Following the entrance of the United States into World War I, the United States Army opens its first all-black school for officer training in Des Moines, Iowa.

The all-black 369th Infantry is deployed to France to aid the French. In the first 191 days of combat, they do not lose a single soldier or surrender any ground. Later, while leading charges against German forces, they take heavy casualties but continue to fight on and win. The Germans come to know them as the "Hell Fighters."

The Homesteader, a silent film starring Evelyn Preer, is the first film to be produced and directed by a black, Oscar Micheaux.

NAACP attorney and New York Federal Judge Robert Carter is born in Careville, Florida.

Composer Scott Joplin died on this date in New York City. Joplin was called the "King of Ragtime Writers". The Entertainer is one of his well-known compositions.

The United States enters World War I, in which 370,000 African Americans are enlisted, 1,400 of whom are commissioned as officers. During the war, three black regiments receive the Croix de Guerre and many individual African Americans receive one or more decorations for their courage.

State Court Judge William Murphy, Sr., is born in Baltimore, Maryland.

Poet, writer and Pulitzer Prize winner Gwendolyn Brooks is born in Topeka, Kansas.

Paul Phillips Cooke is born in New York City. He will go on to serve as the president of the University of the District of Columbia.

Lena Horne is born in Brooklyn, New York.

Race riots break out in East St. Louis, Illinois. The riots stem from white resentment over the employment of blacks in a local factory. At least forty blacks are killed during the riots, including one black child who is allegedly shot and then burned.

Appellate Court Judge Glenn T. Johnson was born in Washington, Arkansas.

In response to the East St. Louis, Illinois riot, during which at least forty blacks are killed, ten thousand African Americans march silently down New York’s 5th Avenue in protest of black oppression.

Blues singer and guitarist John Lee Hooker was born on this date in Clarksdale, Mississippi. Hooker is best known for his hits Boom Boom and Boogie Chillen. He was inducted into the Rock-N-Roll Hall of Fame in 1991.

A conflict erupts between black soldiers and white civilians in Houston, Texas. Two blacks and seventeen whites are killed in the violence that ensues. Thirteen blacks are hanged some time later for their participation in the incident.

Painter Jacob Lawrence was born on this date in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Lawrence is best known for his artwork depicting the Black Great Migration from the South.

Dancer Prince Spencer is born.

Activist Fannie Lou Hamer was born on this date in Montgomery County, Mississippi.

Pianist and composer Thelonious Monk was born on this date in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. Some of Monk's musical compositions include Blue Monk, 'Round Midnight, and Criss Cross.

Jazz trumpeter and composer Dizzy Gillespie was born John Birks Gillespie on this date in Cheraw, South Carolina. Gillespie played with other jazz greats like Charlie Parker, Billy Eckstein, and Cab Calloway. One of Gillespie's great musical compositions is Night in Tunisia.

Chicago politician and lawyer Anna Langford is born in Springfield, Ohio.

Artist and museum founder Dr. Margaret Burroughs is born in Saint Rose, Louisiana.

Emmett J. Scott, once Booker T. Washington’s office assistant, is made special assistant to the Secretary of War. In his new position, Scott works notably towards nondiscriminatory implementation of the Selective Service Act.

The United States Supreme Court hands down their decision in Buchanan v. Warley. The Court declares a Louisville, Kentucky, law forbidding blacks and whites from living in the same neighborhood unconstitutional.

Pharmacist and Pearl Harbor veteran Augustine Davis is born in LaGrange, Texas.

Edward A. Johnson became the first Black elected to New York's state legislature on this date.

Dancer Elaine Ellis is born.

Sculptor and Painter Geraldine McCullough is born.

Writer, director, producer, actor Ossie Davis is born in Cogdell, Georgia.