KRLemmons African American History

February 23 African American Historical Events

Today in Black History – February 23 *

***********************************************************************
* “Once a year we go through the charade of February being ‘Black *
* History Month.’ Black History Month needs to be a 12-MONTH THING. *
* When we all learn about our history, about how much we’ve *
* accomplished while being handicapped with RACISM, it can only *
* inspire us to greater heights, knowing we’re on the giant shoulders *
* of our ANCESTORS.” Subscribe to the Munirah Chronicle and receive *
* Black Facts every day of the year. *
* To SUBSCRIBE send E-mail to: <[log in to unmask]> *
* In the E-mail body place: Subscribe Munirah Your FULL Name *
***********************************************************************

1763 – A major slave rebellion occurs in the Dutch South American
colony of Berbice (part of present-day Guyana). Slaves,
led by Cuffy, Atta, Accara, and others, fire a rebellion at
Plantation Magalenenburg because of the harsh and inhumane
treatment of the slave population. Cuffy, proclaims himself
Governor of Berbice and orders the Dutch Governor, Hoogenheim,
to leave with the white inhabitants. The slaves will control
the territory for months. Major resistance will continue
beyond October, 4th. There will be a split at the leadership
level of the rebellion. The final collapse of the revolution
will occur just before the trial of the last resisters on
March 16, 1764.

1868 – William Edward Burghardt (W.E.B.) Du Bois is born in Great
Barrington, Massachusetts. He will become one of the
greatest men of letters of his time, serving as an editor,
teacher, political theorist, and novelist. His
accomplishments will include founding and editing the NAACP
“Crisis Magazine,” writing the influential “Souls of Black
Folk,” being one of the founding fathers of the NAACP, and
the first African American to become a member of the National
Institute of Arts and Letters. He will join the ancestors on
August 27, 1963 in Accra, Ghana.

1942 – Don Luther Lee is born in Little Rock, Arkansas. He will become
a major African American literary critic, author of nonfiction
and poetry, and founder of the influential Third World Press
known as Haki Madhubuti. The Chicago State University
professor, poet, and publisher will score a hit for his Third
World Press with his own “Groundwork: Selected and New Poems
1966-1996.” “Groundwork” and the second volume of Gwendolyn
Brooks’ autobiography-along with continuing sales of
Madhubuti’s 1995 “Million Man March/Day of Absence”, will
increase the number of successful titles at Third World Press
to 25 by 1997.

1964 – Roberto Martin Antonio “Bobby” Bonilla is born in New York
City. He will become a major league baseball player in 1981
and will play for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago White Sox,
New York Mets, and the Baltimore Orioles, before ending up
with the Florida Marlins in 1996.

1968 – Wilt Chamberlain becomes the first NBA player to score 25,000
points.

1970 – Guyana becomes a republic. The Republic of Guyana changes its
name to the Cooperative Republic of Guyana. February 23 is
chosen to celebrate the start of the Berbice Slave Revolt of
1763, which was led by Cuffy, a slave who became a national
hero. One of the first actions of the new republic will be
to nationalize foreign-owned companies.

1977 – “Roots,” an adaptation of Alex Haley’s best-selling novel, is
viewed by more Americans than any other program since the
invention of television. Approximately 130 million people
watched at least part of the series. The final episode was
watched by a reported 80 million viewers. Alex Haley spent
twelve years researching and writing the book. While the
show attracted many African American viewers, ratings
companies reported that millions of whites as well as
African Americans watched the show.

1979 – Colonel Frank E. Peterson, Jr. becomes the first African
American promoted to the rank of general in the Marine Corps.
He also was the first African American pilot to win Marine
Corps wings. He will retire in 1988 as commanding general
of the Marine Development Education Command in Quantico,
Virginia.

1990 – Comer J. Cottrell, President of Pro-Line Corporation, pays
$1.5 million for the Bishop College campus, traditionally
an African American college, in a bankruptcy auction.
Cottrell’s actions result in the relocation of Paul Quinn
College in Waco, another African American campus, to the
Dallas site.

1999 – Hughie Lee-Smith, a painter and former teacher at the Art
Students League in New York, joins the ancestors after
succumbing to cancer at the age of 83 in Albuquerque, New
Mexico. Lee-Smith was known for his paintings that
frequently included symbolic figurative scenes. His works
often included settings suggestive of theater stages or
bleak urban or seaside landscapes. In 1953, he won a
prize for his work from the Detroit Institute of Arts.
While serving in the Navy he did a mural titled, “History
of the Negro in the U.S. Navy.” He taught at the Art
Students League for 15 years, beginning in 1958. In 1963,
he became the second African American member elected to
the National Academy of Design in New York City. He became
a full member four years later. His paintings are in many
public collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art,
the Detroit Institute of Arts, the National Gallery of Art in
Washington and the Schomburg Center for Research in Black
Culture in New York City.

1999 – A jury in Jasper, Texas convicts white supremacist John
William King of murder in the gruesome dragging death of an
African American man, James Byrd Jr. King will be sentenced
to death two days later.

Information retrieved from the Munirah Chronicle and is edited by Rene’ A. Perry.

KRLemmons African American History

February 22 African American Historical Events

Today in Black History – February 22 *

***********************************************************************
* “Once a year we go through the charade of February being ‘Black *
* History Month.’ Black History Month needs to be a 12-MONTH THING. *
* When we all learn about our history, about how much we’ve *
* accomplished while being handicapped with RACISM, it can only *
* inspire us to greater heights, knowing we’re on the giant shoulders *
* of our ANCESTORS.” Subscribe to the Munirah Chronicle and receive *
* Black Facts every day of the year. *
* To SUBSCRIBE send E-mail to: <[log in to unmask]> *
* In the E-mail body place: Subscribe Munirah Your FULL Name *
***********************************************************************

1841 – Grafton Tyler Brown is born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. A
lithographer and painter, he will be considered to be one of
the first African-American artists in California. His
paintings will be collected by the Oakland (California) Museum
of Art, Washington State Museum, and private individuals.

1865 – Tennessee adopts a new constitution abolishing slavery. This
will allow Tennessee to become the first former confederate
state to be re-admitted to the Union.

1888 – Horace Pippin is born in West Chester, Pennsylvania. His right
arm crippled in World War I (where he will earn a Purple
Heart), Pippin will paint holding the wrist of his practically
useless right arm in his left fist. The self-taught artist
will win wide acclaim for the primitive style and strong
emotional content of his work. He will join the ancestors on
July 6, 1946.

1898 – The African American postmaster of Lake City, South Carolina
joins the ancestors after being lynched. His wife and three
daughters are shot and maimed for life.

1906 – African American evangelist William J. Seymour first arrives
in Los Angeles and begins holding revival meetings. The
“Azusa Street Revival” later broke out under Seymour’s
leadership, in the Apostolic Faith Mission located at 312
Azusa Street in Los Angeles. It will be one of the pioneering
events in the history of 20th century American Pentecostalism.

1921 – Jean-Bedel Bokassa I is born in Bobangul, Oubangul-Chari,
French Equatorial Africa (present-day Central African
Republic). He will become a career soldier who will seize
power from President David Dacko in a 1965 coup. In 1972 he
will proclaim himself president-for-life, ruling the country
with brutal repression, using its revenues for personal
enrichment, and crowning himself emperor in 1976. He will be
deposed in September 1979 and was imprisoned for murder in
1986 after seven years in exile. He will be pardoned in 1993
and will join the ancestors in 1996 at the age of 75.

1938 – Ishmael Reed is born in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He will become
a poet (nominated for the National Book Award for “Conjure”),
novelist (“Yellow Back,” “Radio Broke Down,” “Mumbo Jumbo,”
“Flight to Canada”), and anthologist of the well-received “19
Necromancers from Now” and “The Yardbird Reader, Volume I.”

1940 – Chester ‘Chet’ Walker is born in Benton Harbor, Michigan. He
will begin his NBA All-Star career with the Philadelphia
’76ers in 1963, averaging 17.3 points per game. The highlight
of his career will be capturing the NBA title in 1967 on a
team that included Wilt Chamberlain. The 76ers will defeat the
Boston Celtics in the Eastern Division finals, preventing them
from going to their ninth straight NBA final.

1950 – Julius Erving is born in Roosevelt (town of Hempstead), New
York. He will become a star basketball player, first for the
ABA’s Virginia Squires and later for the NBA’s Philadelphia
76ers. Known as “Dr. J.,” he will become the third pro player
to score more than 30,000 career points (after Wilt
Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar). He will be enshrined in
the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1993.

1962 – Wilt Chamberlain sets a NBA record with 34 free throw attempts.

1979 – St. Lucia gains its independence from Great Britain.

1989 – “Don’t Worry, Be Happy”, by Bobby McFerrin, wins the Grammy for
Song of the Year.

Information retrieved from the Munirah Chronicle  and is edited by Rene’ A. Perry.

KRLemmons African American History

February 21 African American Historical Events

Today in Black History – February 21 *

***********************************************************************
* “Once a year we go through the charade of February being ‘Black *
* History Month.’ Black History Month needs to be a 12-MONTH THING. *
* When we all learn about our history, about how much we’ve *
* accomplished while being handicapped with RACISM, it can only *
* inspire us to greater heights, knowing we’re on the giant shoulders *
* of our ANCESTORS.” Subscribe to the Munirah Chronicle and receive *
* Black Facts every day of the year. *
* To SUBSCRIBE send E-mail to: <[log in to unmask]> *
* In the E-mail body place: Subscribe Munirah Your FULL Name *
***********************************************************************

1864 – Saint Francis Xavier Church in Baltimore, Maryland is dedicated.
It is the first exclusively African American parish in the
United States.

1895 – The North Carolina Legislature adjourns for the day to mark the
death of Frederick Douglass.

1933 – Eunice Waymon (Nina Simone) is born in Tryon, North Carolina.
She will begin her entertaining career in 1954 and bolstered
by critical praise for her 1959 recording of “I Loves You,
Porgy,” she will tour in the U.S. and Europe during the 1960’s
and early 1970’s. Returning to the concert stage and
recording studio in 1977, she will be called the “High
Priestess of Soul.” She will record rarely in the 1970’s and
1980’s, but will experience a career comeback in the United
States with her 1993 album release, “A Single Woman.” She
will join the ancestors in Carry-le-Rouet (South of France) on
April 21, 2003. As she wished, her ashes will be spread in
different African countries.

1936 – Barbara Jordan is born in Houston, Texas. The first African
American state senator in the Texas legislature since 1883
and a three-term congresswoman, she will play a key role in
the 1974 Watergate hearings. In 1976, she will be the first
woman and first African American to make a keynote speech
before the Democratic National Convention. She will join the
ancestors on January 17, 1996 in Austin, Texas.

1940 – John Lewis is born in Troy, Alabama. He will become founder
and chairman of SNCC, organizer of the Selma-to-Montgomery
March in 1965, executive director of the Voter Education
Project, and congressman from Georgia’s 5th District. Lewis’
power will continue to be felt when he is named Democratic
deputy whip by Speaker of the House Thomas S. Foley in 1991.

1965 – El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz (Malcolm X) joins the ancestors after
being assassinated at the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem at the
age of 39. He was best known for his doctrine of
self-determination for African American people, including
their right to fight for their rights and protect themselves
in a hostile America by “whatever means necessary.”

1976 – Florence Ballard, one of the original Supremes, joins the
ancestors in Detroit, Michigan, at the age of 32. Ballard
had said that she never received a royalty check prior to
1967 for any of her work with the Supremes, who featured
Diana Ross and included Mary Wilson.

1998 – Julian Bond, civil rights leader from the 1960’s, former
Georgia state legislator, and college professor, becomes the
new chairperson of the NAACP.

Information retrieved from the Munirah Chronicle and is edited by Rene’ A. Perry.

KRLemmons African American History

February 20 African American Historical Events

Today in Black History – February 20 *

***********************************************************************
* “Once a year we go through the charade of February being ‘Black *
* History Month.’ Black History Month needs to be a 12-MONTH THING. *
* When we all learn about our history, about how much we’ve *
* accomplished while being handicapped with RACISM, it can only *
* inspire us to greater heights, knowing we’re on the giant shoulders *
* of our ANCESTORS.” Subscribe to the Munirah Chronicle and receive *
* Black Facts every day of the year. *
* To SUBSCRIBE send E-mail to: <[log in to unmask]> *
* In the E-mail body place: Subscribe Munirah Your FULL Name *
***********************************************************************

1864 – Confederate troops defeat three African American and six white
regiments at the Battle of Olustee, about fifty miles from
Jacksonville, Florida. The African-American units are the
8th U.S. Colored Troops, the 35th U.S. Colored Infantry, and
the famous 54th Massachusetts Colored Infantry. It is the
54th Massachusetts’ fighting that allowed General Truman
Seymour’s Union forces to retreat. One white veteran of the
battle states: ” The colored troops went in grandly, and they
fought like devils.” A regrettable episode in the aftermath
of the battle is the apparent mistreatment of Union African
American soldiers by the Confederates.

1895 – Frederick Douglass, famous African American abolitionist and
diplomat, joins the ancestors in Washington, DC at the age of
78. His home in Washington will be later turned into a
national monument under the auspices of the National Park
Service.

1911 – Frances Ellen Watkins Harper joins the ancestors in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at the age of 85. She had been a
writer and antislavery, women’s rights, and temperance
activist.

1925 – Alex La Guma is born in Cape Town, South Africa. He will
become a novelist whose writings reflect the lives of the
ghetto dwellers in the ‘Coloured’ sections of Capetown,
portrayed best in his novel, “A Walk in the Night.” The
ghettos and shanties of the Cape were his milieu, and he will
never depict the lives of the impoverished with either
rancor or self-pity. The powerful strokes of his pen will
paint a picture of the starkness and reality of their lives.
He allowed the tin and hessian fabrics of the rat-infested,
leaking hovels to spell it out. He will become involved
with the South African Coloured People’s Organisation,
playing a very active part in its affairs. He will be
exiled in 1966 and move with his family to London. At the
time he joins the ancestors in 1985, he was the Chief
Representative of the African National Congress in Cuba.

1927 – Sidney Poitier is born prematurely in Miami, Florida, weighing
only three pounds. His parents are on a regular trip to the
U.S. to sell tomatoes and other produce. He will be raised
in the Bahamas and return to the United States as a teenager
to live with his older brother in Miami. He will move to New
York City in 1945 to study acting. He will become one of the
modern movies’ leading men, making his screen debut in 1950
and earning praise in such films as “Cry the Beloved Country,”
“Blackboard Jungle,” “Porgy and Bess,” “A Raisin in the Sun,”
“To Sir With Love,” “In the Heat of the Night,” and “Guess
Who’s Coming to Dinner.” His 1965 role in “Lilies of the
Field” will earn him an Oscar, the first for an African
American in a leading role.

1929 – Writer Wallace Thurman’s play “Harlem” opens in New York City.
It is the first successful play by an African American
playwright.

1936 – John Hope, president of Atlanta University, joins the ancestors
at the age of sixty seven.

1937 – Nancy Wilson is born in Chillicothe, Ohio. She will become a
well-known jazz and pop singer, singing with Cannonball
Adderly, George Shearing, Art Farmer and Chick Corea, among
others. She will make more than 50 albums, including “With My
Lover Beside Me,” featuring the lyrics of Johnny Mercer and
the music of Barry Manilow.

1951 – Emmett L. Ashford, one of baseball’s most popular figures,
becomes the first African American umpire in organized
baseball. Ashford is certified to be a substitute in the
Southwestern International League. He will later (1966)
become the first African American major league umpire, working
in the American League.

1963 – Baseball great, Willie “The Say Hey Kid” Mays, signs with the
San Francisco Giants as baseball’s highest paid player (at
that time). He will earn $100,000 a year.

1963 – Charles Barkley is born in Leeds, Alabama. He will forego his
senior year at Auburn University to enter the NBA as a forward
for the Philadelphia 76ers. Barkley will post averages of 20
or more points and at least 10 rebounds per game for 11
seasons. His achievements during that span will be remarkable.
He will be an All-NBA First Team selection in 1988, 1989,
1990, 1991 and 1993, an All-NBA Second Team pick in 1986,
1987, 1992, 1994 and 1995 and an All-NBA Third Team choice in
1996. He will be selected to 10 consecutive All-Star Games,
and receive more All Star votes than any other player in 1994,
and will be MVP in the 1991 All-Star classic.

1968 – State troopers use tear gas to stop civil rights demonstrations
at Alcorn A&M College in Mississippi.

1991 – African Americans win Grammys including Mariah Carey for
Best New Artist and female pop vocal, Anita Baker for female
R&B vocal, Luther Vandross for male R&B vocal, Living Colour
for best hard rock performance, M.C. Hammer for best rap solo
and best R&B song for “U Can’t Touch This,” and Chaka Khan and
Ray Charles for best R&B vocal by a duo or group. Quincy
Jones becomes the all-time non-classical Grammy winner when he
wins six awards at these 33rd annual Grammy Awards, including
album of the year, “Back on the Block.”

1997 – T. Uriah Butler joins the ancestors in Fyzabad, Trinidad at the
age of 100. Born in Grenada, he had been a major labor
organizer and politician in Trinidad. In 1975, he was awarded
Trinidad’s highest honor, The Trinity Cross.

Information retrieved from the Munirah Chronicle and is edited by Rene’ A. Perry.

KRLemmons African American History

February 19 African American Historical Events

Today in Black History – February 19 *

**********************************************************
“Once a year we go through the charade of February being ‘Black
History Month.’ Black History Month needs to be a 12-MONTH THING.
When we all learn about our history, about how much we’ve
accomplished while being handicapped with RACISM, it can only
inspire us to greater heights, knowing we’re on the giant shoulders
of our ANCESTORS.” Subscribe to the Munirah Chronicle and receive
Black Facts every day of the year.
To SUBSCRIBE send E-mail to: <[log in to unmask]>
In the E-mail body place: Subscribe Munirah Your FULL Name
**********************************************************

1919 – The first Pan-African Congress, organized by W.E.B. Dubois,
opens in Paris, France. Fifty-seven delegates from 16
countries and colonies will meet for three days and declare
“The natives of Africa must be allowed to participate in the
government as fast as their development permits.” Blaise
Diagne of Senegal is elected president and Dubois is named
secretary. The Pan-African movement is started by these
African American, African and Caribbean intellectuals,
stressing the unity of Black people, whether living in Africa
or in the various parts of the world to which Africans had
been brought as slaves. African independence and nationalism
were its goals. These representatives from the Americas,
Europe, and Africa gather to discuss the situation of
Africans living under colonialism. Also taking place in Paris
at that time are the negotiations for the post-WWI Treaty of
Versailles. Since the fate of the European powers’ African
colonies is being discussed in these negotiations, Du Bois
hopes to influence the decisions that will come out of the
peace conference.

1940 – William “Smokey” Robinson is born in Detroit, Michigan. As
part of the Motown group “The Miracles” and in his solo
career, Robinson will be an enduring Rhythm and Blues and
pop performer. He will also become a Vice-President of Motown
Records.

1959 – Gabon adopts its constitution.

1987 – A racially motivated civil disturbance erupts in Tampa,
Florida, after a young African American man dies from
injuries resulting from a police chokehold.

1992 – John Singleton is nominated for two Academy Awards for best
director and best screenplay for his first film, “Boyz N the
Hood.” Singleton is the first African-American director ever
to be nominated for the Academy Award.

1995 – A day after being named the new chairwoman of the NAACP,
Myrlie Evers-Williams outlines her plans for revitalizing the
civil rights organization, saying she intended to take the
group back to its roots.

1999 – President Bill Clinton posthumously pardons Henry O. Flipper.
Flipper was the first African American to graduate from the
U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Flipper was acquitted
on charges of embezzlement of commissary funds, but was
found guilty of “conduct unbecoming an officer” for lying to
investigators. He received a dishonorable discharge in 1882.
He had been a victim of racism from the time he went to West
Point to the time he was railroaded out of the military. Mr.
Flipper joined the ancestors in 1940 at the age of 84.

2002 – Vonetta Flowers becomes the first Black athlete from any
country to win a gold medal in the Olympic Winter Games. She
and her partner win the women’s two-person bobsled event at
the Salt Lake City games. They finished their two runs in 1
minute 37.76 seconds.

Information retrieved from the Munirah Chronicle and is edited by Rene’ A. Perry.

KRLemmons African American Literature, African American Young Adult Literature, Children's literature, Lesson Plans, Resources

Happy Birthday, Toni Morrison!

Toni Morrison was born February 18, 1931, in Lorain, Ohio.  For more information about this award-winning author, click on the following links:

http://www.findingdulcinea.com/features/profiles/m/toni-morrison.html

http://www.biography.com/people/toni-morrison-9415590

http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=5262

For lesson plans and ideas for using Toni Morrison’s book, Beloved, click on Thinkfinity, and type in Beloved in the search box.