1 September
- 1773 Phillis Wheatley Publishes Her Poems Phillis Wheatley's 'Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral' is published in London, the first book of poetry by an African American.
2 September
- 1958 Frederick McKinley Jones Patents an Engine Control Device Prolific inventor Frederick McKinley Jones, pioneer of mobile refrigeration, receives a patent for an internal-combustion engine control device.
3 September
- 1838 Frederick Douglass Escapes Slavery Disguised as a sailor, Frederick Douglass boards a train and escapes from slavery in Baltimore to freedom in the North.
4 September
- 1957 The Little Rock Nine Are Blocked from School Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus deploys the National Guard to bar nine Black students from entering Central High School in Little Rock.
5 September
- 1939 Claudette Colvin Is Born Civil rights pioneer Claudette Colvin is born in Montgomery, Alabama.
6 September
- 1848 Frederick Douglass Presides Over the Colored Convention Frederick Douglass is elected president of the National Colored Convention meeting in Cleveland.
7 September
- 1954 Washington and Baltimore Schools Integrate Public schools in Washington, D.C., and Baltimore begin desegregation in the first fall after Brown v. Board.
8 September
- 1907 Buck Leonard Is Born Negro Leagues great Buck Leonard is born in Rocky Mount, North Carolina.
9 September
- 1739 The Stono Rebellion Enslaved Africans near the Stono River in South Carolina launch the largest slave uprising in the British mainland colonies, marching toward Spanish Florida.
10 September
- 1855 John Mercer Langston Is Elected to Office John Mercer Langston is elected township clerk in Brownhelm, Ohio, becoming one of the first Black Americans elected to public office.
11 September
- 1851 The Christiana Resistance A Black community in Christiana, Pennsylvania, defends fugitives from slavery against a Maryland slaveholder and federal marshals, killing the slaveholder.
12 September
- 1992 Mae Jemison Becomes the First Black Woman in Space Physician and engineer Mae Jemison launches aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour.
13 September
- 1886 Alain Locke Is Born Philosopher Alain Locke, the first Black Rhodes Scholar, is born in Philadelphia.
14 September
- 1921 Constance Baker Motley Is Born Civil rights lawyer Constance Baker Motley is born in New Haven, Connecticut.
15 September
- 1963 The 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing Ku Klux Klan members bomb the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, killing four Black girls preparing for Sunday service.
16 September
- 1925 B.B. King Is Born Blues legend B.B. King is born on a plantation near Itta Bena, Mississippi.
17 September
- 1983 Vanessa Williams Is Crowned Miss America Vanessa Williams becomes the first Black woman crowned Miss America.
18 September
- 1850 The Fugitive Slave Act Is Enacted Congress passes a strengthened Fugitive Slave Act compelling citizens to assist in capturing escaped enslaved people.
- 1895 Booker T. Washington's Atlanta Address Booker T. Washington delivers his 'Atlanta Compromise' speech at the Cotton States Exposition, urging Black economic self-help and accommodation.
19 September
- 1963 Iota Phi Theta Fraternity Is Founded Iota Phi Theta, the youngest of the Divine Nine organizations, is founded at Morgan State College.
20 September
- 1830 The First National Negro Convention Black leaders convene the first National Negro Convention in Philadelphia to organize against slavery and for the rights of free Black Americans.
21 September
- 1815 Andrew Jackson Commends Black Soldiers General Andrew Jackson issues a public commendation of the Black troops who fought in the defense of New Orleans.
22 September
- 1862 Lincoln Issues the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation Five days after Antietam, President Lincoln announces that enslaved people in rebelling states will be declared free on January 1, 1863.
23 September
- 1863 Mary Church Terrell Is Born Educator and activist Mary Church Terrell is born in Memphis, Tennessee.
24 September
- 2016 The National Museum of African American History and Culture Opens The Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture opens on the National Mall.
25 September
- 1957 Federal Troops Escort the Little Rock Nine Under orders from President Eisenhower, the 101st Airborne escorts nine Black students into Central High School.
26 September
- 1937 Bessie Smith Dies Blues 'Empress' Bessie Smith dies after a car accident in Mississippi at age 43.
27 September
- 1912 W.C. Handy Publishes 'Memphis Blues' W.C. Handy publishes 'Memphis Blues,' among the first blues compositions to appear in print.
28 September
- 1895 The National Baptist Convention Is Organized Black Baptist organizations merge to form the National Baptist Convention, which becomes the largest Black religious body in the United States.
29 September
- 1962 James Meredith and Ole Miss A federal court orders the University of Mississippi to admit James Meredith; his enrollment days later triggers deadly riots requiring federal intervention.
30 September
- 1935 Johnny Mathis Is Born Singer Johnny Mathis is born in Gilmer, Texas.