B H This Day in Black History

September 3

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September 3, 1838

Frederick Douglass Escapes Slavery

On September 3, 1838, Frederick Douglass boarded a train in Baltimore dressed as a sailor and carrying identification papers borrowed from a free Black seaman. He reached New York City in less than 24 hours and went on to become the most prominent African American abolitionist of the 19th century.

September 3, 1895

Charles Hamilton Houston Born

Born September 3, 1895, Houston was the first African American editor of the Harvard Law Review. As dean of Howard Law School and chief counsel of the NAACP, he developed the legal strategy that led to Brown v. Board of Education. Thurgood Marshall called him "the man who killed Jim Crow."

Sources
1. Charles Hamilton Houston - National Park Service2. Charles Hamilton Houston - The Library of Congress

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