On this day in Black history: Negro History Week, Grenada gains independence and more

On this day in Black history, February 7:

— In 1872, Alcorn A&M College, the oldest public historically Black land-grant institution in the United States, opened to students. Later named Alcorn State University, the school was founded a year prior in Mississippi in an effort to educate the descendants of formerly enslaved Africans.

— In 1926, Carter G. Woodson created Negro History Week, later becoming Black History Month, to expand the education and history of Black Americans. He choose February as a way to honor the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass.

— In 1974, Grenada, a West Indies island country in the Caribbean known for its spices, gained its independence from Great Britain. 

— Happy birthday to James “Eubie” Blake, Oscar Adams Jr., Sandra Bland, James “J Dilla” Yancey, Chris Rock, Free Marie Wright, Essence Atkins and Marlo Hampton.