Lessons In Black History: Key Events from September 10-16, 2025

**SEPTEMBER 10**: John Roy Lynch, born into slavery near Vidalia, Louisiana, on this day in 1847, became one of the first African Americans to serve in Congress after the Civil War, representing Mississippi. He also held the temporary chairmanship of the Republican Party National Convention during an era when the party was notably progressive. However, as Reconstruction declined, Lynch moved to Chicago to practice law, passing away in 1939 at 92.**SEPTEMBER 11**: The Philadelphia Gazette reported on Simon, a “Negro” skilled in “bleeding and drawing teeth,” possibly marking him as one of America’s earliest Black physicians or dentists in 1740. **SEPTEMBER 12**: Track star Jesse Owens, born in 1913, achieved global recognition by winning four gold medals at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, challenging racial ideologies of Aryan superiority. **SEPTEMBER 13**: On this day in 1996, revered rapper Tupac Shakur succumbed to injuries from a Vegas shooting at just 25, becoming an enduring symbol in hip-hop history.