1910

Madam C.J. Walker incorporated the Madam C.J. Walker Manufacturing Company in Indianapolis in 1910 and built a nationwide sales force of over 40,000 Black women 'Walker Agents.' Her direct-sales model gave Black women unprecedented economic opportunity and independence, pioneering a business structure that would be widely imitated.

By 1910, Sarah Breedlove Walker — known as Madam C.J. Walker — had built a haircare empire employing over 40,000 agents across the United States, Caribbean, and Central America, becoming the first self-made Black female millionaire in American history. Her business model of training Black women as independent sales agents created economic opportunity for Black women at a time when virtually no other professional paths were open to them.

Madam C.J. Walker incorporated the Madam C.J. Walker Manufacturing Company in Indianapolis in 1910 and built a nationwide sales force of over 40,000 Black women 'Walker Agents.' Her door-to-door direct-sales model gave Black women unprecedented economic opportunity and independence, pioneering a business structure that would be widely imitated. Her company headquarters and factory provided high-wage employment in a city with pervasive racial discrimination.

The National Urban League was founded in New York City in 1910 through the merger of several organizations dedicated to helping Black Americans navigate urban life. It worked to secure employment, housing, and social services for the growing Black population in Northern cities and became one of the most influential civil rights organizations in the country.

Madam C.J. Walker continued expanding her hair care empire throughout the 1910s, training thousands of 'Walker Agents' across the country and building a network of beauty schools. Her business model created economic independence for Black women entrepreneurs at a time when other professional avenues were closed, making her the first self-made female millionaire in America.

Comedian and performer Bert Williams joined the Ziegfeld Follies in 1910, becoming the first Black headliner in one of Broadway's most prestigious productions. He performed alongside white cast members in a racially segregated era, earning top billing and acclaim as one of the greatest comedic talents of his generation. He remained with the Follies for nearly a decade.

Comedian and performer Bert Williams joined the Ziegfeld Follies in 1910, becoming the first Black headliner in one of Broadway's most prestigious productions. He performed alongside white cast members in a racially segregated era, earning top billing and acclaim as one of the greatest comedic talents of his generation. He remained with the Follies for nearly a decade.

Madam C.J. Walker continued expanding her hair care empire throughout the 1910s, training thousands of 'Walker Agents' across the country and building a network of beauty schools. Her business model created economic independence for Black women entrepreneurs at a time when other professional avenues were closed. She became the first self-made female millionaire in America regardless of race.

World Heavyweight Champion Jack Johnson defeated former champion Jim Jeffries — the so-called 'Great White Hope' — in 15 rounds on July 4, 1910 in Reno, Nevada. Johnson's decisive victory sparked celebrations in Black communities nationwide. It remains one of the most racially charged sporting events in American history.

World Heavyweight Champion Jack Johnson defeated former champion Jim Jeffries — the so-called 'Great White Hope' — in 15 rounds on July 4, 1910 in Reno, Nevada. The fight was framed explicitly in racial terms by the press; Johnson's decisive victory sparked celebrations in Black communities nationwide and violent white reprisals that killed dozens of Black Americans. It remains one of the most racially charged sporting events in American history.

Ida B. Wells-Barnett continued her multi-front activism in Chicago throughout the 1910s, founding the Negro Fellowship League to serve Black male migrants, organizing the Alpha Suffrage Club, and investigating racial violence in East St. Louis. Wells-Barnett was a pioneering investigative journalist and community organizer whose work crossed multiple domains of Black liberation struggle.

By 1910 Robert Abbott's Chicago Defender had grown from a small local sheet to a nationally circulated newspaper with a reputation for militant coverage of racial violence and injustice. The Defender pioneered sensational headlines and photography to document lynchings and police brutality, reaching readers across the country through the railroad network.

The tens of thousands of Black Pullman porters serving on America's railroads in the 1910s functioned as a crucial economic and information infrastructure for Black America. Earning relatively stable wages, porters also carried Black newspapers into the South, relayed news and job information, and formed the backbone of what would become A. Philip Randolph's Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters.

Bert Williams, the most famous Black entertainer in America, recorded comedic songs including 'Nobody' for Columbia Records throughout the 1910s, making some of the earliest Black vocal recordings. His recordings reached vast audiences and made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the era. Williams navigated the painful compromise of working in blackface while creating performances of genuine artistry and pathos.

By 1910 Robert Abbott's Chicago Defender had grown from a small local sheet to a nationally circulated newspaper with a reputation for militant coverage of racial violence and injustice. The Defender pioneered sensational headlines and photography to document lynchings and police brutality, reaching readers across the country through the railroad network.

The tens of thousands of Black Pullman porters serving on America's railroads in the 1910s functioned as a crucial economic and information infrastructure for Black America. Earning relatively stable wages in an era of few Black professional opportunities, porters also carried Black newspapers into the South, relayed news and job information, and formed the backbone of what would become A. Philip Randolph's Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters.

St. Philip's Episcopal Church, one of the oldest Black congregations in New York, purchased property and moved to Harlem in 1910, becoming one of the anchoring institutions of what would become the cultural capital of Black America. The church under Rector Hutchins Bishop also bought apartment buildings to provide housing for Black residents.

Ida B. Wells-Barnett founded the Negro Fellowship League in Chicago in 1910, providing a reading room, employment bureau, and social services for Black male migrants arriving from the South. Operating in a storefront near the train stations where migrants arrived, the League filled gaps left by white social service organizations that excluded Black clients.

St. Louis high school teacher and self-funded researcher Charles Henry Turner published groundbreaking studies demonstrating that insects can hear, modify behavior through experience, and navigate using memory — findings that reshaped the study of animal cognition. Despite lacking university resources, he published over 70 papers and a bee navigation pattern bears his name.

Eubie Blake was composing and performing ragtime in Baltimore clubs and theaters throughout the 1910s, developing his brilliant improvisational style and beginning professional collaborations that would lead to his breakthrough work with Noble Sissle. Blake's prodigious technique and harmonic inventiveness made him a key figure in the transition from ragtime to jazz.

St. Philip's Episcopal Church, one of the oldest Black congregations in New York, purchased property and moved to Harlem in 1910, becoming one of the anchoring institutions of what would become the cultural capital of Black America. The church under Rector Hutchins Bishop also bought apartment buildings to provide housing for Black residents, making it a key force in Harlem's development.

Eubie Blake was composing and performing ragtime in Baltimore clubs and theaters throughout the 1910s, developing his brilliant improvisational style and beginning professional collaborations that would lead to his breakthrough work with Noble Sissle. Blake's prodigious technique and harmonic inventiveness made him a key figure in the transition from ragtime to jazz.

Ida B. Wells-Barnett founded the Negro Fellowship League in Chicago in 1910, providing a reading room, employment bureau, and social services for Black male migrants arriving from the South. Operating in a storefront near the train stations where migrants arrived, the League filled gaps left by white social service organizations that excluded Black clients.

The Pittsburgh Courier, founded by Edwin Nathaniel Harleston and later shaped by Robert L. Vann who became editor in 1910, grew into one of the most influential Black newspapers in America. Vann built it into a nationally circulated paper known for investigative journalism, political advocacy, and eventually the Double V Campaign in World War II.

Robert L. Vann became editor of the Pittsburgh Courier in 1910, transforming it into a nationally circulated paper known for investigative journalism and political advocacy. Vann built it into one of the most influential Black newspapers in America, eventually reaching a peak circulation of over 350,000 and becoming a major voice for Black civil rights.

Charles Chesnutt, who had been the most prominent Black fiction writer of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, largely retired from writing after his novel 'The Colonel's Dream' (1905) was poorly received. In the 1910s his earlier works were rediscovered and discussed by Black intellectuals as foundational to African American literature, influencing younger Harlem Renaissance writers.

The Baltimore Afro-American, founded in 1892 by John Henry Murphy Sr., expanded significantly in the 1910s under family leadership, adding regional editions and growing its circulation among Black communities in the mid-Atlantic. It became one of the longest-running Black-owned newspapers in the country, providing a regional counterweight to Northern papers.

Sarah Breedlove — Madam C.J. Walker — turns a hair-care line into a national enterprise, becoming one of the first self-made female millionaires in America.

The NAACP's magazine, under Du Bois, becomes a major platform for Black writers and protest.