William Lloyd Garrison, the best-known white American to publicly devote his life to freeing enslaved people, coedits a newspaper “The Genius of Universal Liberty” with Quaker Benjamin Lundy (1789-1839). Garrison is born in Massachusetts but moves to Maryland, joining the abolitionist cause. He advocates immediate emancipation while Lundy favors gradual manumission. Garrison publishes a “Black List” of individuals involved in the “barbarities of slavery.” One dealer of enslaved people, Francis Todd, sues Garrison who is found guilty and sentenced to a fine that he refuses to pay. After spending seven weeks in confinement, another abolitionist pays his fine and he leaves for Boston. In 1831, William L. Garrison begins publishing “The Emancipator,” which becomes the most famous and influential abolitionist newspaper.
Eubie Blake, musical pioneer in jazz and ragtime
Eubie Blake creates a landmark in the history of Broadway musical theatre in 1921. Blake teams up with Noble Sissle to launch the first All African American Broadway production, Shuffle Along, which runs for 504 performances. President Reagan presents Eubie Blake with a national award.
