KRLemmons African American History

July 2 African American Historical Events

* Today in Black History – July 2 *

1777 – Vermont, not one of the original 13 states, becomes the
first U.S. territory to abolish slavery.

1822 – Denmark Vesey, slave freedom fighter, and 5 aides are
hanged in Blake’s Landing, Charleston, South Carolina.

1908 – Thurgood Marshall is born in Baltimore, Maryland. He
will have the most distinguished legal career of any
African American as the NAACP’s national counsel,
director-counsel of the organization’s Legal Defense
and Educational Fund, and leader of some of the most
important legal challenges for African Americans’
constitutional rights, including “Brown v. Board of
Education” in 1954. In addition to sitting as a circuit
judge for the Second Circuit, Marshall will be named
U.S. Solicitor General in 1965 and associate justice of
the U.S. Supreme Court in 1967, where he will serve for
24 years. He will join the ancestors on January 24, 1993.

1925 – Patrice Lumumba, revolutionary and first prime minister
of the Republic of the Congo, is born in Stanleyville,
Belgian Congo.

1927 – George Fisher is born in New York City of African and West
Indian parentage. He will become an actor and will be
known as Brock Peters. He will set his sights on a show
business career as early as age ten. A product of New
York City’s famed Music and Arts High School, he
initially fielded more odd jobs than acting jobs as he
worked his way up from Harlem poverty. Landing a stage
role in Porgy and Bess in 1949, he will quit physical
education studies at City College of New York and go on
tour with the acclaimed musical. His film debut will come
in Carmen Jones in 1954, but he really began to make a
name for himself in such films as “To Kill a Mockingbird”
and “The L-Shaped Room.” He will receive a Tony nomination
for his starring stint in Broadway’s “Lost in the Stars.”
He will work with Charlton Heston on several theater
productions in the 1940s and 1950s. The two will befriend
each other and subsequently work together on several
films, including “Major Dundee,” “Soylent Green,” and “Two
Minute Warning.” He will join the ancestors on August 23,
2005, after succumbing to pancreatic cancer at the age of
78.

1930 – Frederick Russell Jones is born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
A child prodigy who will begin to play the piano at the age
of 3, he will begin formal studies at age 7. While in high
school, he will complete the equivalent of college master
classes under the noted African American concert singer and
teacher Mary Caldwell Dawson and pianist James Miller. He
will join the musicians union at the age of 14, and begin
touring upon graduation from Westinghouse High School at
the age of 17, drawing critical acclaim for his solos. In
1950, he will form his first trio, The Three Strings.
Performing at New York’s The Embers club, Record Producer
John Hammond “discovers” The Three Strings and signed them
to Okeh Records (a division of Columbia, now Sony, Records).
He will change his name to Ahmad Jamal in 1952 when he
converts to Islam. He will be one of Miles Davis’s favorite
pianists and a key influence on the trumpeter’s 1st classic
quintet (featuring John Coltrane on tenor saxophone, Red
Garland on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Philly Joe
Jones on drums). Davis had long admired his use of
space and dynamics. He will score a major popular “hit” in
his version of Poinciana, recorded while live on tour from
The Pershing nightclub in Chicago. His style will change
steadily over time – from the lighter, breezy style heard
on his 50s sides to the funk + Caribbean stylings of the
70s and onto the large open voicings and bravura-laden
playing of the nineties. He will always be distinctive
however for his use of space, his dramatic crescendos, and
for a very staccato orientation with chords. In addition
to being an excellent pianist, he is also very adept
with both the Rhodes electric piano and the Wurlitzer 200
electric piano.

1932 – Samuel Black is born in Paterson, New Jersey. He will become
a singer known as Sammy Turner. He will briefly achieve
fame in the late 50s as a rock ‘n’ roll balladeer, whose
specialty was recycled pop songs of the past, particularly
those by Guy Lombardo. His most notable record was a remake
of a Sammy Kaye hit from 1949, “Lavender Blue” (number 14
R&B/number 3 pop), in 1959. Three follow-ups were similarly
remakes of old pop hits: “Always” (number 2 R&B/number 20
pop), a frequently recorded pop song; “Symphony” (number 82
pop) and “Paradise” (number 13 R&B/number 46 pop). Turner’s
only success in the United Kingdom was with “Always”, which
went to number 26. Although essentially a pop performer,
because of his African American heritage he will also
garner considerable success on the R&B charts. However, he
will be unable to make the transition into the soul era,
and will rapidly fade as a recording artist after 1960.

1943 – Lt. Charles B. Hall of Indiana, flies the first combat
mission of the 99th Fighter Squadron (Tuskegee Airmen)
which was attached to the 33rd Fighter Group flying out of
Fardjouna (Cap Bon, Tunisia). He is flying as wingman on
this first mission to Pantelleria.

1946 – Anthony Overton, lawyer, judge, publisher, cosmetics
manufacturer and banker, joins the ancestors in Chicago,
Illinois at the age of 81.

1964 – President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Civil Rights Bill,
which includes public accommodation and fair employment
sections. The Civil Rights Act prohibits segregation in
employment, education, and public accommodation on the
basis of race, sex, age, national origin or religion.

1986 – The U.S. Supreme Court upholds affirmative action in two
rulings.

1990 – “Devil in a Blue Dress”, a mystery novel by Walter Mosley
set in South-Central Los Angeles, is published. Its
realism and strong African American characters will earn
its author enthusiastic praise and a nomination for best
novel by the Mystery Writers of America.

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

KRLemmons African American History

June 16 African American Historical Events

* Today in Black History – June 16 *

1822 – Denmark Vesey’s slave rebellion in South Carolina is aborted
when his plans are revealed to authorities by slave George
Wilson. After 10 of the conspirators are arrested, one of
them, Monday Gell, informs on the others. Although an
estimated 9,000 are involved, only 67 are convicted of any
offense. Denmark and over 30 others will be hanged.

1858 – In a speech in Springfield, Illinois, Senate candidate
Abraham Lincoln says the slavery issue has to be resolved,
declaring, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.”

1939 – Chick Webb, famous jazz drummer and band leader joins the
ancestors. Webb discovered singer Ella Fitzgerald after
she won an amateur contest at the Apollo Theater. She
performed with his band until his death. After his death,
Ella will take over the band until she starts her solo
career in 1942.

1941 – Lamont Dozier is born in Detroit, Michigan. He will become
part of the legendary songwriting team of Holland, Dozier &
Holland. Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier and Eddie Holland will
write and produce many of the songs that are most closely
identified with Motown. These include “Stop! In the Name of
Love” and “You Can’t Hurry Love” (the Supremes), “Heat Wave”
and “Jimmy Mack” (Martha and the Vandellas), “Reach Out I’ll
Be There” and “Baby I Need Your Loving” (the Four Tops), and
“Can I Get a Witness” and “How Sweet It Is to Be Loved by
You” (Marvin Gaye). These classics are only the tip of the
iceberg, insofar as Holland-Dozier-Holland’s ten-year output
at Motown is concerned. In their behind-the-scenes roles as
staff producers and songwriters, Holland-Dozier-Holland were
as responsible as any of the performers for Motown’s
spectacular success. Dozier and his team will be inducted
into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995.

1942 – Eddie Levert is born in Canton. Ohio. He will become a
Rhythm & Blues singer and will form the group, The O’Jays
with William Powell, Walter Williams, Bobby Massey and Bill
Isles. The group had more than one name until they were
named by Cleveland disc jockey Eddie O’Jay. They will
become a trio in 1971 without Bill Isles and Bobby Massey.
They will record many hit songs including “Back Stabbers,”
“Love Train,” “Put Your Hands Together,” “Time To Get Down,”
“For The Love Of Money,” “Give The People What They Want,”
“I Love Music,” “Livin’ For The Weekend,” “Message In Our
Music,” and “Use Ta Be My Girl.” Eddie will remain with the
group for over forty years.

1943 – A race riot occurs in Beaumont, Texas, resulting in two
deaths.

1969 – The U.S. Supreme Court rules that the suspension of Adam
Clayton Powell Jr. from the House of Representatives is
unconstitutional.

1970 – Kenneth A. Gibson is elected mayor of Newark, New Jersey. He
is the first African American to serve in the position and
the first of a major northeastern city. In 1976 he will be
elected the first African American president of the U.S.
Conference of Mayors.

1970 – A racially motivated civil disturbance occurs in Miami,
Florida.

1971 – Tupac Shakur is born in Brooklyn, New York. He will move to
Baltimore, Maryland to attend the High School for Performing
Arts, where he will begin writing rap music. He will move
to Marin City, California, located near San Francisco,
continuing to write and record rap. He will release many
albums, with the album “All Eyez on Me” selling over 5
million copies. Tupac will join the ancestors on Friday,
September 13, 1996 after succumbing from wounds he will
receive as a result of a drive-by shooting.

1971 – A major racial disturbance occurs in Jacksonville, Florida
and will last through June 20.

1975 – Adam Wade hosts the nationally televised game show ‘Musical
Chairs’. He becomes the first African American game show
host.

1976 – Hector Petersen, a 13-year-old Soweto schoolboy, is the
first to join the ancestors in what will become known as the
‘Children’s Crusade,’ the first nationwide black South
African uprising in the 1970’s. The violence will last 16
months and result in 570 deaths, 3,900 injuries, and 5,900
detentions.

1984 – Edwin Moses wins his 100th consecutive 400-meter hurdles
race.

1985 – Willie Banks sets the triple jump record at 58 feet 11
inches in Indianapolis, Indiana at the USA championships.
Banks breaks the record that had been set by Brazil’s Joao
Oliveria in 1975.

1987 – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar signs a two-year contract with the Los
Angeles Lakers for $5,000,000. The 18-year veteran of the
NBA becomes the highest paid player in any sport.

1990 – African National Congress leader Nelson Mandela, welcomed by
a crowd in the Netherlands, thanks them for staunch Dutch
support of the anti-apartheid movement.

1991 – Natalie Cole’s album ‘Unforgettable’ is released. The album
consists of her rendition of 24 songs by her father, Nat
King Cole, and includes the title track, specially remixed
to include both father and daughter’s voices. It will be
her most successful album, selling over 4,000,000 copies,
and will sweep the Grammy Awards ceremonies in 1992.

1999 – Thabo Mbeki takes the oath as president of South Africa,
succeeding Nelson Mandela.

2002 – The late Rev. W.J. Hodge is honored at a service at the
church where he pastored, as the newest member of the
Gallery of Great Black Kentuckians. A framed poster that
will hang in the gallery is unveiled at the Fifth Street
Baptist Church, where Hodge’s son, the Rev. Phillip Hodge,
became pastor. W.J. Hodge joined the ancestors in December
2000 at age 80. The gallery is meant to teach young people
about Blacks’ influence in the state. Hodge became the 32nd
member. “If all of us did half of what Dr. Hodge did in his
life, this world would be a better place,” said Beverly
Watts, executive director of the Kentucky Commission on
Human Rights.

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

KRLemmons African American History

May 30 African American Historical Events

* Today in Black History – May 30 *

1822 – Denmark Vesey’s conspiracy to free the slaves of Charleston,
South Carolina, and surrounding areas is thwarted when a
house slave betrays the plot to whites. Vesey’s bold plan
had attracted over 9,000 slaves and freemen of the area
including Peter Poyas, a ship’s carpenter, Gullah Jack,
Blind Phillip, Ned Bennett and Mingo Harth. Later it will
be considered one of the most complex and elaborate slave
liberation plans ever undertaken.

1831 – James Walker Hood is born in Kennett Township, Chester
County, Pennsylvania. He will become a minister in New
York City in the A.M.E. Zion Church. He will become the
first African American to publish a collection of sermons
when he publishes “The Negro in the Christian Pulpit.” His
other works will include “One Hundred Years of the African
Methodist Episcopal Zion Church,” and “The Plan of The
Apocalypse.” He will join the ancestors on October 30, 1918.

1854 – The Kansas-Nebraska Act repeals the Missouri Compromise and
opens the Northern territory to slavery.

1902 – Lincoln Theodore Monroe Andrew Perry is born in Key West,
Florida. He will become the first real African American
film star known as “Stepin Fetchit.” Many sources will
cite 1892, 1896, or 1898 as his birth date, but he will
maintain his birth date as 1902. He will star in many films,
among which are “Amazing Grace,” “The Sun Shines Bright,”
“Miracle in Harlem,” and “Judge Priest.” His humbling,
ingratiating style of acting will appeal to the movie-going
public of his day, but unfortunately becomes a stereotype
for African American actors in the early years of cinema.
He will join the ancestors on November 19, 1985.

1903 – Countee Cullen is born in Louisville, Kentucky. Many sources
will state that his birthplace is New York City, but Cullen
will be reared in New York City by his paternal grandmother
until 1918, when he is adopted by the Reverend Frederick
Asbury Cullen, minister of Salem M.E. Church, one of the
largest congregations in Harlem. This will be a turning
point in his life, for he will be introduced into the very
center of black activism and achievement. He will win a
citywide poetry contest as a schoolboy and see his winning
stanzas widely reprinted. He will attend New York
University (B.A., 1925), win the Witter Bynner Poetry Prize,
and be elected to Phi Beta Kappa. Major American literary
magazines will accept his poems regularly, and his first
collection of poems, “Color” (1925), will be published to
critical acclaim before he finishes college. His several
volumes of poetry will include “Copper Sun” (1927); “The
Black Christ” (1929); and “On These I Stand” (published
posthumously, 1947), his selection of poems by which he
wished to be remembered. Cullen will also write a novel
dealing with life in Harlem, “One Way to Heaven” (1931),
and a children’s book, “The Lost Zoo” (1940). He will join
the ancestors on January 9, 1946.

1910 – Ralph Harold Metcalfe is born in Atlanta, Georgia. He will
become a world record holder in the 100-yard and 200-yard
dashes and win a bronze medal in the 1932 Olympic Games
and gold and silver medals in the 1936 Games. He will also
become a four-term congressman representing Illinois’s 1st
District. He will join the ancestors on October 10, 1978.

1915 – Henry Aaron Hill is born in St. Joseph, North Carolina. He
will become a trained chemist and will receive his Ph.D.
in Chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
in 1942. He will become founder and president of the
Riverside Research Laboratory in 1961. In 1977, he will
become the first African American president of the American
Chemical Society. He will join the ancestors on March 17,
1979.

1943 – James Earl Chaney is born in Meridian, Mississippi. He will
become a civil rights activist and joins the Congress For
Racial Equality. During Freedom Summer (1964 – when civil
rights organizations begin an extensive voter registration
and desegregation campaign in Mississippi), he will join
the ancestors on June 21, 1964, after being killed by the
Ku Klux Klan in Greenwood along with two white civil rights
activists.

1943 – Gale Sayers is born in Wichita, Kansas. He will become an
outstanding running back and a first-round draft pick of
the Chicago Bears in 1965. He will set the individual game
record for touchdowns scored (six). He will be elected to
the Football Hall of Fame in 1977, the youngest player ever
to receive the honor.

1949 – Lydell Douglas Mitchell is born in Salem, New Jersey. He
will become a football player and All-American running back
at Pennsylvania State University in 1971. He will go on to
play for the Baltimore Colts from 1972 to 1977. While at
Baltimore, he will set the Colts’ record for rushing
attempts (1391) and rushing yards (5487). After his
successful career run in Baltimore, Mitchell will be traded
to the San Diego Chargers after the 1977 season. He will
turn in a solid season in 1978 with the Dan Fouts-led
Chargers and will finish his career in 1980 appearing in
two games with the Los Angeles Rams. He will be inducted
into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2004.

1953 – Eric Arthur “Dooley” Wilson joins the ancestors in Los
Angeles, California at the age of 59. He was a popular
jazz drummer in Europe and America. He also worked as an
actor, his most notable part playing the pianist “Sam” in
the movie “Casablanca.” He also appeared in the movies
“Stormy Monday” and “Night in New Orleans.”

1956 – African Americans begin a bus boycott in Tallahassee,
Florida with the goal of desegregating bus seating.

1965 – Vivian Malone becomes the first African American to graduate
from the University of Alabama, a college that had been one
of the last bastions of racial segregation in the South.

1967 – The state of Biafra secedes and declares its independence
from Nigeria. Biafra is inhabited primarily by Igbos (also
spelled Ibos) who live in southeastern Nigeria. Two months
after independence, Nigeria will attack Biafra and start a
war that will last until 1970 with Biafra’s surrender. Over
a million people will die due to war and famine.

1971 – Willie Mays scores his 1,950th run.

1993 – Herman “Sonny” Blount joins the ancestors in Birmingham,
Alabama at the age of 79. He had been a prominent jazz
bandleader, arranger and pianist. He was better known as
“Sun Ra,” and was the founder of Saturn Records. Three
documentaries produced about Sun Ra were “The Cry of Jazz”
(1959), “Space is the Place” (1971) and “Sun Ra: A Joyful
Noise” (1980).

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

KRLemmons African American History

July 2 African American Historical Events

Today in Black History – July 2 *

1777 – Vermont, not one of the original 13 states, becomes the
first U.S. territory to abolish slavery.

1822 – Denmark Vesey, slave freedom fighter, and 5 aides are
hanged in Blake’s Landing, Charleston, South Carolina.

1908 – Thurgood Marshall is born in Baltimore, Maryland. He
will have the most distinguished legal career of any
African American as the NAACP’s national counsel,
director-counsel of the organization’s Legal Defense
and Educational Fund, and leader of some of the most
important legal challenges for African Americans’
constitutional rights, including “Brown v. Board of
Education” in 1954. In addition to sitting as a circuit
judge for the Second Circuit, Marshall will be named
U.S. Solicitor General in 1965 and associate justice of
the U.S. Supreme Court in 1967, where he will serve for
24 years.

1925 – Patrice Lumumba, revolutionary and first prime minister
of the Republic of the Congo, is born in Stanleyville,
Belgian Congo.

1927 – George Fisher is born in New York City of African and West
Indian parentage. He will become an actor and will be
known as Brock Peters. He will set his sights on a show
business career as early as age ten. A product of New
York City’s famed Music and Arts High School, he
initially fielded more odd jobs than acting jobs as he
worked his way up from Harlem poverty. Landing a stage
role in Porgy and Bess in 1949, he will quit physical
education studies at City College of New York and go on
tour with the acclaimed musical. His film debut will come
in Carmen Jones in 1954, but he really began to make a
name for himself in such films as “To Kill a Mockingbird”
and “The L-Shaped Room.” He will receive a Tony nomination
for his starring stint in Broadway’s “Lost in the Stars.”
He will work with Charlton Heston on several theater
productions in the 1940s and 1950s. The two will befriend
each other and subsequently work together on several
films, including “Major Dundee,” “Soylent Green,” and “Two
Minute Warning.” He will join the ancestors on August 23,
2005 after succumbing to pancreatic cancer at the age of
78.

1930 – Frederick Russell Jones is born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
A child prodigy who will begin to play the piano at the age
of 3, he will begin formal studies at age 7. While in high
school, he will complete the equivalent of college master
classes under the noted African American concert singer and
teacher Mary Caldwell Dawson and pianist James Miller. He
will join the musicians union at the age of 14, and begin
touring upon graduation from Westinghouse High School at
the age of 17, drawing critical acclaim for his solos. In
1950, he will form his first trio, The Three Strings.
Performing at New York’s The Embers club, Record Producer
John Hammond “discovers” The Three Strings and signed them
to Okeh Records (a division of Columbia, now Sony, Records).
He will change his name to Ahmad Jamal in 1952 when he
converts to Islam. He will be one of Miles Davis’s favorite
pianists and a key influence on the trumpeter’s 1st classic
quintet (featuring John Coltrane on tenor saxophone, Red
Garland on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Philly Joe
Jones on drums). Davis had long admired Jamal’s use of
space and dynamics. He will score a major popular “hit” in
his version of Poinciana, recorded while live on tour from
The Pershing nightclub in Chicago. His style will change
steadily over time – from the lighter, breezy style heard
on his 50s sides to the funk + Caribbean stylings of the
70s and onto the large open voicings and bravura-laden
playing of the nineties. He will always be distinctive
however for his use of space, his dramatic crescendos, and
for a very staccato orientation with chords. In addition
to being an excellent pianist, Jamal is also very adept
with both the Rhodes electric piano and the Wurlitzer 200
electric piano.

1932 – Samuel Black is born in Paterson, New Jersey. He will become
a singer known as Sammy Turner. He will briefly achieve
fame in the late 50s as a rock ‘n’ roll balladeer, whose
specialty was recycled pop songs of the past, particularly
those by Guy Lombardo. His most notable record was a remake
of a Sammy Kaye hit from 1949, “Lavender Blue” (number 14
R&B/number 3 pop), in 1959. Three follow-ups were similarly
remakes of old pop hits: “Always” (number 2 R&B/number 20
pop), a frequently recorded pop song; “Symphony” (number 82
pop) and “Paradise” (number 13 R&B/number 46 pop). Turner’s
only success in the United Kingdom was with “Always”, which
went to number 26. Although essentially a pop performer,
because of his African American heritage he will also
garner considerable success on the R&B charts. However, he
will be unable to make the transition into the soul era,
and will rapidly fade as a recording artist after 1960.

1943 – Lt. Charles B. Hall of Indiana, flies the first combat
mission of the 99th Fighter Squadron (Tuskegee Airmen)
which was attached to the 33rd Fighter Group flying out of
Fardjouna (Cap Bon, Tunisia). He is flying as wingman on
this first mission to Pantelleria.

1946 – Anthony Overton, lawyer, judge, publisher, cosmetics
manufacturer and banker, joins the ancestors in Chicago,
Illinois at the age of 81.

1964 – President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Civil Rights Bill,
which includes public accommodation and fair employment
sections. The Civil Rights Act prohibits segregation in
employment, education, and public accommodation on the
basis of race, sex, age, national origin or religion.

1986 – The U.S. Supreme Court upholds affirmative action in two
rulings.

1990 – “Devil in a Blue Dress”, a mystery novel by Walter Moseley
set in South-Central Los Angeles, is published. Its
realism and strong African American characters will earn
its author enthusiastic praise and a nomination for best
novel by the Mystery Writers of America.

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

KRLemmons African American History

June 16 African American Historical Events

Today in Black History – June 16 *

1822 – Denmark Vesey’s slave rebellion in South Carolina is aborted
when his plans are revealed to authorities by slave George
Wilson. After 10 of the conspirators are arrested, one of
them, Monday Gell, informs on the others. Although an
estimated 9,000 are involved, only 67 are convicted of any
offense. Denmark and over 30 others will be hanged.

1858 – In a speech in Springfield, Illinois, Senate candidate
Abraham Lincoln says the slavery issue has to be resolved,
declaring, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.”

1939 – Chick Webb, famous jazz drummer and band leader joins the
ancestors. Webb discovered singer Ella Fitzgerald after
she won an amateur contest at the Apollo Theater. She
performed with his band until his death. After his death,
Ella will take over the band until she starts her solo
career in 1942.

1941 – Lamont Dozier is born in Detroit, Michigan. He will become
part of the legendary songwriting team of Holland, Dozier &
Holland. Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier and Eddie Holland will
write and produce many of the songs that are most closely
identified with Motown. These include “Stop! In the Name of
Love” and “You Can’t Hurry Love” (the Supremes), “Heat Wave”
and “Jimmy Mack” (Martha and the Vandellas), “Reach Out I’ll
Be There” and “Baby I Need Your Loving” (the Four Tops), and
“Can I Get a Witness” and “How Sweet It Is to Be Loved by
You” (Marvin Gaye). These classics are only the tip of the
iceberg, insofar as Holland-Dozier-Holland’s ten-year output
at Motown is concerned. In their behind-the-scenes roles as
staff producers and songwriters, Holland-Dozier-Holland were
as responsible as any of the performers for Motown’s
spectacular success. Dozier and his team will be inducted
into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995.

1942 – Eddie Levert is born in Canton. Ohio. He will become a
Rhythm & Blues singer and will form the group, The O’Jays
with William Powell, Walter Williams, Bobby Massey and Bill
Isles. The group had more than one name until they were
named by Cleveland disc jockey Eddie O’Jay. They will
become a trio in 1971 without Bill Isles and Bobby Massey.
They will record many hit songs including “Back Stabbers,”
“Love Train,” “Put Your Hands Together,” “Time To Get Down,”
“For The Love Of Money,” “Give The People What They Want,”
“I Love Music,” “Livin’ For The Weekend,” “Message In Our
Music,” and “Use Ta Be My Girl.” Eddie will remain with the
group for over forty years.

1943 – A race riot occurs in Beaumont, Texas, resulting in two
deaths.

1969 – The U.S. Supreme Court rules that the suspension of Adam
Clayton Powell Jr. from the House of Representatives is
unconstitutional.

1970 – Kenneth A. Gibson is elected mayor of Newark, New Jersey. He
is the first African American to serve in the position and
the first of a major northeastern city. In 1976 he will be
elected the first African American president of the U.S.
Conference of Mayors.

1970 – A racially motivated civil disturbance occurs in Miami,
Florida.

1971 – Tupac Shakur is born in Brooklyn, New York. He will move to
Baltimore, Maryland to attend the High School for Performing
Arts, where he will begin writing rap music. He will move
to Marin City, California, located near San Francisco,
continuing to write and record rap. He will release many
albums, with the album “All Eyez on Me” selling over 5
million copies. Tupac will join the ancestors on Friday,
September 13, 1996 after succumbing from wounds he will
receive as a result of a drive-by shooting.

1971 – A major racial disturbance occurs in Jacksonville, Florida
and will last through June 20.

1975 – Adam Wade hosts the nationally televised game show ‘Musical
Chairs’. He becomes the first African American game show
host.

1976 – Hector Petersen, a 13-year-old Soweto schoolboy, is the
first to join the ancestors in what will become known as the
‘Children’s Crusade,’ the first nationwide black South
African uprising in the 1970’s. The violence will last 16
months and result in 570 deaths, 3,900 injuries, and 5,900
detentions.

1984 – Edwin Moses wins his 100th consecutive 400-meter hurdles
race.

1985 – Willie Banks sets the triple jump record at 58 feet 11
inches in Indianapolis, Indiana at the USA championships.
Banks breaks the record that had been set by Brazil’s Joao
Oliveria in 1975.

1987 – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar signs a two-year contract with the Los
Angeles Lakers for $5,000,000. The 18-year veteran of the
NBA becomes the highest paid player in any sport.

1990 – African National Congress leader Nelson Mandela, welcomed by
a crowd in the Netherlands, thanks them for staunch Dutch
support of the anti-apartheid movement.

1991 – Natalie Cole’s album ‘Unforgettable’ is released. The album
consists of her rendition of 24 songs by her father, Nat
King Cole, and includes the title track, specially remixed
to include both father and daughter’s voices. It will be
her most successful album, selling over 4,000,000 copies,
and will sweep the Grammy Awards ceremonies in 1992.

1999 – Thabo Mbeki takes the oath as president of South Africa,
succeeding Nelson Mandela.

2002 – The late Rev. W.J. Hodge is honored at a service at the
church where he pastored, as the newest member of the
Gallery of Great Black Kentuckians. A framed poster that
will hang in the gallery is unveiled at the Fifth Street
Baptist Church, where Hodge’s son, the Rev. Phillip Hodge,
became pastor. W.J. Hodge joined the ancestors in December
2000 at age 80. The gallery is meant to teach young people
about Blacks’ influence in the state. Hodge became the 32nd
member. “If all of us did half of what Dr. Hodge did in his
life, this world would be a better place,” said Beverly
Watts, executive director of the Kentucky Commission on
Human Rights.

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

KRLemmons African American History

May 30 African American Historical Events

Today in Black History – May 30 *

1822 – Denmark Vesey’s conspiracy to free the slaves of Charleston,
South Carolina, and surrounding areas is thwarted when a
house slave betrays the plot to whites. Vesey’s bold plan
had attracted over 9,000 slaves and freemen of the area
including Peter Poyas, a ship’s carpenter, Gullah Jack,
Blind Phillip, Ned Bennett and Mingo Harth. Later it will
be considered one of the most complex and elaborate slave
liberation plans ever undertaken.

1831 – James Walker Hood is born in Kennett Township, Chester
County, Pennsylvania. He will become a minister in New
York City in the A.M.E. Zion Church. He will become the
first African American to publish a collection of sermons
when he publishes “The Negro in the Christian Pulpit.” His
other works will include “One Hundred Years of the African
Methodist Episcopal Zion Church,” and “The Plan of The
Apocalypse.” He will join the ancestors on October 30, 1918.

1854 – The Kansas-Nebraska Act repeals the Missouri Compromise and
opens the Northern territory to slavery.

1902 – Lincoln Theodore Monroe Andrew Perry is born in Key West,
Florida. He will become the first real African American
film star known as “Stepin Fetchit.” Many sources will
cite 1892, 1896, or 1898 as his birth date, but he will
maintain his birth date as 1902. He will star in many films,
among which are “Amazing Grace,” “The Sun Shines Bright,”
“Miracle in Harlem,” and “Judge Priest.” His humbling,
ingratiating style of acting will appeal to the movie-going
public of his day, but unfortunately becomes a stereotype
for African American actors in the early years of cinema.
He will join the ancestors on November 19, 1985.

1903 – Countee Cullen is born in Louisville, Kentucky. Many sources
will state that his birthplace is New York City, but Cullen
will be reared in New York City by his paternal grandmother
until 1918, when he is adopted by the Reverend Frederick
Asbury Cullen, minister of Salem M.E. Church, one of the
largest congregations in Harlem. This will be a turning
point in his life, for he will be introduced into the very
center of black activism and achievement. He will win a
citywide poetry contest as a schoolboy and see his winning
stanzas widely reprinted. He will attend New York
University (B.A., 1925), win the Witter Bynner Poetry Prize,
and be elected to Phi Beta Kappa. Major American literary
magazines will accept his poems regularly, and his first
collection of poems, “Color” (1925), will be published to
critical acclaim before he finishes college. His several
volumes of poetry will include “Copper Sun” (1927); “The
Black Christ” (1929); and “On These I Stand” (published
posthumously, 1947), his selection of poems by which he
wished to be remembered. Cullen will also write a novel
dealing with life in Harlem, “One Way to Heaven” (1931),
and a children’s book, “The Lost Zoo” (1940). He will join
the ancestors on January 9, 1946.

1910 – Ralph Harold Metcalfe is born in Atlanta, Georgia. He will
become a world record holder in the 100-yard and 200-yard
dashes and win a bronze medal in the 1932 Olympic Games
and gold and silver medals in the 1936 Games. He will also
become a four-term congressman representing Illinois’s 1st
District. He will join the ancestors on October 10, 1978.

1915 – Henry Aaron Hill is born in St. Joseph, North Carolina. He
will become a trained chemist and will receive his Ph.D.
in Chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
in 1942. He will become founder and president of the
Riverside Research Laboratory in 1961. In 1977, he will
become the first African American president of the American
Chemical Society. He will join the ancestors on March 17,
1979.

1943 – James Earl Chaney is born in Meridian, Mississippi. He will
become a civil rights activist and joins the Congress For
Racial Equality. During Freedom Summer (1964 – when civil
rights organizations begin an extensive voter registration
and desegregation campaign in Mississippi), he will join
the ancestors on June 21, 1964, after being killed by the
Ku Klux Klan in Greenwood along with two white civil rights
activists.

1943 – Gale Sayers is born in Wichita, Kansas. He will become an
outstanding running back and a first-round draft pick of
the Chicago Bears in 1965. He will set the individual game
record for touchdowns scored (six). He will be elected to
the Football Hall of Fame in 1977, the youngest player ever
to receive the honor.

1949 – Lydell Douglas Mitchell is born in Salem, New Jersey. He
will become a football player and All-American running back
at Pennsylvania State University in 1971. He will go on to
play for the Baltimore Colts from 1972 to 1977. While at
Baltimore, he will set the Colts’ record for rushing
attempts (1391) and rushing yards (5487). After his
successful career run in Baltimore, Mitchell will be traded
to the San Diego Chargers after the 1977 season. He will
turn in a solid season in 1978 with the Dan Fouts-led
Chargers and will finish his career in 1980 appearing in
two games with the Los Angeles Rams. He will be inducted
into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2004.

1953 – Eric Arthur “Dooley” Wilson joins the ancestors in Los
Angeles, California at the age of 59. He was a popular
jazz drummer in Europe and America. He also worked as an
actor, his most notable part playing the pianist “Sam” in
the movie “Casablanca.” He also appeared in the movies
“Stormy Monday” and “Night in New Orleans.”

1956 – African Americans begin a bus boycott in Tallahassee,
Florida with the goal of desegregating bus seating.

1965 – Vivian Malone becomes the first African American to graduate
from the University of Alabama, a college that had been one
of the last bastions of racial segregation in the South.

1967 – The state of Biafra secedes and declares its independence
from Nigeria. Biafra is inhabited primarily by Igbos (also
spelled Ibos) who live in southeastern Nigeria. Two months
after independence, Nigeria will attack Biafra and start a
war that will last until 1970 with Biafra’s surrender. Over
a million people will die due to war and famine.

1971 – Willie Mays scores his 1,950th run.

1993 – Herman “Sonny” Blount joins the ancestors in Birmingham,
Alabama at the age of 79. He had been a prominent jazz
bandleader, arranger and pianist. He was better known as
“Sun Ra,” and was the founder of Saturn Records. Three
documentaries produced about Sun Ra were “The Cry of Jazz”
(1959), “Space is the Place” (1971) and “Sun Ra: A Joyful
Noise” (1980).

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