A community is democratic only when the humblest and weakest person can enjoy the highest civil, economic, and social rights that the biggest and most powerful possess.
In 1864
- Rebecca Lee Crumpler becomes the first black woman to receive an M.D. degree. She graduated from the New England Female Medical College
In 2009
- Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington becomes the 1st African American to appear on an American coin, the District of Columbia commemmorative quarter