KRLemmons African American History

June 5 African American Historical Events

Today in Black History – June 5 *

1783 – Oliver Cromwell, an African American soldier who served in
the Revolutionary War, receives an honorable discharge
signed by George Washington. Cromwell, who will claim to
have been with Washington when he crossed the Delaware and
in the battles of Yorktown, Princeton, and Monmouth, is
cited by Washington as having earned “the Badge of Merit
for six years’ faithful service.”

1872 – The Republican National Convention meets in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania. The meeting marks the first significant
participation of African American delegates: Robert B.
Elliot (chair of the South Carolina delegation); Joseph
Rainey, and John R. Lynch of Mississippi, who each make
addresses to the convention.

1920 – Marion Motley is born in Leesburg, Georgia. He will become
a NFL running back and all-time AAFC rusher for the
Cleveland Browns, ending his career with the Pittsburgh
Steelers. He will enter the NFL in 1946, making him one
of only four African Americans to desegregate the NFL in
the modern era. One of the largest running backs of his
era, Motley will rush for 4,720 yards in his career and
average an astounding 5.7 yards per carry, the highest in
pro football history. He will also be selected to the first
Pro Bowl in 1951. He will be enshrined in the NFL Hall of
Fame in 1968. He will join the ancestors in Cleveland, Ohio
on June 27, 1999.

1940 – The American Negro Theatre is organized in Harlem by
Frederick O’Neal, Abram Hill, and members of the McClendon
Players. Among the plays it will produce is “Anna Lucasta”,
which will be presented on Broadway in 1944 and feature
Canada Lee, Ossie Davis, and Ruby Dee.

1952 – Jersey Joe Walcott defeats Ezzard Charles for the
heavyweight boxing title.

1956 – A three-judge federal court rules that racial segregation on
Montgomery city buses is unconstitutional, ending the
Montgomery bus boycott.

1959 – U.S. Supreme Court undermines the legal foundations of
segregation in three landmark cases, Sweatt v. Painter,
McLaurin v. Oklahoma State Regents and Henderson v. United
States.

1969 – A race riot occurs in Hartford, Connecticut.

1973 – Doris A. Davis of Compton, California, becomes the first
African American female to govern a metropolitan city.

1973 – Cardiss R. Collins of Chicago, Illinois is elected to
Congress. She will succeed her late husband and spend over
twenty years in the U.S. House of Representatives.

1983 – Yannick Noah becomes the first Frenchman to win the French
Open since World War II.

1988 – Clarence M. Pendleton, Jr. joins the ancestors at the age of
58. He was the first African American chairman of the
United States Civil Rights Commission (1981-88). Following
President Ronald Reagan’s desires, he led the commission
toward a “color-blind” approach to matters of civil rights.

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

KRLemmons African American History

June 4 African American Historical Events

Today in Black History – June 4 *

1832 – The third national Black convention meets in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania with twenty-nine delegates from eight states.
Henry Sipkins of New York is elected president.

1922 – Samuel Gravely is born in Richmond, Virginia. He will
become the first African American Admiral in the U.S. Navy,
He also will become the first African American to command a
U.S. warship, the USS Falgout, and will also command the
USS Taussig. He will join the ancestors on October 22, 2004,
at Bethesda Naval Hospital after a short illness.

1946 – Legislation authorizing the establishment of Mississippi
Valley State University in Itta Bena, Mississippi is
enacted.

1961 – Eldra Patrick ‘El’ Debarge is born in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
He will become a singer with the family group Debarge. He
will become a solo artist in the mid 1980’s.

1972 – Angela Davis is acquitted by 11 whites and one Mexican
American of murder, kidnapping, and criminal conspiracy
charges brought in connection with a 1970 courthouse shoot-
out in San Rafael, California.

1973 – Arna Bontemps, writer and educator, joins the ancestors in
Nashville, Tennessee at the age of 72.

1987 – Edwin Moses, who had won a total of 122 consecutive victories
in the 400-meter hurdles, is defeated by Danny Harris in
Madrid, Spain. It had been ten years since the last time
Moses lost the event.

1989 – Four African Americans win Tony awards for “Black and Blue,”
a musical revue featuring classic blues and tap-dance
routines. Winners are Ruth Brown (best actress in a musical),
Cholly Atkins, Henry LeTang, Frankie Manning, and Fayard
Nicholas (best choreography).

1991 – Baltimore Orioles manager Frank Robinson is named assistant
general manager of the club. He is the third African American
to become an assistant general manager, joining Elaine
Weddington of the Boston Red Sox and Bob Watson of the
Houston Astros.

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

KRLemmons African American History

June 3 African American Historical Events

Today in Black History – June 3 *

1833 – The fourth national Black convention meets in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania with sixty-two delegates from eight states.
Abraham D. Shadd of Pennsylvania is elected president.

1854 – Two thousand United States troops escort celebrated fugitive
slave, Anthony Burns through the streets of Boston.

1871 – Miles Vandehurst Lynk is born near Brownsville, Tennessee. A
physician at 19, he founds the first African American medical
journal, the “Medical and Surgical Observer,” and will be one
of the organizers of what will later become the National
Medical Association. He will join the ancestors on
December 29, 1956.

1887 – Roland Hayes is born in Curryville, Tennessee. A noted
concert artist, Hayes will be the first African American to
give a concert in Boston’s Symphony Hall. His career will
take him throughout the U.S. and to London for a command
performance before King George V. He will be awarded the
Spingarn Medal in 1924 for his musical accomplishments. He
will join the ancestors 0n January 1, 1977.

1904 – Charles R. Drew, creator of the plasma method of blood
preservation, is born in Washington, DC. He will receive
the NAACP’s Spingarn Medal for his contributions in 1944
and, in 1981, be posthumously honored by the U.S. Postal
Service with a commemorative stamp. He will join the
ancestors on April 1, 1950.

1906 – Freda McDonald is born in St. Louis, Missouri. She will
become a singer and entertainer known as Josephine Baker.
A chorus girl in the 1923 musical “Shuffle Along,” she will
travel to Paris, introduce “le jazz hot” in the show “La
Revue Negre,” and will cause a sensation with the Folies
Bergeres when she performs topless on a mirror, wearing a
rubber banana skirt. A World War II Red Cross volunteer,
Baker will perform for the Allied troops and in the 1950’s
she will tour the U.S., fighting for desegregated theaters
and restaurants. She will join the ancestors on April 12, 1975.

1919 – Liberty Life Insurance Company in Chicago, Illinois, the
first old-line legal reserve company organized by African
Americans in the North, is incorporated.

1932 – Dakota Staton

1942 – Curtis Mayfield is born in Chattanooga, Tennessee and will
be raised in Chicago, Illinois. He will become a singer,
songwriter, and producer. He will be a member of the group
The Impressions. He will write many hits for the group,
Jerry Butler and himself. He will start a successful solo
career in 1970. He will become paralyzed from the chest
down in 1990 when a stage lighting tower falls on him.
After recuperating, he will still continue to perform. He
will join the ancestors on Sunday, December 26, 1999.

1946 – In its “Morgan vs. Commonwealth of Virginia” ruling, the U.S.
Supreme Court bars segregation in interstate bus travel.

1949 – Wesley Anthony Brown becomes the first African American to
graduate from the U.S. Naval Academy.

1951 – Deniece Chandler is born in Gary, Indiana. She will become a
singer and will be known as Deniece Williams. She will get
her first break as a member of Stevie Wonder’s backup group
Wonderlove during 1972-75. She will grow into a successful
solo career in both secular and gospel music.

1997 – Harvey Johnson, who defeats the incumbent mayor in the
Democratic Primary, is elected Jackson, Mississippi’s first
African American mayor, defeating the Republican candidate
by more than two-to-one. Johnson, an urban planner and
former state tax commissioner, was making his second run to
head the city of about 200,000. He upset incumbent Kane
Ditto to earn the right to face GOP businesswoman Charlotte
Reeves in the general election.

1997 – Bro. Mosi Hoj issues the email that will establish the
beginning of the “Today in Black History” series that will
eventually be known as the “Munirah Chronicle.”

2009 – Cora Walton “KoKo” Taylor joins the ancestors at the age of 80,
after succumbing to complications from surgery for
gastrointestinal bleeding. She had been known as the “Queen
of the Blues,” over the course of her almost 50-year career.

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