Sheldon L. Holder

A photograph of Malcolm X's mother, Louise Norton Little (1897-1989). Louise Little was a brilliant woman, speaking multiple languages, and for years, along with her husband Earl Little, a dedicated activist of Marcus Garvey's Pan-African Movement (Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League). Louise Norton Little (1897-1989) was a Grenadian-born American activist and the mother of Malcolm X. Here are some key facts about her life. - Born in Grenada to a former slave from Nigeria and a Scotsman - Raised by her grandparents in Grenada - Immigrated to Canada in 1917 and joined the UNIA (Universal Negro Improvement Association) - Met her husband Earl Little at a UNIA meeting in Montreal and married in 1919 - Had eight children with Earl, including Malcolm X - Was a Garveyite activist who taught her children about black pride and self-reliance - Was committed to a mental institution for 24 years and released in 1963 with the help of her children - Lived with her family in Grand Rapids, Michigan, until her death in 1991 at the age of 94

4 years before Rosa Parks ignited the Montgomery Bus boycott by refusing to give up her seat in Alabama, there was PFC Sarah Keys from the Keyesville neighborhood of Washington, NC, who when traveling from Fort Dix in NJ back home to Washington, NC on August 1, 1951, was told to relinquish her seat to a white Marine and move to the back of the bus. Keys refused to move, thus the driver emptied the bus, directed the other passengers to another vehicle, and barred Keys from boarding it. When Keys asked why she shouldn’t ride the bus, she was arrested and spent 13 hours in a cell. Keys was eventually ordered to pay a $25 fine for disorderly conduct, was released, and put on a bus to her hometown. Her case was brought before the Interstate Commerce Commission with Dovey Johnson Roundtree as her lawyer and wasn’t settled until 1955. In Sarah Keys v. Carolina Coach Company, the ICC favored Keys, ruling the Interstate Commerce Act forbids segregation.

On this day in 1835, a mob of white citizens and a hundred yoke of oxen pulled a Black school to a swamp outside the town of Canaan, New Hampshire and fired cannons to the boarding homes of the black students. —On August 10, 1835, nearly 500 white men destroyed the Noyes Academy in Canaan, New Hampshire, using 100 oxen to pull the schoolhouse off its foundation and drag it a mile down the road. Noyes Academy was a new integrated school (the second in the country) founded by abolitionists with 28 white and 14 Black students. The African American students, who came from all over the Northeast, traveled long distances in the face of adversity to get to the school. Students included future leaders of note such as Henry Highland Garnet and Alexander Crummell. Noyes Academy was a new integrated school (the second in the country) founded by abolitionists. The African American students, who came from all over the Northeast, traveled long distances in the face of adversity to get to the school. Students included future leaders of note such as Henry Highland Garnet and Alexander Crummell. After destroying the school, the mob fired cannons into the homes where the African American students were boarding and threatened the students. Shots were exchanged which created a distraction for the Black students to escape out of town. Despite attempts to repair and reopen the school, the structure was burnt to the ground three years later.