Timeline: 1887

May: Mary Morgan, daughter of St. Frances Jones, is the first African American to graduate from Homer High. She is the step-daughter of barber Wiley Jones.

Jonathan A. Rogan (1869–1903) was the first African American to enroll at the University of Illinois, in civil engineering. However he attended for only a year. Born in Decatur, IL, he went on to become a railroad postal clerk for the Chicago, Decatur, and Quincy Railroad.