President Ulysses S. Grant signs into law a civil rights bill which outlaws segregation in all public accommodations regulated by law, such as hotels, public schools, theaters, steamships, and railroads.

The first Kentucky Derby to be held is won by an African American, Oliver Lewis, riding the horse Aristides. Fourteen of the fifteen jockeys in the race are black.

James Augustine Healy is ordained bishop of Maine. After studying at a Catholic seminary in Worchester, Massachusetts, Healy became a priest and steadily ascended the ranks of the church hierarchy. As bishop of Maine, Healy preaches to an all-white congregation and only rarely suffers insult for his race.

Educator Mary McLeod Bethune was born on this date in Mayesville, South Carolina. Bethune founded Bethune-Cookman College and served as vice president of the NAACP.

Whites attack Blacks in Clinton, Mississippi on this date to overthrow a reconstruction government.

Founded in 1873, Branch Normal College in Pine Bluff, Arkansas begins its first classes. It is the first black college in Arkansas.

The "Mississippi Plan" was instituted on this date in the state of Mississippi. It basically called for the use of fraud, violence, intimidation, and literacy tests to keep Black Mississippians from voting.

Dr. James E. Shepard was born on this date in Raleigh, North Carolina. Shepard went on to found and act as president of North Carolina College for Negroes.

Historian and educator Carter G. Woodson was born on this date in New Canton, Virginia. Woodson founded Negro History Week, which is now African American History Month. He is known as the "Father of Black History".