Though it would be ratified a year later and never fully honored for almost a century, the 15th Amendment was entered into the Constitution. The amendment would grant all African American men the right to vote. It simply declared the "right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude."

Black voters faced much opposition and many of forms of voter intimidation such as poll taxes and literacy tests. The passing of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 put a stop to most Southern states being able to effectively disenfranchise African Americans.

– On this day in 1926, Carter G. Woodson started Negro History Week

– On this day in 1964, boxer Cassius Clay changed his name to Muhammad Ali

– On this day in 1966, Andrew Brimmer became the first black governor of the Federal Reserve Board

2012 – Trayvon Martin was shot and killed at the age of 17 in Sanford, Florida.

Black History birthdays include…

1893 – Wallace Fard Muhammad, American religious leader, founded the Nation of Islam (disappeared 1934)

– On this day in 1928, singer Fats Domino was born

1971 – Erykah Badu, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress

Also on this day in history…

1616 – Galileo Galilei is formally banned by the Roman Catholic Church from teaching or defending the view that the earth orbits the sun.

1919 – President Woodrow Wilson signs an act of Congress establishing the Grand Canyon National Park.

1929 – President Calvin Coolidge signs an executive order establishing the 96,000 acre Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming.

1980 – Egypt and Israel establish full diplomatic relations.

1987 – Iran–Contra affair: The Tower Commission rebukes President Ronald Reagan for not controlling his national security staff.

If today is your birthday, Happy Birthday To You! You share this special day with…

1564 – Christopher Marlowe, English playwright, poet and translator (d. 1593)

1802 – Victor Hugo, French author, poet, and playwright (d. 1885)

1829 – Levi Strauss, German-American fashion designer, founded Levi Strauss & Co. (d. 1902)

1846 – Buffalo Bill, American soldier and hunter (d. 1917)

1861 – Nadezhda Krupskaya, Russian soldier and politician (d. 1939)

1877 – Rudolph Dirks, German-American illustrator (d. 1968)

1887 – William Frawley, American actor and vaudevillian (d. 1966)

1908 – Tex Avery, American animator, producer, and voice actor (d. 1980)

1914 – Robert Alda, American actor, singer, and director (d. 1986)

1916 – Jackie Gleason, American actor and singer (d. 1987)

1918 – Theodore Sturgeon, American author and critic (d. 1985)

1920 – Tony Randall, American actor, director, and producer (d. 2004)

1921 – Betty Hutton, American actress and singer (d. 2007)

1928 – Ariel Sharon, Israeli general and politician, 11th Prime Minister of Israel (d. 2014)

1932 – Johnny Cash, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (d. 2003)

1945 – Mitch Ryder, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

1949 – Emma Kirkby, English soprano

1953 – Michael Bolton, American singer-songwriter and actor

1954 – Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Turkish politician, 12th President of Turkey

Almanac - Wednesday 2/26/20

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