A Timeline of Black History in Westchester

In honor of Black History Month, we shine the spotlight on some illustrious African Americans in the county.

January 18, 2018 |By Research by Nichele Rascoe

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	1828 Sojourner Truth Briarcliff Manor resident Sojourner Truth becomes the first African-American woman to win a lawsuit against a white man.
1919 Madam C.J. Walker On May 25, 1919, haircare entrepreneur Madam C.J. Walker dies in Irvington. At that time, she was regarded as the wealthiest African-American woman in America.
	1956 Floyd Patterson Onetime Yonkers resident Floyd Patterson becomes the youngest heavyweight champion in history. He is also the first heavyweight to regain his title following a loss. - Advertisement -
1959 Lorraine Hansberry On March 11, 1959, Croton-on-Hudson resident Lorraine Hansberry becomes the first black woman to have her play, A Raisin in the Sun, performed on Broadway, at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre.
	1964 Sidney Poitier Poitier becomes the first black actor to win an Academy Award for Best Actor, for his role in Lilies of the Field. Poitier became a resident of Mount Vernon in 1956.
1965 Betty Shabazz Betty Shabazz, educator, civil-rights advocate, and widow of Malcolm X moves to a two-story home in Mount Vernon, shortly after her husband, Malcolm X, is assassinated. She later relocates to Yonkers.
	1984 Richard Jackson In December 1984, Richard Jackson gets elected mayor of Peekskill, making him New York State’s first black mayor.
1986 M. Paul Redd M. Paul Redd purchases the Westchester County Press, making it one of the county’s first African-American-owned newspapers. Decades earlier, Redd brings a landmark housing-discrimination case that results in the 1962 NYS anti-discrimination legislation called The Redd Bill. - Partner Content - Giving Guide 2023 Q&A Topic: Dental Implants
	2015 Belinda Miles Westchester Community College’s Belinda Miles, EdD, becomes the first black college president or chancellor in the county’s history.