KRLemmons African American History

November 3 African American Historical Events

* Today in Black History – November 3 *

1868 – John W. Menard, of Louisiana, is elected as the African
American representative to Congress. Menard defeats a 
white candidate, 5,107 to 2,833, in an election in 
Louisiana’s Second Congressional District to fill an 
unexpired term in the Fortieth Congress.

1874 – James Theodore Holly, an African American who emigrated 
to Haiti in 1861, is elected bishop of Haiti.

1883 – Race riots occur in Danville, Virginia, resulting in the 
death of four African Americans.

1896 – South Carolina State College is established.

1905 – Artist Lois Mailou Jones is born in Boston, Massachusetts. 
She will win her first award in 1926 and have major 
exhibitions at the Harmon Foundation, the Salon des 
Artistes Francais in Paris, the National Academy of 
Design, and many others. Despite her long career, she 
will not have a major retrospective of her work until 
the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston mounts a show in her 
honor in 1973. She will join the ancestors on June 9,
1998. 

1920 – “Emperor Jones” opens at the Provincetown Theater with 
Charles Gilpin in the title role.

1933 – Louis Wade Sullivan is born in Atlanta, Georgia. He will 
become the founder and first dean of the Morehouse 
School of Medicine and Secretary of Health and Human 
Services, the highest-ranking African American in the 
Bush Administration.

1942 – William L. Dawson is elected to Congress from Chicago. 

1942 – Black and white advocates of direct, nonviolent action 
organized the Congress of Racial Equality in Chicago. 
Three CORE members stage a sit-in at Stoner’s Restaurant
in Chicago’s Loop.

1942 – The Spingarn Medal is presented to Asa Philip Randolph 
“for organizing the Sleeping Car Porters under the 
Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters and securing 
recognition for them; and because of his fearless, 
determined mobilization of mass opinion that resulted 
in… Executive Order No. 8802, which banned racial 
discrimination in defense industries and government work.”

1945 – Irving C. Mollison, a Chicago Republican, is sworn in as 
U.S. Customs Court judge in New York City.

1945 – The NAACP’s Spingarn Medal is presented to Paul Robeson 
“for his outstanding achievement in the theater, on the 
concert stage, and in the general field of racial 
welfare.”

1949 – Larry Holmes is born in Easton, Pennsylvania. He will 
become a professional boxer and world heavyweight 
champion from 1978 to 1985. During his reign, he will 
defend his title more times than any other heavyweight 
in history, with the exception of Joe Louis.

1953 – Jeffrey Banks is born in Washington, DC. He will become 
an influential fashion designer and the youngest designer 
to win the prestigious Coty Award, for his outstanding 
fur designs. 

1962 – Wilt Chamberlain of the NBA San Francisco Warriors, scores 
72 points vs the Los Angeles Lakers.

1964 – John Conyers, Jr. is elected to the House of 
Representatives from Detroit, Michigan.

1970 – Twelve African Americans are elected to the Ninety-second 
Congress, including five new congressmen: Ralph H. 
Metcalfe (Illinois), George Collins (Illinois), Charles 
Rangel (New York), Ronald Dellums (California), and 
Parren Mitchell (Maryland).

1970 – Wilson Riles is elected as the first African American 
superintendent of Public Instruction in California. 

1970 – Richard Austin is elected as the first African American 
secretary of state in Michigan.

1974 – Harold G. Ford is elected U.S. Congressman from Tennessee. 

1978 – Dominica is granted its independence by Great Britain.

1979 – Klansmen fire on an anti-Klan rally in Greensboro, North 
Carolina, and kill five persons.

1981 – Coleman Young is re-elected mayor of Detroit. Thurman L. 
Milner is elected mayor of Hartford, Connecticut. James 
Chase is elected mayor of Spokane, Washington. 

1983 – Reverend Jesse Jackson announces his candidacy for 
President of the United States. Although unsuccessful in 
this and a later 1988 campaign, Jackson will win many 
Democratic state primaries. His candidacy will win him 
national attention and a platform for increased 
representation by African Americans in the Democratic
Party. 

1992 – Carol Moseley Braun is the first African American woman to
be elected to the U.S. Senate. 

1992 – James Clyburn is the first African American to represent 
South Carolina since Reconstruction. He had previously 
served for 18 years as South Carolina’s Human Affairs 
Commissioner.

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

KRLemmons African American History

November 2 African American Historical Events

* Today in Black History – November 2 *

1875 – Democrats suppress the African American vote by fraud
and violence and carry Mississippi elections. “The
Mississippi Plan” staged riots, political
assassinations, massacres and social and economic
intimidation will be used later to overthrow
Reconstruction governments in South Carolina and
Louisiana.

1903 – Business and civic leader, Maggie Lena Walker, opens
the St. Luke Penny Savings Bank in Richmond, Virginia,
becoming the first female bank president in the United
States.

1930 – Ras Tafari Makonnen is crowned Negus of Ethiopia, taking
the name Haile Selassie I, 225th Emperor of Solomonic
Dynasty. His coronation will signify to thousands of
Jamaicans and Garveyites in the United States, the
fulfillment of the prophecy of their leader, Marcus
Garvey.

1954 – Charles C. Diggs becomes the first African American
representative to Congress from Michigan. He, along
with William Dawson of Illinois and Adam Clayton Powell,
Jr. of New York, comprise the largest number of African
Americans to date in Congress in the 20th century. Diggs
will leave Congress in 1980 after being convicted of
mail fraud and being censured by Congress.

1954 – NAACP’s Spingarn Medal is presented to Dr. Theodore K.
Lawles for his research on skin-related diseases.

1958 – Willie McGee, baseball player (St. Louis Cardinals and
1985 National League MVP), is born.

1979 – Black activist Joanne Chesimard escapes from a New Jersey
prison, where she was serving a life sentence for the
1973 slaying of a New Jersey state trooper. Chesimard,
who takes the name Assata Shakur successfully flees the
United States to Cuba.

1982 – Katie B. Hall is elected the first African American
congressional representative from Indiana.

1983 – President Ronald Reagan signs a bill to establish a
federal holiday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King,
Jr.’s birthday on the third Monday in January. It is
the culmination of the efforts by many civil rights
organizations and entertainers to name King’s birthday
as a national holiday.

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

KRLemmons African American History

November 1 African American Historical Events

* Today in Black History – November 1 *

1787 – The first free school for African Americans, the African
Free School opens in New York City.

1866 – The first Civil Rights Act is passed over the veto of
President Andrew Johnson.

1901 – Grambling State University is founded in Grambling,
Louisiana as the “Colored Industrial and Agricultural
School” under the leadership of Charles P. Adams.

1910 – The first edition of Crisis magazine is published by the
NAACP with W.E.B. Du Bois as its editor.

1927 – Florence Mills joins the ancestors in New York City after
being hospitalized for an appendectomy at the age of 32.
She was one of the most popular entertainers of her day,
appearing in “Shuffle Along” and “From Broadway to Dixie”
as well as having successful tours in the United States
and Europe.

1940 – In the foreword to his book, “The Negro in Art”, Howard
University professor Alain Locke introduces the most
extensive retrospective of African American art published
to date. The selections appearing in the book span almost
300 years and include the work of 100 black artists from
Europe and the United States including Joshua Johnston,
Edward Bannister, Henry O. Tanner, Romare Bearden, Hale
Woodruff, Palmer Hayden, Allan Crite, James A. Porter,
and James Lesesne Wells, among others.

1942 – John H. Johnson publishes the first issue of Negro Digest.

1945 – The first issue of Ebony magazine is published in Chicago,
Illinois. The second publication of John H. Johnson’s
fledgling company, Ebony will be the catalyst for a
communications empire that will eventually include
magazines, book publishing, and radio.

1946 – Dr. Charles S. Johnson becomes the first African American
president of Fisk University.

1951 – Jet magazine is founded by John H. Johnson, publisher of
Ebony magazine.

1981 – Antigua & Barbuda gain independence from Great Britain.

1998 – John Kagwe of Kenya wins the New York City Marathon for
the second consecutive year.

1999 – Former Chicago Bears running back Walter Payton, the NFL’s
all-time leading rusher, joins the ancestors after
succumbing to bile duct cancer at the age of 45.

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

KRLemmons African American History

October 31 African American Historical Events

* Today in Black History – October 31 *

1893 – Football player, William Henry Lewis, is named as an All-
American, playing for Harvard College. This is the second
year in a row he is named to the All American Team. He is
the first African American athlete to be named All
American.

1900 – Ethel Waters is born in Chester, Pennsylvania. She will
become a famous blues singer, the first woman to perform
W.C. Handy’s “St. Louis Blues,” and an actress known for
her roles in the movie “Cabin in the Sky” and such
stageplays as “Member of the Wedding”, for which she
will be nominated for a New York Drama Critics Award.
She will join the ancestors on September 1, 1977.

1935 – John Henry Lewis wins the world light heavyweight crown
in St. Louis, Missouri by defeating Bob Olin. He will
become the first American-born light heavyweight champion
to retire undefeated.

1945 – Educator, Booker T. Washington, is inducted into the Hall
of Fame for Great Americans.

1950 – Earl Lloyd becomes the first African American to play in
an NBA game when he takes the floor for the Washington
Capitols in Rochester, New York. Lloyd is actually one
of three African Americans to become NBA players in the
1950 season. The other two are Nat “Sweetwater” Clifton
and Chuck Cooper. Lloyd will play 9 solid NBA seasons
from 1950 to 1960.

1953 – John Harding Lucas II is born in Durham, North Carolina.
He will become a professional basketball player and play
guard for the Houston Rockets and Milwaukee Bucks. He
will become a NBA coach after retiring as a player. He
will coach the San Antonio Spurs, Philadelphia 76ers and
Cleveland Cavaliers, each for less than two seasons,
compiling a 174 – 258 overall record. Prior to accepting
the head coaching position for the Cavaliers, he will be
an assistant coach for the Denver Nuggets for three
seasons.

1969 – A racially motivated civil disturbance occurs in
Jacksonville, Florida. The disturbance is caused by
tensions between whites and Blacks during civil rights
demonstrations.
Information retrieved from the Munirah Chronicle and is edited by Rene’ A. Perry.

KRLemmons African American History

October 30 African American Historical Events

* Today in Black History – October 30 *

1831 – Nat Turner is remembered for his role in the slave
revolt that took place in Southampton county,
Virginia on August 21.

1939 – Eddie Holland is born in Detroit, Michigan. He will
become one-third of an amazing songwriting and
production trio, Holland-Dozier-Holland. Eddie
Holland will not be as successful on his own as when
teamed with brother Brian Holland and Lamont Dozier.
Eddie Holland will score his biggest hit as a solo
artist back in 1962, with “Jamie” reaching number six
on the R&B charts and peaking at #30 pop. He recorded
three more songs for Motown in the mid-’60s, but none
of them were hits, and he then concentrated on
songwriting and production. The Holland-Dozier-
Holland trio will write numerous hits for Motown acts
through the ’60s before departing in 1968. They will
form their own label in 1970, Hot Wax/Invictus, and
will have success for a while with such acts as The
Chairmen Of The Board, Laura Lee, and the Honey Cone.
Some of the songs written by the trio are “Where Did
Our Love Go”, “Baby Love”, “Stop! In the Name of Love”,
“I Hear a Symphony”, “You Keep Me Hangin’ On”, “Reach
Out”, and “I’ll Be There.” Holland-Dozier-Holland will
be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.

1941 – Otis Miles is born in Texarkana, Arkansas. He will
become a rhythm and blues singer known as Otis Williams
and will be one of the original members of the Motown
group, The Temptations. Some of their hits will be “I
Can’t Get Next to You”, “Cloud Nine”, “Runaway Child”,
“Running Wild”, “Just My Imagination”, “Papa was a
Rolling Stone”, and “Masquerade.”

1950 – Philip “Phil” Chenier is born in Berkeley, California.
He will become a professional basketball player and will
be best known as a member of the Washington Bullets
team.

1954 – The Defense Department announces that all units in the
armed forces are now integrated. The announcement comes
six years after President Harry S. Truman issued
Executive Order 9981.

1966 – Huey Newton and Bobby Seale, students at Oakland City
College in Oakland, California, create the Black Panther
Party for Self Defense.

1976 – Joseph H. Evans is elected president of the United Church
of Christ, the first African American to hold the post
in this predominantly white denomination.

1978 – Esther Rolle wins an Emmy Award for her role in “Summer
of my German Soldier.”

1979 – Richard Arrington is the first African American to be
elected mayor of Birmingham, Alabama.

1989 – Frank Mingo, CEO of the Mingo Group, joins the ancestors
in New York City. He, along with D. Parke Gibson,
Barbara Proctor of Proctor and Gardner, and Tom Burrell
of Burrell Advertising was one of the pioneering
advertising executives who specialized in targeting
African American consumers.

1991 – Led by President Robert L. Johnson, BET Holdings, Inc.,
the parent company of Black Entertainment Television,
sells 4.2 million shares of stock in an initial public
offering on the New York Stock Exchange. BET is the first
African American company listed on the “Big Board.”

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

KRLemmons African American History

October 29 African American Historical Events

* Today in Black History – October 29 *

1902 – The Dinwiddle Quartet from Virginia is the first
African American singing group on record when they
record six single sided discs, including “Down at the
Old Camp Ground,” on the Victory Talking Machine
Company’s Monarch label.

1923 – Runnin’ Wild opens at the Colonial Theater, Broadway.
Miller and Lyles Productions introduced the Charleston
to New York and the world.

1924 – Dixie to Broadway, “the first real revue by Negroes,”
opens at the Broadhurst Theater, New York City, with
Florence Mills in the starring role.

1929 – The collapse of the stock market and the beginning of
the Great Depression. By 1937, 26 per cent of African
American males will be unemployed.

1945 – Beatrice Moore is born in New York, New York. She will
become an actress and singer better known as Melba
Moore. Her big break will come when she joins the cast
of the Broadway musical “Hair.” She will eventually win
the lead role. It will be the first time that an African
American actress replaces a white actress (Diane Keaton)
for a lead role on Broadway. That engagement will be
followed with another Broadway hit, “Purlie,” which
earns her a Tony Award and rave reviews. This success
will be followed by appearances in film and television.
In addition to her success in acting, she will have a
fruitful recording career.

1947 – The President’s Committee on Civil Rights condemns racial
injustices in America in a formal report, “To Secure
These Rights.”

1947 – Texas Southern University is established.

1947 – The NAACP Spingarn Medal is awarded to Dr. Percy L. Julian
for his achievements as a scientist.

1949 – Alonzo G. Moron, from the Virgin Islands, becomes the
first person of African descent to become president of
Hampton Institute (now University) in Hampton, Virginia.

1960 – Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali) boxes in his first professional
fight, beating Tunney Hunsaker in 6 rounds.

1961 – Randy Jackson is born in Gary, Indiana. He will become a
member of the famed family group, “The Jackson Five.”

1969 – Johnson Products Company of Chicago, Illinois, the largest
African American hair-care products manufacturer, is
incorporated. Founded by George Johnson in 1954, in 1971,
it will become the first African American owned company
listed on the American Stock Exchange.

1969 – The U.S. Supreme Court states that school systems must end
segregation “at once” and “operate now and hereafter only
unitary schools.” In the Mississippi case, Alexander v.
Holmes, the Court abandons the principle of “all
deliberate speed.”

1974 – Muhammad Ali defeats George Foreman in Zaire to regain his
heavyweight crown in a fight billed as “The Rumble in the
Jungle.” In addition to the fight being the first
heavyweight title fight held in Africa, it is the 14th
Anniversary of Ali’s professional boxing debut.

1981 – William Otis Walker, publisher of the “Cleveland Call &
Post,” joins the ancestors at the age of 85. He was the
first African American to hold a post in the Ohio Cabinet
in 1963, and was national chairman for “Black Republicans
for Reagan and Bush” in 1980.

1987 – Thomas Hearns wins an unprecedented 4th boxing title in
different weight classes.

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

KRLemmons African American History

October 28 African American Historical Events

* Today in Black History – October 28 *

1862 – The First Kansas Colored Volunteers, while greatly
outnumbered, repulse and drive off a rebel force at Island
Mound, Missouri. This is the first engagement for African
American troops in the Civil War.

1873 – Patrick Healy becomes president of Georgetown University,
the oldest Catholic University in the United States and
becomes the first African American president of a
predominantly white university in the United States.

1914 – Omega Psi Phi fraternity is incorporated. Founded in 1911
by three students, Frank Coleman, Oscar J. Cooper and
Edgar A. Love and their faculty adviser, Ernest Everett
Just, the fraternity will grow to have over 90,000 members
in chapters throughout the United States and abroad.

1937 – Leonard Randolph “Lenny” Wilkens is born in Brooklyn, New
York. He will become a professional basketball player for
the St. Louis Hawks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Portland Trail
Blazers and Seattle Supersonics. He will also coach every
team for which he played. In 1995, he will surpass Red
Auerbach as the NBA winningest coach, with his 939th
victory. On March 1, 1996, he will become the first coach
to win 1,000 regular season games. He and John Wooden will
become the only two persons to be elected to the Basketball
Hall of Fame as a player and coach.

1948 – Telma Louise Hopkins is born in Louisville, Kentucky. She will
become a member of the 1970’s group, “Tony Orlando and Dawn”,
and later a television actress. She will be best known for
her roles in “Bosom Buddies,” “Gimme a Break!,” “Family
Matters,” “Getting By,” and “Half & Half.”

1965 – Earl Bostic, popular jazz alto saxophonist and winner of the
1959 Playboy Jazz poll, joins the ancestors in Rochester,
New York. The Tulsa, Oklahoma native had begun his career
in the Midwest and, after studying music and playing with
bands in the South, landed with Lionel Hampton’s big band,
among others.

1973 – Elmore Smith of the Los Angeles Lakers blocks 17 shots in a
game to establish a NBA record.

1981 – Edward M. McIntyre is elected as the first African American
mayor of Augusta, Georgia.

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

KRLemmons African American History

October 27 African American Historical Events

Today in Black History – October 27 *

1890 – Charles H. Garvin is born in Jacksonville, Florida. He will
graduate from Howard University”s medical school in 1915.
He will practice medicine in Cleveland, Ohio from 1916 until
he joins the ancestors on July 17, 1968. During WORLD WAR I,
he will become the first black physician commissioned in the
U.S. Army, serving in France as commanding officer in the
92nd Division. His interest in medicine will extended beyond
his practice to research and writing, especially tracing the
history of Africans and African Americans in medicine. He will
amass an important collection of books on the black experience
and also complete a manuscript (unpublished as of 1994) and
write several articles on the subject. His account of the
history of blacks in medicine in Cleveland will be published
in 1939 in the ‘Women”s Voice,’ a national women”s magazine.
He will be a founder of the Dunbar Life Insurance Company and
assist in organizing Quincy Savings & Loan, serving as a
director and board chairman. He will also pioneer integrated
housing during a period of intense racial separation in the
city, living in the home he built on Wade Park Ave., an
exclusive allotment, despite threats of violence and two
bombings. He will be a trustee of Karamu House, the Urban League
of Greater Cleveland, the Cleveland branch of the NAACP, and the
Cleveland Public Library. He will also be 4th General President
of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity from 1912 to 1914.

1891 – Philip B. Downing, invents the street letter box and is
awarded patent # 462,093.

1924 – Ruby Ann Wallace is born in Cleveland, Ohio. She will become
one of the foremost actresses in America, better known as
Ruby Dee, beginning her career on Broadway in the early
1940’s. She will marry actor Ossie Davis and have a strong
personal career with such notable stage roles as “A Raisin
in the Sun”, “Purlie Victorious”, and “The Taming of the
Shrew” as well as work in numerous television series and
movies including “Raisin”, “Do the Right Thing”, and “Jungle
Fever.” She will be married to Ossie Davis until he joins
the ancestors in 2005. She will join the ancestors on June
11, 2014.

1951 – Jayne Kennedy is born in Washington, DC. She will become
an actress, writer and producer. Her movie credits will
include “Fighting Mad,” “Body and Soul,” “Mysterious
Island of Beautiful Women,” “Cover Girls,” “The Muthers,”
and “Group Marriage.”

1954 – Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. becomes the first African American
general in the history of the United States Air Force.
He is designated by President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

1960 – Martin Luther King Jr. is released on bond from the
Georgia State Prison in Reidsville. Political observers
say the John F. Kennedy call for King’s release increased
the number of African American voters who ensured his
election.

1971 – The Republic of the Congo becomes the Republic of Zaire.

1978 – President Carter signs the Hawkins-Humphrey full
employment bill.

1979 – St Vincent & the Grenadines becomes independent of Great
Britain.

1981 – Andrew Young, former United Nations Ambassador, is elected
mayor of Atlanta, Georgia.

2003 – Walter Washington, ex-mayor of Washington, DC, joins the
ancestors at age 88. He was the first elected mayor of
the nation’s capital in modern times and the first
African American to head the government of a major U.S.
city.
Information retrieved from the Munirah Chronicle and is edited by Rene’ A. Perry

KRLemmons African American History

October 26 African American Historical Events

* Today in Black History – October 26 *

1868 – White terrorists kill several African Americans in St.
Bernard Parish, near New Orleans, Louisiana.

1868 – B.F. Randolph, state senator and chairman of the state
Republican party, is assassinated in broad daylight at
Hodges Depot in Abbeville, South Carolina.

1911 – Mahalia Jackson is born in New Orleans, Louisiana. Known
as the “Gospel Queen,” Jackson will become instrumental
in the popularization of gospel music and songs.
Jackson’s traditional gospel audiences transcended
beyond African American churchgoers through her
recordings, radio performances and concert tours in
America and abroad. Her recordings will sell millions of
copies. She will join the ancestors on January 27, 1972.

1919 – Edward William Brooke III is born in Washington, DC.
After serving in World War II and obtaining a law degree
from Boston University, he will be elected attorney
general of the State of Massachusetts and serve a term
of four years before being elected to the United States
Senate as a Republican in 1966, the first African
American Senator elected since Reconstruction. In the
Senate, Brooke will oppose President Nixon’s policies in
Southeast Asia, advocate low-income housing, and oppose
quotas to meet affirmative action goals. Among his
awards will be the NAACP’s Spingarn Medal in 1967.

1921 – Solomon Porter Hood is named minister to Liberia.

1934 – At a New York City conference, representatives of the
NAACP and the American Fund for Public Service plan a
coordinated legal campaign against segregation and
discrimination. Charles H. Houston, Vice-dean of the
Howard University Law School, is named director of the
NAACP legal campaign.

1950 – Walter E. “Chuck” Foreman is born in Frederick, Maryland.
He will become a star running back for the Minnesota
Vikings. He will be NFC Rookie of the Year in 1973 and
NFC Player of the Year in 1974 and 1976. He will also
play in losing efforts in Super Bowls VIII, IX, and XI.

1951 – William Collins is born in Cincinnati, Ohio. He will
become a rhythm and blues performer and bandleader known
as “Bootsy” Collins. He will form his first group, the
Pacesetters, in 1968. From 1969 to 1971, the group will
function as James Brown’s backup band and will be dubbed
the JB’s. In 1972, Bootsy will join George Clinton’s
Parliament/Funkadelic. He will launch Bootsy’s Rubber
Band as a spin-off of P-Funk in 1976. He will record
with Warner Brothers from 1976 through 1982. After a
six year hiatus, he will sign with Columbia Records in
1988 and actively record into the 1990s.

1951 – Joe Louis is defeated by Rocky Marciano in the eighth
round in a bout at Madison Square Garden.

1962 – Louise Beavers, who starred in more than 100 films,
including “Imitation of Life”, “The Jackie Robinson
Story”, and “Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House”,
joins the ancestors in Los Angeles, California.

1970 – Following 3 1/2 years of forced isolation from boxing,
Muhammad Ali returns to the ring and beats Jerry Quarry
in Atlanta, Georgia.

1976 – Trinidad & Tobago becomes a republic.

1977 – Dr. Clifford R. Wharton Jr. is named chancellor of the
State University of New York.

1980 – Ten African American Roman Catholic bishops issue a
pastoral letter asserting that “the Church must seize
the initiative to ‘share the gift of our blackness with
the Church in the United States.'”

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

KRLemmons African American History

October 25 African American Historical Events

* Today in Black History – October 25 *

1806 – Benjamin Banneker joins the ancestors at the age of 74
in Ellicott Mills, Maryland. Banneker was a self-
taught mathematician and builder (at age 21) of the
first striking clock built in the United States. An
amateur astronomer, Banneker’s calculations for solar
and lunar eclipses appeared in 29 editions of his
almanacs, published from 1792 to 1797.

1915 – Attorney James L. Curtis is named minister to Liberia.

1926 – Crisis magazine, led by editor W.E.B. DuBois, awards its
first prizes in literature and art. Among the winners
will be Arna Bontemps’ poem “Nocturne at Bethesda,”
Countee Cullen’s poem “Thoughts in a Zoo,” Aaron
Douglas’ painting “African Chief” and a portrait by
Hale Woodruff.

1940 – The Committee on the Participation of Negroes in the
National Defense Program met with President Roosevelt.

1940 – The National Newspaper Publishers Association is
founded.

1940 – The Spingarn Medal is presented to Dr. Louis T. Wright
for his civil rights leadership and his contributions
as a surgeon.

1940 – Benjamin Oliver Davis, Sr. is promoted to Brigadier
General, the first African American to attain that rank
in the United States Army or any other branch of the
Armed Forces.

1958 – Ten thousand students, led by Jackie Robinson, Harry
Belfonte and A. Phillip Randolph, participate in the
Youth March for integrated schools in Washington, DC.

1958 – Daisy Bates, head of the Arkansas chapter of the NAACP,
and the nine students who integrated Little Rocks’s
Central High School are awarded the Spingarn Medal for
their courage and leadership in the civil rights
struggle.

1962 – Uganda is admitted as the 110th member of the United
Nations.

1968 – The city of Chicago officially recognizes Jean Baptiste
Pointe du Sable as its first settler.

1973 – Abebe Bikila, Ethiopian marathoner who won the Olympic
Gold Medal in 1960 and 1964, joins the ancestors at
the age of 46.

1976 – Clarence “Willie” Norris, the last surviving member of
the nine Scottsboro Boys, who were convicted in 1931
of the alleged rape of two white women on a freight
train, is pardoned by Governor George Wallace. Norris
had spent 15 years in prison and had been a fugitive
fleeing parole in Alabama in 1946.

1983 – Mary Francis Berry, professor of history and law at
Howard University, and two other members of the Civil
Rights Commission are fired by President Ronald Reagan.
Considered a champion of minority concerns on the
Commission, Berry will charge the administration with
attempting to “shut up” criticism. She will later sue
and be reinstated.

1983 – The United States and six other Caribbean nations
invade the island nation of Grenada.

1988 – Two units of the Ku Klux Klan and eleven individuals
are ordered to pay $1 million to African Americans who
were attacked during a brotherhood rally in
predominately white Forsythe County, Georgia.

1990 – Evander Holyfield knocks out James “Buster” Douglas in
the third round of their twelve-round fight to become
the undisputed world heavyweight champion.
Holyfield’s record stood at 25-0, with 21 knockouts.

1997 – The Million Woman March, organized by grass root sisters,
led by Sister Phile Chionesu and Sister Asia Coney,
takes place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The event
is attended by 1.3 million attendees (300,000 to 1
million according to Philadelphia officials). The MWM
had been promoted by word of mouth and avoided
traditional media and mainstream groups, such as
sororities and many civil rights groups. Sis. Chionesu
calls the march “a declaration of independence from
ignorance, poverty, enslavement, and all the things
that have happened to us that has helped to bring about
the confusion and disharmony that we experience with
one another.”

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