May 20
Toussaint Louverture Born
Born May 20, 1743, Toussaint Louverture led the Haitian Revolution, the only successful large-scale slave revolt in history. He transformed formerly enslaved people into a formidable military force that defeated French, Spanish, and British armies.
Toussaint Louverture Born
François-Dominique Toussaint Louverture was born enslaved on the Bréda plantation in Saint-Domingue (present-day Haiti). He would become one of the most remarkable military and political leaders in history, leading the Haitian Revolution and defeating the armies of three European empires. He established a constitution that abolished slavery before being captured by the French and dying in prison in 1803.
Founding of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund
On May 20, 1940, Thurgood Marshall established the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (LDF) as an independent organization. The LDF would go on to argue landmark cases including Brown v. Board of Education, becoming the most important legal organization in the fight against racial discrimination.