KRLemmons African American History

August 5 African American Historical Events

* Today in Black History – August 5 *

1763 – William Richmond is born in Cuckold’s Town, near,
Richmond, Virginia. He will relocate to Staten Island,
New York, where will he will become a freedman and the
first black professional boxer from America. He will
work as a shipyard laborer and be noticed by a British
commander named Hugh Percy on the docks having a fight
with a dock sailor. Percy convinced Richmond’s parents
to let him travel to England where he could establish a
better life. He will become a cabinetmaker, and learned
boxing for self-defense. Known as “Black Terror,” he will
knock out his first Englishman in just 25 seconds. By
1800, he will become a recognized semi-professional
boxer. After enough wins, he will be booked to fight the
English champion Tom Cribb. The Richmond/Cribb fight will
bring in thousands of English fans, including dukes and
nobles. The hype of the fight on October 8, 1805 will be
immediately publicized as Cribb and Richmond (The Black).
He will be 41 at the time, lose his fight to Cribb, and
“the crowd was pleased that a Black man had been put in
his place.” One of the first African Americans to attempt
winning a title in any sport, he will continue boxing
until he was 52. He will join the ancestors on Dec. 28,
1829.

1864 – John Lawson, an African American gunner on the flagship of
Admiral David Farragut, exhibits marked courage in the
Battle of Mobile Bay and wins the Congressional Medal of
Honor.

1865 – President Andrew Johnson moves to reverse the policy of
distributing abandoned land to freedmen.

1892 – Harriet Tubman receives a pension from Congress for her
work as a nurse, spy, and scout during the Civil War.
She, along with Sojourner Truth, Susie King and almost
200 other African American women, served as nurses during
the war at 11 hospitals in three states.

1900 – James Augustine Healy, the first African American Roman
Catholic bishop, joins the ancestors in Portland, Maine.
He is the brother of Patrick Francis Healy, the first
African American to receive a Ph.D. and first African
American president of a predominantly white university
(Georgetown University).

1936 – Jesse Owens wins his third gold medal by running a 200-
meter race in 20.7 seconds at the Olympic Games held in
Berlin, Germany.

1938 – James Hal Cone is born in Fordyce, Arkansas. He will
become a theologian, best known for his advocacy of Black
liberation theology. His 1969 book “Black Theology and
Black Power” provides a new way to articulate the
distinctiveness of theology in the black Church. His work
will become influential from the time of the book’s
publication and remain influential today. His work has
been both utilized and critiqued inside and outside of the
African American theological community. He will become the
Charles Augustus Briggs “Distinguished Professor of
Systematic Theology” at Union Theological Seminary in the
City of New York and is currently in that position, at this
time.

1945 – Jeannette (Ja’net) DuBois born in Brooklyn, New York. She
will become an actress and singer. In the late 1960’s, she
will perform in the original Broadway production of “Golden
Boy” with Sammy Davis, Jr. and Lou Gossett. This will be
her introduction to live theatre. She will go on to appear
in some of the biggest shows on Broadway, including “A
Raisin in the Sun” and “Nobody Loves An Albatross.” A role
on the soap opera, “Love of Life”, will give her
recognition as the first black female to regularly appear
on a serial. A pivotal point in her career will occur when
she relocates to the West Coast. During a performance of
“Hot L. Baltimore” in Los Angeles, she will capture the
attention of Norman Lear, creator of “Good Times.” She and
Lear will develop the vivacious and independent “Willona,”
for the popular sitcom, which will air on CBS from 1971 to
1979. She will usually find herself playing roles which
make her seem much older than she her actual age. For
example, when “Good Times” premiered in 1974, she was a
few years older than Jimmie Walker, while the show made
her out to be much closer in age to Esther Rolle, who was
53 at the time. In 1970, she will play the part of a
quarrelsome laundress alongside Carrie Snodgrass in the
cult classic, “Diary of a Mad Housewife”. She will co-star
in the movie “I’m Gonna Git You Sucka” and the sitcoms
“Moesha” and “The Steve Harvey Show.” She will play the
grandmother on the hit show, “The Wayans Bros.”. She will
appear in the 2003 movie “Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle.”
Among her other credits, she will appear in the 1969 made-
for-TV holiday film “J.T.”. She will also appear in former
“Good Times” co-star Janet Jackson’s “Control” music video
as her mother. She will also appear in “Love of Life”
between 1970-1972 as Loretta Allen, years prior to
starring in “Good Times.” She will win an CableACE Award
for her work on the TV movie “Other Women’s Children”,
based on the novel by Perri Klass, and she will also win
two Emmy Awards for her voiceover work on the animated
program “The PJs.”

1962 – Nelson Mandela is charged with incitement and illegally
leaving South Africa.

1962 – Patrick Aloysius Ewing is born in Kingston, Jamaica. He
will star in cricket and soccer. He will be 13 years old
when he arrives in the United States with his family,
settling in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he will learn
to play basketball at Cambridge Rindge and Latin, a public
high school. He will attend Georgetown University in
Washington, DC. In the 1984 season, he and Georgetown will
win the NCAA title with an 84-75 win over the University of
Houston. He will be one of the best college basketball
players of his era, as Georgetown will reach the
championship game of the NCAA tournament three out of four
years. He will be a first team All-American in 1983, 1984,
and 1985. Although injuries will mar his first year in the
NBA, he will be named NBA Rookie of the Year, averaging 20
points, 9 rebounds, and 2 blocks per game. Soon after he
will be considered one of the premier centers in the
league. He will enjoy a successful career, eleven times
named a NBA All-Star, an All-NBA First Team selection once,
a member of the All-NBA Second Team six times and the NBA
All-Defensive Second Team three times. He will be a member
of the original Dream Team at the 1992 Olympic Games,
winning a second gold medal. In 1996, he will also be given
the honor of being named one of the 50 greatest players in
NBA history. While he will enjoy a stellar career in the
NBA, he will never win a title as a professional.

1966 – Martin Luther King, Jr. is stoned by hecklers during a
Chicago, Illinois civil rights march.

1968 – Senator Edward Brooke is named the temporary chairman of
the Republican National Convention in Miami, Florida.

1984 – Track and field stars Evelyn Ashford and Edwin Moses win
Gold medals in the Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles,
California.

1992 – Federal civil rights charges are filed against four Los
Angeles police officers acquitted of state charges in the
videotaped beating of Rodney King. Two of the officers
will be convicted later of federal charges of violating
King’s civil rights.

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

KRLemmons African American History

January 10 African American Historical Events

 Today in Black History – January 10                *

1768 – James Varick is born in Orange County, New York.  Racism in
New York City will lead Varick, a licensed clergyman, and 
30 other African Americans to leave the famous and
predominantly white John Street Methodist Episcopal Church
and establish the first African American church in New York
City.  He will later become the founder and first bishop of
the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. He will join
the ancestors on July 22, 1827. His remains now rest in the
crypt of the Mother African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church
in the village of Harlem in New York City.

1811 – African Americans in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania hold meetings
at Bethel Church to protest The American Colonization
Society’s campaign “to exile us from the land of our
nativity.”

1811 – Slaves in Louisiana rebel in two parishes about thirty-five
miles from New Orleans.  The revolt is suppressed by U.S.
troops.

1870 – The legislature in the state of Georgia reconvenes and admits
African American representatives and senators.

1889 – The Ivory Coast is declared a protectorate of France.

1925 – Drummer Maxwell Lemuel “Max” Roach is born in Newland, North
Carolina. He will become an influential figure in the development
of modern jazz, playing with Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie,
and Clifford Brown before forming his own groups in the
1950’s.  He will achieve wide acclaim for his superb musical
innovation.  He also will be an educator, teaching at
Lennox, Massachusetts School of Jazz, Yale University, and
Professor of Music at the University of Massachusetts
(Amherst). He will join the ancestors on August 16, 2007.

1938 – Willie McCovey is born in Mobile, Alabama.  He will become a
professional baseball player in 1959.  In more than two
decades later, Willie will end his career, and garner an
impressive array of baseball’s most coveted awards: Rookie
of the Year in 1959; MVP in 1969; six times an All-Star and
once the All-Star Game MVP; Comeback Player of the Year in
1977 and the National League’s all-time left-handed home run
hitter.

1949 – George Foreman is born in Marshall, Texas.  He will become a
professional boxer and win the world heavyweight
championship in 1973.  He will retire from boxing in 1977
after a defeat by Jimmy Young. He will enter the ministry
and stay away from boxing for ten years.  He will return to
boxing in 1987 at the age of 37 and become the oldest
heavyweight champion at age 45 on November 5, 1994.

1966 – The Georgia House of Representatives refuses to seat African
American legislator Julian Bond, SNCC communications
director, because of his opposition to U.S. involvement in
the Vietnam War.  He will be seated almost one year later,
after a legal battle that will eventually be resolved by the
U.S. Supreme Court.

1967 – Edward Brooke, takes his seat as the first popularly elected
African American United States Senator.

1976 – Chester Arthur Burnett, better known as “Howlin’ Wolf,” joins
the ancestors in Hines, Illinois. He was a blues legend that
helped to bring the Delta Blues music from Mississippi to
Chicago during the 1950’s. This music was the basis for the
Chicago blues sound.

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

KRLemmons African American History

August 5 African American Historical Events

Today in Black History – August 5 *

1763 – William Richmond is born in Cuckold’s Town, near,
Richmond, Virginia. He will relocate to Staten Island,
New York, where will he will become a freedman and the
first black professional boxer from America. He will
work as a shipyard laborer and be noticed by a British
commander named Hugh Percy on the docks having a fight
with a dock sailor. Percy convinced Richmond’s parents
to let him travel to England where he could establish a
better life. He will become a cabinetmaker, and learned
boxing for self-defense. Known as “Black Terror,” he will
knock out his first Englishman in just 25 seconds. By
1800, he will become a recognized semi-professional
boxer. After enough wins, he will be booked to fight the
English champion Tom Cribb. The Richmond/Cribb fight will
bring in thousands of English fans, including dukes and
nobles. The hype of the fight on October 8, 1805 will be
immediately publicized as Cribb and Richmond (The Black).
He will be 41 at the time, lose his fight to Cribb, and
“the crowd was pleased that a Black man had been put in
his place.” One of the first African Americans to attempt
winning a title in any sport, he will continue boxing
until he was 52. He will join the ancestors on Dec. 28,
1829.

1864 – John Lawson, an African American gunner on the flagship of
Admiral David Farragut, exhibits marked courage in the
Battle of Mobile Bay and wins the Congressional Medal of
Honor.

1865 – President Andrew Johnson moves to reverse the policy of
distributing abandoned land to freedmen.

1892 – Harriet Tubman receives a pension from Congress for her
work as a nurse, spy, and scout during the Civil War.
She, along with Sojourner Truth, Susie King and almost
200 other African American women, served as nurses during
the war at 11 hospitals in three states.

1900 – James Augustine Healy, the first African American Roman
Catholic bishop, joins the ancestors in Portland, Maine.
He is the brother of Patrick Francis Healy, the first
African American to receive a Ph.D. and first African
American president of a predominantly white university
(Georgetown University).

1936 – Jesse Owens wins his third gold medal by running a 200-
meter race in 20.7 seconds at the Olympic Games held in
Berlin, Germany.

1938 – James Hal Cone is born in Fordyce, Arkansas. He will
become a theologian, best known for his advocacy of Black
liberation theology. His 1969 book “Black Theology and
Black Power” provides a new way to articulate the
distinctiveness of theology in the black Church. His work
will become influential from the time of the book’s
publication and remain influential today. His work has
been both utilized and critiqued inside and outside of the
African American theological community. He will become the
Charles Augustus Briggs “Distinguished Professor of
Systematic Theology” at Union Theological Seminary in the
City of New York and is currently in that position, at this
time.

1945 – Jeannette (Ja’net) DuBois born in Brooklyn, New York. She
will become an actress and singer. In the late 1960’s, she
will perform in the original Broadway production of “Golden
Boy” with Sammy Davis, Jr. and Lou Gossett. This will be
her introduction to live theatre. She will go on to appear
in some of the biggest shows on Broadway, including “A
Raisin in the Sun” and “Nobody Loves An Albatross.” A role
on the soap opera, “Love of Life”, will give her
recognition as the first black female to regularly appear
on a serial. A pivotal point in her career will occur when
she relocates to the West Coast. During a performance of
“Hot L. Baltimore” in Los Angeles, she will capture the
attention of Norman Lear, creator of “Good Times.” She and
Lear will develop the vivacious and independent “Willona,”
for the popular sitcom, which will air on CBS from 1971 to
1979. She will usually find herself playing roles which
make her seem much older than she her actual age. For
example, when “Good Times” premiered in 1974, she was a
few years older than Jimmie Walker, while the show made
her out to be much closer in age to Esther Rolle, who was
53 at the time. In 1970, she will play the part of a
quarrelsome laundress alongside Carrie Snodgrass in the
cult classic, “Diary of a Mad Housewife”. She will co-star
in the movie “I’m Gonna Git You Sucka” and the sitcoms
“Moesha” and “The Steve Harvey Show.” She will play the
grandmother on the hit show, “The Wayans Bros.”. She will
appear in the 2003 movie “Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle.”
Among her other credits, she will appear in the 1969 made-
for-TV holiday film “J.T.”. She will also appear in former
“Good Times” co-star Janet Jackson’s “Control” music video
as her mother. She will also appear in “Love of Life”
between 1970-1972 as Loretta Allen, years prior to
starring in “Good Times.” She will win an CableACE Award
for her work on the TV movie “Other Women’s Children”,
based on the novel by Perri Klass, and she will also win
two Emmy Awards for her voiceover work on the animated
program “The PJs.”

1962 – Nelson Mandela is charged with incitement and illegally
leaving South Africa.

1962 – Patrick Aloysius Ewing is born in Kingston, Jamaica. He
will star in cricket and soccer. He will be 13 years old
when he arrives in the United States with his family,
settling in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he will learn
to play basketball at Cambridge Rindge and Latin, a public
high school. He will attend Georgetown University in
Washington, DC. In the 1984 season, he and Georgetown will
win the NCAA title with an 84-75 win over the University of
Houston. He will be one of the best college basketball
players of his era, as Georgetown will reach the
championship game of the NCAA tournament three out of four
years. He will be a first team All-American in 1983, 1984,
and 1985. Although injuries will mar his first year in the
NBA, he will be named NBA Rookie of the Year, averaging 20
points, 9 rebounds, and 2 blocks per game. Soon after he
will be considered one of the premier centers in the
league. He will enjoy a successful career, eleven times
named a NBA All-Star, an All-NBA First Team selection once,
a member of the All-NBA Second Team six times and the NBA
All-Defensive Second Team three times. He will be a member
of the original Dream Team at the 1992 Olympic Games,
winning a second gold medal. In 1996, he will also be given
the honor of being named one of the 50 greatest players in
NBA history. While he will enjoy a stellar career in the
NBA, he will never win a title as a professional.

1966 – Martin Luther King, Jr. is stoned by hecklers during a
Chicago, Illinois civil rights march.

1968 – Senator Edward Brooke is named the temporary chairman of
the Republican National Convention in Miami, Florida.

1984 – Track and field stars Evelyn Ashford and Edwin Moses win
Gold medals in the Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles,
California.

1992 – Federal civil rights charges are filed against four Los
Angeles police officers acquitted of state charges in the
videotaped beating of Rodney King. Two of the officers
will be convicted later of federal charges of violating
King’s civil rights.

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

KRLemmons African American History

January 10 African American Historical Events

* Today in Black History – January 10 *

1768 – James Varick is born in Orange County, New York. Racism in
New York City will lead Varick, a licensed clergyman, and
30 other African Americans to leave the famous and
predominantly white John Street Methodist Episcopal Church
and establish the first African American church in New York
City. He will later become the founder and first bishop of
the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. He will join
the ancestors on July 22, 1827. His remains now rest in the
crypt of the Mother African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church
in the village of Harlem in New York City.

1811 – African Americans in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania hold meetings
at Bethel Church to protest The American Colonization
Society’s campaign “to exile us from the land of our
nativity.”

1811 – Slaves in Louisiana rebel in two parishes about thirty-five
miles from New Orleans. The revolt is suppressed by U.S.
troops.

1870 – The legislature in the state of Georgia reconvenes and admits
African American representatives and senators.

1889 – The Ivory Coast is declared a protectorate of France.

1925 – Drummer Maxwell Lemuel “Max” Roach is born in Newland, North
Carolina. He will become an influential figure in the development
of modern jazz, playing with Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie,
and Clifford Brown before forming his own groups in the
1950’s. He will achieve wide acclaim for his superb musical
innovation. He also will be an educator, teaching at
Lennox, Massachusetts School of Jazz, Yale University, and
Professor of Music at the University of Massachusetts
(Amherst). He will join the ancestors on August 16, 2007.

1938 – Willie McCovey is born in Mobile, Alabama. He will become a
professional baseball player in 1959. In more than two
decades later, Willie will end his career, and garner an
impressive array of baseball’s most coveted awards: Rookie
of the Year in 1959; MVP in 1969; six times an All-Star and
once the All-Star Game MVP; Comeback Player of the Year in
1977 and the National League’s all-time left-handed home run
hitter.

1949 – George Foreman is born in Marshall, Texas. He will become a
professional boxer and win the world heavyweight
championship in 1973. He will retire from boxing in 1977
after a defeat by Jimmy Young. He will enter the ministry
and stay away from boxing for ten years. He will return to
boxing in 1987 at the age of 37 and become the oldest
heavyweight champion at age 45 on November 5, 1994.

1966 – The Georgia House of Representatives refuses to seat African
American legislator Julian Bond, SNCC communications
director, because of his opposition to U.S. involvement in
the Vietnam War. He will be seated almost one year later,
after a legal battle that will eventually be resolved by the
U.S. Supreme Court.

1967 – Edward Brooke, takes his seat as the first popularly elected
African American United States Senator.

1976 – Chester Arthur Burnett, better known as “Howlin’ Wolf,” joins
the ancestors in Hines, Illinois. He was a blues legend that
helped to bring the Delta Blues music from Mississippi to
Chicago during the 1950’s. This music was the basis for the
Chicago blues sound.

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

KRLemmons African American History

November 5 African American Historical Events

Today in Black History – November 5            *

1828 – Theodore Sedgwick Wright becomes the first African
American person to get a Theology Degree in the United
States, when he graduates from Princeton Theological
Seminary.

1867 – First Reconstruction constitutional convention opens in
Montgomery, Alabama.  It has eighteen African Americans
and ninety whites in attendance.

1901 – Etta Moten (later Barnett) is born in San Antonio, Texas.
She will become an actress starring in “Porgy and Bess”
and have a successful career on Broadway.  She will
appear in the movie “Flying Down to Rio”(1933), singing
and dancing the Carioca, and as a singer in “The Gold
Diggers of 1933″(1933). In her later years, she will be
active as an Advisory Board Member of The Black Academy
of Arts and Letters.

1917 – The Supreme Court (Buchanan vs Warley) rules that a
Louisville, Kentucky, ordinance mandating blacks and
whites live in separate areas is unconstitutional.

1926 – Negro History Week is initiated by Carter G. Woodson.

1931 – Ike Wister Turner is born in Clarksdale, Mississippi.  He
will become a singer, songwriter/pianist, bandleader,
record producer and talent scout. In a career that will
last for more than a half century, his repertoire will
include blues, soul, rock, and funk. He will be most
popularly known for his 1960s work with his then wife,
Tina Turner in the Ike & Tina Turner revue. Throughout his
career, he will win two Grammy Awards and be nominated for
three others. Alongside his former wife, Turner will be
inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991 and
in 2001 be inducted into the St. Louis Walk of Fame. He
will join the ancestors on December 12, 2007.

1935 – The Maryland Court of Appeals orders the University of
Maryland to admit African American student, Donald
Murray.

1956 – Art Tatum, joins the ancestors at age 46 in Los Angeles,
California.  Despite impaired vision, he received formal
training in music and developed a unique improvisational
style. He was an accomplished jazz pianist who impressed
even classicist Vladimir Horowitz.  Perhaps the most
gifted technician of all jazzmen, Tatum had other assets
as well, among them an harmonic sense so acute as to make
him an almost infallible improviser. This aspect of his
style, as well as his great rhythmic freedom, influenced
the young players who became the founders of a new style
called bebop.

1956 – The Nat King Cole Show premiers. The 15-minute show
starring the popular singer will run until June 1957 and
reappear in July in a half-hour format. The first network
variety series hosted by an African American star, it was
cancelled due to lack of support by advertisers.

1968 – Eight African American males and the first African American
female, Shirley Chisholm, are elected to the U.S. Congress.
Including previously elected Massachusetts senator Edward
Brooke, it is the largest number of African American
representatives to serve in Congress since the 44th
Congress of 1875-1877.

1970 – The National Guard is mobilized in Henderson, North
Carolina, as a result of racially motivated civil
disturbances.

1974 – George Brown of Colorado and Mervyn Dymally of California
are the first African American lieutenant governors elected
in the 20th century, while Walter Washington becomes the
first African American to be elected mayor of the District
of Columbia, and Harold Ford is elected to Congress from
Tennessee, the first African American from the state.

1974 – The Spingarn Medal is awarded to Damon J. Keith “in tribute
to his steadfast defense of constitutional principles as
revealed in a series of memorable decisions he handed down
as a United States District Court judge.”

1989 – The first memorial to the civil rights movement in the
United States is dedicated at a ceremony in Montgomery,
Alabama.  The memorial was commissioned by the Southern
Poverty Law Center, a legal and educational organization
located in Montgomery.

1994 – George Foreman, 45, becomes boxing’s oldest heavyweight
champion by knocking out Michael Moorer in the 10th round
of their WBA fight in Las Vegas, Nevada.

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