KRLemmons African American History

July 5 African American Historical Events

Today in Black History – July 5 *

1852 – At a meeting sponsored by the Rochester Ladies’ Anti-
Slavery Society, in Rochester Hall, Rochester, New
York, Frederick Douglass illustrates the full shame
of slavery, delivering a speech that takes aim at
the pieties of the nation — the cherished memories
of its revolution, its principles of liberty, and its
moral and religious foundation. The Fourth of July,
a day celebrating freedom, is used by Douglass to
remind his audience of liberty’s unfinished business.
“What to the American Slave is Your Fourth of July?”:
“To him your celebration is a sham…to cover up
crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages.
There is not a nation of the earth guilty of practices
more shocking and bloody than are the people of the
United States at this very hour.” The text of this
speech can be seen on the Information Man’s web site
http://www.informationman.com/douglass.htm .

1892 – Andrew Beard is issued patent number 478,271 for his
rotary engine.

1899 – Anna Arnold (later Hedgeman) is born in Marshalltown,
Iowa. She will become the first African American
woman to serve in the cabinet of a New York City mayor
(1954), a special projects coordinator for the
Commission on Religion and Race of the National Council
of Churches, and recruiter of 40,000 Protestant
churchmen to participate in the 1963 March on Washington.
She will serve as teacher, lecturer, and consultant to
numerous educational centers, boards, and colleges and
universities, particularly in the area of African American
studies. She will travel to Africa and lecture throughout
the United States, especially in black schools and
colleges, as an example of a black hero. She will stress
to students the importance of understanding history as a
basis to achieve equality. She will hold memberships in
numerous organizations, such as the Child Study
Association, Community Council of the City of New York,
National Urban League, NAACP, United Nations Association,
Advisory Committee on Alcoholism, Advisory Committee on
Drug Addiction, and the National Conference of Christians
and Jews. She will author “The Trumpet Sounds” (1964),
“The Gift of Chaos” (1977), and articles in numerous
organizational publications, newspapers, and journals.
She will join the ancestors on January 17, 1990.
1913 – Overton Amos Lemons is born in Dequincy, Louisiana. He will
become a rhythm and blues vocalist better known as Smiley
Lewis. He will be best rememberd for his song, “I Hear You
Knockin’.” He will join the ancestors on October 7, 1966
after succumbing to stomach cancer.

1947 – The first African American baseball player in the American
League joins the lineup of the Cleveland Indians. Larry
Doby plays his first game against the Chicago White Sox.
He will play for both the Indians and the White Sox
during his 13-year, major-league career.

1949 – The New York Giants purchase the contracts of Monty Irvin
& Henry Thompson, their first African American players.

1966 – Three nights of race rioting in Omaha, Nebraska, result
in the calling out of the National Guard.

1969 – Tom Mboya, Economics Minister, joins the ancestors after
being assassinated in Narobi, Kenya.

1975 – Arthur Ashe becomes the first African American to win the
Wimbledon Men’s Singles Championship when he defeats
Jimmy Conners.

1975 – The Cape Verde Islands gain independence after 500 years
of Portuguese rule.

1975 – Forty persons are injured in racial disturbances in Miami,
Florida.

1989 – Barry Bond’s home run sets father-son (Bobby) HR record at
408.

1990 – Zina Garrison upsets Steffi Graf in the Wimbledon semi-
finals.

1994 – In an attempt to halt a surge of Haitian refugees, the
Clinton administration announces it is refusing entry to
new Haitian boat people.

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

KRLemmons African American History

July 4 African American Historical Events

* Today in Black History – July 4 *

1776 – The Declaration of Independence is adopted. A section
written by Thomas Jefferson denouncing slavery is deleted.

1779 – Colonel Arent Schuyler De Puyster notes the presence of
“Jean Baptiste Point DuSable, a handsome Negro, well-
educated and settled at Eschikagou.” It is the first
recorded mention of “DuSable, who settled the area that
will become known as Chicago.

1827 – New York State abolishes slavery.

1845 – Wildfire Lewis is born in Greenwich, New York. After
living with Chippewa relatives, she will enroll in Oberlin
College’s preparatory and college program. Changing her
name to Mary Edmonia Lewis, she will travel to Boston and
abroad where she will become one of the most outstanding
sculptors of her day. Among her most famous works will be
“Forever Free,” “Hagar in Her Despair in the Wilderness”
and “Death of Cleopatra.” She will join the ancestors in
1911.

1875 – White Democrats kill several African Americans in terrorist
attacks in Vicksburg, Mississippi.

1881 – Tuskegee Institute opens in Tuskegee, Alabama, with Booker
T. Washington as its first president.

1892 – Arthur George Gaston is born in a log cabin, built by his
grandparents, former slaves, in Marengo County, Alabama,
near Demopolis. He will drop out of school after the
tenth grade and will become one of the most successful
proponents of Booker T. Washington’s brand of capitalism.
A Washington disciple as a child, Gaston became a self-made
millionaire and one of the richest African American men in
America in the 1950s. His many businesses thrived on the
social separateness legislated by the Jim Crow laws in
segregated Alabama. Gaston will make it his personal
mission to urge African Americans to seek “green power,” a
term he remembered Washington using. His quiet role in the
civil right movement was also noted, saying once that
African Americans needed a Martin Luther King, Jr. of
economics to fire them up the way King had about
integration. Gaston made the following statement that
summed up his position on economic empowerment for people
of color — “It doesn’t do any good to arrive at first-
class citizenship, if you arrive broke.” He will live to
the age of 103, when he joins the ancestors on January 19,
1996.

1910 – Jack Johnson KOs James Jeffries in 15 rounds, ending
Jeffries’ come-back try.

1938 – Bill Withers is born the youngest of nine children in the
coal mining town of in Slab Fork, West Virginia. He will
become a Rhythm and Blues singer and songwriter who will
perform and record from the late 1960s until the mid
1980s. Some of his best-known songs will include “Ain’t No
Sunshine,” “Use Me,” “Lean on Me”, “Grandma’s Hands”, and
“Just the Two of Us”.

1959 – The Cayman Islands, separated from Jamaica, are made a
British Crown Colony.

1963 – Marian Anderson and Ralph Bunche receive the first Medals
of Freedom from President John F. Kennedy, the creator of
the award.

1970 – 100 persons are injured in racially motivated disturbances
in Asbury Park, New Jersey.

1990 – “2 Live Crew” release “Banned in the USA”; the lyrics quote
“The Star Spangled Banner” & “The Gettysburg Address.”

1991 – The National Civil Rights Museum officially opens at the
Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, the site of the
assassination of civil rights leader Martin Luther King,
Jr.

1994 – Rwandan Tutsi rebels seize control of most of their
country’s capital, Kigali, and continue advancing on areas
held by the Hutu-led government.

2003 – Barry White, Rhythm & Blues balladeer, joins the ancestors
at the age of 58 after succumbing to complications of high
blood pressure, kidney disease and a mild stroke. His
hits included “Can’t Get Enough of Your Love,” “Babe” and
“I’ve Got So Much to Give.”

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