enforce voting rights if the state refused to comply. Despite clear evidence that Alabama’s poll taxes, literacy tests, and grandfather clauses were designed to suppress Black suffrage, the Court’s decision marked a legal retreat from the promises of the 15th Amendment. This ruling helped solidify Jim Crow laws and voter suppression across the South for decades.

On April 27, 1903, W.E.B. Du Bois published The Souls of Black Folk, a groundbreaking collection of essays that reshaped the national dialogue on race, freedom, and the African American experience. The book introduced key concepts such as “double consciousness” and directly challenged Booker T. Washington’s accommodationist stance. Du Bois argued that true equality could not come through vocational training alone—it required political power, civil rights, and higher education. The work became a cornerstone of Black intellectual tradition and marked a turning point in the fight for civil rights in the 20th century.

On April 27, 1903, Maggie Lena Walker made history by becoming the first Black woman in the United States to charter and serve as president of a bank. She led the St. Luke Penny Savings Bank in Richmond, Virginia—an institution created to empower the Black community with access to financial services, savings programs, and economic independence at a time when most banks excluded African Americans. Under Walker’s leadership, the bank thrived through the Great Depression and eventually merged with two other Black-owned banks to form Consolidated Bank and Trust, the oldest continuously Black-operated bank in the country. Walker’s pioneering leadership laid the foundation for future generations of Black financial leaders and remains a symbol of economic empowerment.

By April 27, 1903, reports had confirmed that 84 African Americans had been lynched in the United States within that year alone—making 1903 one of the most violent years of the early 20th century in terms of racially motivated terror. These brutal acts, largely carried out by white mobs in the South, were rarely prosecuted. The widespread use of lynching served as a tool of racial intimidation and white supremacy, especially in the post-Reconstruction Jim Crow era.

Despite this violence, 1903 also marked growing resistance. Black leaders like Ida B. Wells, who had been documenting lynchings since the 1890s, intensified their advocacy and publishing efforts, exposing the lies often used to justify such atrocities. These records helped lay the foundation for later civil rights campaigns, showing the necessity of legal reform, federal anti-lynching laws, and public accountability.

On April 27, 1883, Hubert Henry Harrison was born in St. Croix, then part of the Danish West Indies (now the U.S. Virgin Islands). A brilliant orator, writer, and political organizer, Harrison became a pivotal figure in early 20th-century Black radical thought in America. After immigrating to New York City, he emerged as a leading voice during the Harlem Renaissance and a founder of the “New Negro” movement.

Unlike many of his contemporaries, Harrison connected racial justice with class struggle, advocating for both civil rights and socialist principles. He founded the Liberty League and the influential newspaper The Voice, and was a mentor to Marcus Garvey before their ideological split. Despite his monumental influence, Harrison remains one of the most underrecognized leaders in Black intellectual history.