KRLemmons African American History

November 21 African American Historical Events

* Today in Black History – November 21 *

1654 – Richard Johnson, a free African American, is granted 550
acres in Northampton County, Virginia.

1784 – James Armistead is cited by French General Lafayette for
his valuable service to the American forces in the
Revolutionary War. Armistead, who was born into slavery
24 years earlier, had worked as a double agent for the
Americans while supposedly employed as a servant of
British General Cornwallis.

1865 – Shaw University is founded in Raleigh, North Carolina.

1878 – Marshall “Major” Taylor is born in Indianapolis, Indiana.
He will become an international cycling star who will be
the first native-born African American to win a national
sports title. During his career, Taylor will win over 100
professional races and one-on-one matches in the U.S. and
nine other countries.

1893 – Granville T. Woods, inventor, receives a patent for the
“Electric Railway Conduit.”

1904 – Coleman Hawkins is born in St. Joseph, Missouri. He will
virtually create the presence of the tenor saxophone in
jazz.

1918 – Henry B. Delany is elected saffragan bishop of the
Protestant Episcopal diocese of North Carolina.

1944 – Earl “the Pearl” Monroe, NBA Guard (New York Knicks,
Baltimore Bullets), is born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

1984 – TransAfrica’s Randall Robinson, DC congressional delegate
Walter Fauntroy, and U.S. Civil Rights Commissioner Mary
Frances Berry are arrested at a sit-in demonstration in
front of the South African Embassy in Washington, DC.
Their demonstration against apartheid will be repeated and
spread to New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, and other
cities, and involve such notables as Jesse Jackson, Arthur
Ashe, Harry Belafonte, and Stevie Wonder. Their efforts
will play a large part in the passage of the Anti-Apartheid
Act of 1986, which will impose economic sanctions against
South Africa.

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

KRLemmons African American History

October 11 African American Historical Events

* Today in Black History – October 11 *

1864 – Slavery is abolished in Maryland.

1865 – Jamaican national hero, Paul Bogle leads a successful
protest march to the Morant Bay Courthouse. Poverty and
injustice in Jamaican society and lack of public
confidence in the central authority had urged Paul Bogle
to lead the march. A violent confrontation with official
forces will follow the march, resulting in the death of
nearly 500 people. Many others will be flogged and
punished before order is restored. Paul Bogle will be
captured and hanged on October 24, 1865. His forceful
demonstration will pave the way for the establishment of
just practices in the courts and bring about a change in
official attitude, making possible the social and economic
betterment of the Jamaican people.

1882 – Robert Nathaniel Dett, is born in Ontario, Canada. He will
become an acclaimed concert pianist, composer, arranger,
and choral conductor. He will receive his musical
education at the Oliver Willis Halstead Conservatory in
Lockport, NY, Oberlin College (BM, 1908, composition and
piano), and the Eastman School of Music (MM, 1938). He
will become President of the National Association of Negro
Musicians from 1924-1926. His teaching tenures will
include Lane College in Tennessee, Lincoln Institute in
Missouri, Bennett College in North Carolina, and Hampton
Institute in Virginia. It will be at Hampton Institute
that he develops the choral ensembles which will receive
international acclaim and recognition. He will join the
ancestors on October 2, 1943, in Battle Creek, Michigan,
after succumbing to congestive heart failure.

1887 – A. Miles registers a patent on an elevator.

1919 – Arthur “Art” Blakey is born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Blakey, a jazz drummer credited as one of the creators of
bebop, will be best known as the founder of the Jazz
Messengers. The band will become a proving ground for some
of the best modern jazz musicians, including Horace Silver,
Hank Mobely, Freddie Hubbard, Wayne Shorter, Sonny Rollins,
Wynton Marsalis, and Branford Marsalis. He will join the
ancestors on October 16, 1990.

1939 – Coleman Hawkins records his famous “Body and Soul” in New
York City.

1939 – The NAACP organizes the Education and Legal Defense Fund.

1972 – A major prison uprising occurs at the Washington, DC jail.

1976 – The United Nations Day of Solidarity with South Africa is
declared by the membership of the United Nations. A
special day of solidarity is observed with the numerous
political prisoners who are being held in South Africa.

1980 – Billie Thomas joins the ancestors after a heart attack in
Los Angeles, California at the age of 49. He was an actor,
most notable as the third child to portray Buckwheat in
the Our Gang comedies, a role he played in some 80
episodes of the popular film series.

1985 – President Reagan bans the importation of South African gold
coins known as Krugerrands.

1991 – Redd Foxx (John Elroy Sanford), comedian (Sanford & Sons,
Harlem Nights), joins the ancestors at the age of 68.

1994 – U.S. troops in Haiti take over the National Palace.
Information retrieved from the Munirah Chronicle and is edited by Rene’ A. Perry.

KRLemmons African American History

May 19 African American Historical Events

* Today in Black History – May 19 *

1881 – Blanche Kelso Bruce is appointed Register of the Treasury
by President Garfield.

1925 – Malcolm Little, later known as Malcolm X and El Hajj
Malik El-Shabazz, is born in Omaha, Nebraska. In prison,
he is introduced to the Nation of Islam and begins
studies that will lead him to become one of the most
militant and electrifying black leaders of the 1950s and
1960s. On many occasions, he would indicate that he was
not for civil rights, but human rights. When asked about
the Nation of Islam undermining the efforts of
integrationists by preaching racial separation, Malcolm’s
response was “It is not integration in America that
Negroes want, it is human dignity.” Malcolm X regularly
criticized civil rights leaders for advocating the
integration of African Americans into white society. He
believed that African Americans should be building Black
institutions and businesses and defending themselves
against racist violence based opposition from both
conservative and liberals. Until he joined the ancestors,
Malcolm X was a staunch believer in Black Nationalism,
Black Self-determination and Black Self-organization. He
will begin to lobby with the newly independent African
nations to protest in the United Nations about the
American abuse of their Black citizens human rights,
when he was assassinated on February 21, 1965. His story
will be immortalized in the book “Autobiography of
Malcolm X,” ghostwritten by Alex Haley.

1930 – Lorraine Hansberry is born in Chicago, Illinois. She will
become a noted playwright and will be best known for her
play, “A Raisin in the Sun.” On March 11, 1959, when it
opened at the Ethel Barrymore Theater, it will become the
first Broadway play written by an African American woman.
Her other works will include “The Sign in Sidney
Brustein’s Window,” “To Be Young, Gifted and Black:
Lorraine Hansberry in Her Own Words,” “Les Blancs,” and
“The Movement: Documentary of a Struggle for Equality.”
She will join the ancestors on January 12, 1965.

1952 – Grace Mendoza is born in Spanishtown, Jamaica. She will
move with her family to Syracuse, New York at the age of
12. She will become a performance artist known as Grace
Jones and a transatlantic model for the Ford and
Wilhemina agencies. She will later write music and
perform as a singer. Her releases will extend from 1977
through 1998. She also will succeed as a movie star
appearing in the movies “A View to a Kill,” “Conan the
Destroyer,” and “Deadly Vengeance.”

1965 – Patricia Harris is named U.S. Ambassador to Luxembourg.
She is the first African American woman to become an
ambassador for the U.S.

1968 – Piano stylist and vocalist, Bobby Short, gains national
attention as he presents a concert with Mabel Mercer at
New York’s Town Hall. He will be a featured artist at
the intimate Hotel Carlisle from 1968 until the end of
2004.

1969 – Coleman Randolph Hawkins joins the ancestors in New York
City at the age of 65. He was responsible for the coming
of age of the tenor saxophone in jazz ensembles and
called the “father of the tenor saxophone.”

1973 – Stevie Wonder moves to the number one position on the
“Billboard” pop music chart with “You Are the Sunshine
of My Life”. It is the third number one song for Wonder,
following earlier successes with “Fingertips, Part 2” in
1963 and “Superstition” in 1973. He will have seven more
number one hits between 1973 and 1987: “You Haven’t Done
Nothin'”, “I Wish”, “Sir Duke”, “Ebony & Ivory” (with Paul
McCartney), “I Just Called to Say I Love You”, “Part-Time
Lover” and “That’s What Friends are for”.

1991 – Willy T. Ribbs becomes the first African American driver to
qualify for the Indianapolis 500. During the race, which
occurs the following week, Ribbs will be forced to drop
out due to engine failure.

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

KRLemmons African American History

Noember 21 African American Historical Events

* Today in Black History – November 21 *

1654 – Richard Johnson, a free African American, is granted 550
acres in Northampton County, Virginia.

1784 – James Armistead is cited by French General Lafayette for
his valuable service to the American forces in the
Revolutionary War. Armistead, who was born into slavery
24 years earlier, had worked as a double agent for the
Americans while supposedly employed as a servant of
British General Cornwallis.

1865 – Shaw University is founded in Raleigh, North Carolina.

1878 – Marshall “Major” Taylor is born in Indianapolis, Indiana.
He will become an international cycling star who will be
the first native-born African American to win a national
sports title. During his career, Taylor will win over 100
professional races and one-on-one matches in the U.S. and
nine other countries.

1893 – Granville T. Woods, inventor, receives a patent for the
“Electric Railway Conduit.”

1904 – Coleman Hawkins is born in St. Joseph, Missouri. He will
virtually create the presence of the tenor saxophone in
jazz.

1918 – Henry B. Delany is elected saffragan bishop of the
Protestant Episcopal diocese of North Carolina.

1944 – Earl “the Pearl” Monroe, NBA Guard (New York Knicks,
Baltimore Bullets), is born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

1984 – TransAfrica’s Randall Robinson, DC congressional delegate
Walter Fauntroy, and U.S. Civil Rights Commissioner Mary
Frances Berry are arrested at a sit-in demonstration in
front of the South African Embassy in Washington, DC.
Their demonstration against apartheid will be repeated and
spread to New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, and other
cities, and involve such notables as Jesse Jackson, Arthur
Ashe, Harry Belafonte, and Stevie Wonder. Their efforts
will play a large part in the passage of the Anti-Apartheid
Act of 1986, which will impose economic sanctions against
South Africa.

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

KRLemmons African American History

October 11 African American Historical Events

Today in Black History – October 11 *

1864 – Slavery is abolished in Maryland.

1865 – Jamaican national hero, Paul Bogle leads a successful
protest march to the Morant Bay Courthouse. Poverty and
injustice in Jamaican society and lack of public
confidence in the central authority had urged Paul Bogle
to lead the march. A violent confrontation with official
forces will follow the march, resulting in the death of
nearly 500 people. Many others will be flogged and
punished before order is restored. Paul Bogle will be
captured and hanged on October 24, 1865. His forceful
demonstration will pave the way for the establishment of
just practices in the courts and bring about a change in
official attitude, making possible the social and economic
betterment of the Jamaican people.

1882 – Robert Nathaniel Dett, is born in Ontario, Canada. He will
become an acclaimed concert pianist, composer, arranger,
and choral conductor. He will receive his musical
education at the Oliver Willis Halstead Conservatory in
Lockport, NY, Oberlin College (BM, 1908, composition and
piano), and the Eastman School of Music (MM, 1938). He
will become President of the National Association of Negro
Musicians from 1924-1926. His teaching tenures will
include Lane College in Tennessee, Lincoln Institute in
Missouri, Bennett College in North Carolina, and Hampton
Institute in Virginia. It will be at Hampton Institute
that he develops the choral ensembles which will receive
international acclaim and recognition. He will join the
ancestors on October 2, 1943, in Battle Creek, Michigan,
after succumbing to congestive heart failure.

1887 – A. Miles registers a patent on an elevator.

1919 – Arthur “Art” Blakey is born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Blakey, a jazz drummer credited as one of the creators of
bebop, will be best known as the founder of the Jazz
Messengers. The band will become a proving ground for some
of the best modern jazz musicians, including Horace Silver,
Hank Mobely, Freddie Hubbard, Wayne Shorter, Sonny Rollins,
Wynton Marsalis, and Branford Marsalis. He will join the
ancestors on October 16, 1990.

1939 – Coleman Hawkins records his famous “Body and Soul” in New
York City.

1939 – The NAACP organizes the Education and Legal Defense Fund.

1972 – A major prison uprising occurs at the Washington, DC jail.

1976 – The United Nations Day of Solidarity with South Africa is
declared by the membership of the United Nations. A
special day of solidarity is observed with the numerous
political prisoners who are being held in South Africa.

1980 – Billie Thomas joins the ancestors after a heart attack in
Los Angeles, California at the age of 49. He was an actor,
most notable as the third child to portray Buckwheat in
the Our Gang comedies, a role he played in some 80
episodes of the popular film series.

1985 – President Reagan bans the importation of South African gold
coins known as Krugerrands.

1991 – Redd Foxx (John Elroy Sanford), comedian (Sanford & Sons,
Harlem Nights), joins the ancestors at the age of 68.

1994 – U.S. troops in Haiti take over the National Palace.

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

KRLemmons African American History

November 21 African American Historical Events

Today in Black History – November 21 *

1654 – Richard Johnson, a free African American, is granted 550
acres in Northampton County, Virginia.

1784 – James Armistead is cited by French General Lafayette for
his valuable service to the American forces in the
Revolutionary War. Armistead, who was born into slavery
24 years earlier, had worked as a double agent for the
Americans while supposedly employed as a servant of
British General Cornwallis.

1865 – Shaw University is founded in Raleigh, North Carolina.

1878 – Marshall “Major” Taylor is born in Indianapolis, Indiana.
He will become an international cycling star who will be
the first native-born African American to win a national
sports title. During his career, Taylor will win over 100
professional races and one-on-one matches in the U.S. and
nine other countries.

1893 – Granville T. Woods, inventor, receives a patent for the
“Electric Railway Conduit.”

1904 – Coleman Hawkins is born in St. Joseph, Missouri. He will
virtually create the presence of the tenor saxophone in
jazz.

1918 – Henry B. Delany is elected saffragan bishop of the
Protestant Episcopal diocese of North Carolina.

1944 – Earl “the Pearl” Monroe, NBA Guard (New York Knicks,
Baltimore Bullets), is born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

1984 – TransAfrica’s Randall Robinson, DC congressional delegate
Walter Fauntroy, and U.S. Civil Rights Commissioner Mary
Frances Berry are arrested at a sit-in demonstration in
front of the South African Embassy in Washington, DC.
Their demonstration against apartheid will be repeated and
spread to New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, and other
cities, and involve such notables as Jesse Jackson, Arthur
Ashe, Harry Belafonte, and Stevie Wonder. Their efforts
will play a large part in the passage of the Anti-Apartheid
Act of 1986, which will impose economic sanctions against
South Africa.

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

KRLemmons African American History

October 11 African American Historical Events

Today in Black History – October 11          *

1864 – Slavery is abolished in Maryland.

1865 – Jamaican national hero, Paul Bogle leads a successful
        protest march to the Morant Bay Courthouse.  Poverty and
        injustice in Jamaican society and lack of public
        confidence in the central authority had urged Paul Bogle
        to lead the march.  A violent confrontation with official
        forces will follow the march, resulting in the death of
        nearly 500 people.  Many others will be flogged and
        punished before order is restored.  Paul Bogle will be
        captured and hanged on October 24, 1865.  His forceful
        demonstration will pave the way for the establishment of
        just practices in the courts and bring about a change in
        official attitude, making possible the social and economic
        betterment of the Jamaican people.

1882 – Robert Nathaniel Dett, is born in Ontario, Canada.  He will
        become an acclaimed concert pianist, composer, arranger,
        and choral conductor.  He will receive his musical
        education at the Oliver Willis Halstead Conservatory in
        Lockport, NY, Oberlin College (BM, 1908, composition and
        piano), and the Eastman School of Music (MM, 1938).  He
        will become President of the National Association of Negro
        Musicians from 1924-1926.  His teaching tenures will
        include Lane College in Tennessee, Lincoln Institute in
        Missouri, Bennett College in North Carolina, and Hampton
        Institute in Virginia.  It will be at Hampton Institute
        that he develops the choral ensembles which will receive
        international acclaim and recognition. He will join the
        ancestors on October 2, 1943, in Battle Creek, Michigan,
        after succumbing to congestive heart failure.

1887 – A. Miles registers a patent on an elevator.

1919 – Arthur “Art” Blakey is born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
        Blakey, a jazz drummer credited as one of the creators of
        bebop, will be best known as the founder of the Jazz
        Messengers. The band will become a proving ground for some
        of the best modern jazz musicians, including Horace Silver,
        Hank Mobely, Freddie Hubbard, Wayne Shorter, Sonny Rollins,
        Wynton Marsalis, and Branford Marsalis. He will join the
        ancestors on October 16, 1990.

1939 – Coleman Hawkins records his famous “Body and Soul” in New
        York City.

1939 – The NAACP organizes the Education and Legal Defense Fund.

1972 – A major prison uprising occurs at the Washington, DC jail.

1976 – The United Nations Day of Solidarity with South Africa is
        declared by the membership of the United Nations.  A
        special day of solidarity is observed with the numerous
        political prisoners who are being held in South Africa.

1980 – Billie Thomas joins the ancestors after a heart attack in
        Los Angeles, California at the age of 49. He was an actor,
        most notable as the third child to portray Buckwheat in
        the Our Gang comedies, a role he played in some 80
        episodes of the popular film series.

1985 – President Reagan bans the importation of South African gold
        coins known as Krugerrands.

1991 – Redd Foxx (John Elroy Sanford), comedian (Sanford & Sons,
        Harlem Nights), joins the ancestors at the age of 68.

1994 – U.S. troops in Haiti take over the National Palace.

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