KRLemmons African American History

March 15 African American Historical Events

* Today in Black History – March 15 *

1809 – Joseph J. Roberts is born free in Norfolk, Virginia. He will
leave Virginia with his family for the West African coast in
1829, part of the colonization effort of the American
Colonization Society. He will become the first president of
Liberia in 1848 and the seventh president of Liberia in 1872.
He will join the ancestors on February 24, 1876.

1842 – Robert C. DeLarge is born in Aiken, South Carolina. He will
defeat a white opponent by 986 votes out of 32,000 cast to
earn a seat as a South Carolina representative to the United
States Congress in 1870. He will serve in the House of
Representatives from March 4, 1871 until January 24, 1873
when the seat will be declared vacant as the result of an
election challenge initiated by Christopher C. Bowen. After
leaving Congress he will serve as a local magistrate until he
joins the ancestors in Charleston, South Carolina on February
14, 1874.

1897 – The Fifty-fifth Congress (1897-99) convenes. Only one African
American congressman is in attendance: George H. White, of
North Carolina.

1912 – Sam John Hopkins is born in Centerville, Texas. He will become a
blues guitarist, better known as Lightnin’ Hopkins, and be
considered one of the last blues singers in the grand
tradition of “Blind” Lemon Jefferson, with whom he played as
a child. I n addition to being a blues guitarist, he will be a
country blues singer, songwriter and occasional pianist. Rolling
Stone magazine will include him at number 71 on their list of
the 100 greatest guitarists of all time. Musicologist Robert
“Mack” McCormick will state that he “is the embodiment of the
jazz-and-poetry spirit, representing its ancient form in the
single creator whose words and music are one act”. He will join
the ancestors on January 30, 1982 after succumbing to cancer.

1933 – The NAACP begins a coordinated attack on segregation and
discrimination, filing a suit against the University of North
Carolina on behalf of Thomas Hocutt. The case is lost on a
technicality after the president of an African American
college refuses to certify the records of the plaintiff.

1933 – The Los Angeles Sentinel is founded by Leon H. Washington.

1933 – The NAACP’s Spingarn Medal is presented to YMCA secretary Max
Yergan for his achievements as a missionary in South Africa,
“representing the gift of cooperation…American Negroes may
send back to their Motherland.”

1933 – Cecil Percival Taylor is born in New York City. He will
become a international jazz pianist concert artist and
composer. He will also teach African American music and lead
the Black Music Ensemble at the University of Wisconsin,
Antioch College, and Glassboro State (in New Jersey). He is
considered to be one of the most controversial figures in
“jazz”. For many observers, his work ranks as some of the
most profound art ever produced. Classically trained, he is
generally acknowledged as one of the pioneers of free jazz.

1938 – Emilio Cruz is born in New York City. He will become a painter
who will study in his teens with the influential African
American artist Bob Thompson, study European masters in
Italy, Paris, London, and Amsterdam and become noted in the
United States for both his figurative and abstract paintings.
His work will be exhibited or collected by the Museum of
Modern Art, National Museum of American Art, the Studio
Museum of Harlem, and prestigious private galleries. He will
join the ancestors on December 10, 2004 in New York City
after succumbing to pancreatic cancer.

1944 – Sylvester “Sly Stone” Stewart is born in Dallas, Texas. He
will become a popular disc jockey in the San Francisco Bay
area. This popularity will fuel his career as a musician and
singer. He will achieve fame with his group: Sly & The
Family Stone and record the hits “Dance to the Music,”
“Everyday People,” “Hot Fun in the Summertime,” “Thank You,”
and “Family Affair.” In 2010, he will file suit, claiming that
manager Gerald Goldstein and attorney Glenn Stone in the late
1980s, induced him to sign an employment and shareholder
agreement with Even Street Productions, but that they instead
used the arrangement to divert millions in royalties, leaving
him unable to get the money he said was due him. In 2015, a
jury in Los Angeles Superior Court, will award him 2.5 million
dollars in damages against Even St. Productions, 2.45 million
dollars against Goldstein and 50,000 dollars against attorney
Glenn Stone.

1946 – Bobby Lee Bonds is born in Riverside, California. He will
become a major league baseball player and hit a grand slam in
his first Major League game on June 25,1968 against the Los
Angeles Dodgers. He will be a 3-time All-Star (1971 and 1973
in the National League and 1975 in the American League). He
will amass a total 332 home runs, 1,024 RBIs, 461 stolen
bases and a .268 batting average for 8 teams. He will hold
the Major League record for most HRs as a lead-off batter in
a game in a season with 11 in 1973. He will be named by The
Sporting News as the National League Player of the Year in
1973, hitting .283 with 39 homers, 96 RBI and 43 stolen
bases. He will join the ancestors on August 23, 2003 after
succumbing to complications of lung cancer and a brain tumor.

1946 – Howard E. Scott is born in San Pedro, Los Angeles, California.
He will become a Rhythm and Blues singer, guitarist, and be
best known for his performances as part of the Rhythm & Blues
group “War.” Scott will contribute lyrics, music, and
co-produced some of War’s greatest hits, such as ‘Cisco Kid,’
‘Slipping into Darkness’ and ‘Why Can’t We Be Friends?.’ He
will also be the frontman and leader of the group.

1958 – Cincinnati Royals basketball star Maurice Stokes collapses
during a playoff game suffering with encephalitis. It will
be determined that this was the result of an earlier injury,
when his head hit the floor, knocking him unconscious, in the
last game of the regular season. He will go into a coma and
become permanently disabled.

1959 – Saxophonist and major influence on the “Cool School” of jazz,
Lester “Prez” Young joins the ancestors at the age of 49 in
New York City.

1962 – Terence Trent D’Arby is born in New York City. He will become
a popular Rhythm and Blues singer, music producer, songwriter,
and composer. He will be best known for his recording
“Wishing Well.”

1962 – Wilt Chamberlain becomes the first and only player in NBA
history to score more than 4,000 points in a season (4,029).
He will average 50.4 points per game.

1968 – “LIFE” magazine calls Jimi Hendrix “the most spectacular
guitarist in the world.”

1968 – Bob Beamon sets an indoor long jump record as he leaps 27
feet, 2-3/4 inches.

1969 – St. Clair Drake is named director of the African and Afro
American Studies program at Stanford University. Drake’s
accomplishments in the position will form a model for such
programs across the country.

1970 – The musical, “Purlie” opens a run of 680 continuous
performances on Broadway in New York City.

1980 – Scores of people are injured in Klan-related incidents in
Georgia, Tennessee, California, Indiana and North Carolina.

1985 – Larry Holmes beats David Bey in Las Vegas, Nevada. This was
probably good for Bey, since no one had ever heard of him
before the fight. Holmes defends his International Boxing
Federation heavyweight boxing title with the win.

1991 – Four Los Angeles police officers-Sergeant Stacey Koon and
Officers Laurence Powell, Timothy Wind and Theodore Briseno-
are charged with felony assault and related charges arising
from the Rodney King beating.

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

KRLemmons African American History

December 28 African American Historical Events

* Today in Black History – December 28 *

***********************************************************************
* The Nguzo Saba – The seven principles of Kwanzaa – Principle for *
* Day #3 – Ujima (oo-JEE-mah) Collective Work & Responsibility: To *
* build and maintain our community together and to make our Brother’s *
* and Sister’s problems, our problems and to solve them together. *
***********************************************************************

1817 – The American Colonization Society, a private philanthropic
organization, is organized in Washington, DC in the hall of the
House of Representatives, for the purpose of relocating freeborn
and emancipated blacks to Africa. The Society’s supporters
espoused a wide range of viewpoints on slavery and the treatment
of blacks, ranging from advocacy of the abolition of slavery to
the removal of the Negro race from the United States. The
primary motivation for this group stemmed from the fact that
there were too many ‘free’ Blacks in the United States.

1829 – Elizabeth “Mumbet” Freeman joins the ancestors. Freeman, born
into slavery, ran away from her owners after she was mistreated
by her master’s wife. She petitioned successfully for her
freedom, citing her knowledge of the Bill of Rights and the new
constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in her
argument that all men were created equal, thereby justifying
her petition for freedom. Her victory effectively abolished
slavery in Massachusetts. Freeman was the great-grandmother of
W.E.B. Dubois, one of America’s most renowned scholars,
leaders, and fighters for civil rights.

1905 – Earl “Fatha” Hines is born in Duquesne, Pennsylvania. He will
be considered the “Father of Modern Jazz Piano.”

1918 – The NAACP’s Spingarn Medal is awarded to William Stanley
Braithwaite, poet, literary critic and editor, for
distinguished achievement in literature.

1918 – George H. White joins the ancestors at the age of 66 in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was the last of the post
Reconstruction congressmen.

1954 – Denzel Washington is born in Mount Vernon, New York. He will
become an actor, playing Dr. Phillip Chandler for six seasons
on television’s “St. Elsewhere” and have a successful movie
career that will include roles in “A Soldier’s Story” and an
Oscar-winning performance in “Glory.”

1959 – Everson Walls is born. He will become a NFL corner back with
the Dallas Cowboys and the New York Giants.

1977 – Karen Farmer becomes the first African American member of the
Daughters of the American Revolution, when she traces her
ancestry back to William Hood, a soldier in the Revolutionary
War.

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

KRLemmons African American History

December 18 African American Historical Events

Today in Black History – December 18 *

1852 – George H. White is born in Rosindale, North Carolina.
He will become a lawyer, state legislator, and in 1896,
the only African American member of the United States
House of Representatives, where he will be the first to
introduce an anti-lynching bill. White will also found
the town of Whitesboro, New Jersey, as a haven for
African Americans escaping southern racism. He will join
the ancestors on December 28, 1918.

1860 – South Carolina declares itself an “independent
commonwealth.”

1865 – Congress proclaims the ratification of the thirteenth
Amendment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery. The
ratification process had been completed on December 6,
1865.

1917 – Raiford Chatman “Ossie” Davis is born in Cogdell, Georgia.
While he will be best known as an actor in such plays as
“Jeb” (where he will meet his wife, Ruby Dee) and “Purlie
Victorious” and films like “Let’s Do It Again,” “Do The
Right Thing,” and “Jungle Fever,” he will be a playwright,
screenwriter, and director(Cotton Comes to Harlem). In
1969, he will win an Emmy for his role in “Teacher,
Teacher” and will be a featured performer in television’s
“Evening Shade.” He will join the ancestors on February 4,
2005.

1958 – Niger gains autonomy within the French Community of Nations.

1961 – Wilt Chamberlain of the NBA Philadelphia Warriors scores 78
points vs the Los Angeles Lakers.

1964 – Funeral services are held in Chicago for Sam Cooke. Hundreds
of fans will cause damage to the A.R. Leak Funeral Home,
where Cooke’s body is on display.

1971 – Jesse Jackson announces the formation of Operation Push
(People United to Save Humanity), a new African American
political and economic development organization. Jackson,
who resigned from Operation Breadbasket, the economic arm
of the SCLC, says, “the problems of the 1970’s are economic
so the solution and goal must be economic.”

1971 – The NAACP’s Spingarn Medal is presented to Rev. Leon H.
Sullivan, founder of Opportunities Industrialization
Centers of America (OIC) for his leadership.

1989 – Ernest Dickerson wins the New York Film Critics Circle Award
for best cinematography for the movie “Do the Right Thing.”

1996 – The Oakland, California School board becomes the first in
the nation to recognize Black english, a.k.a. Ebonics, as a
separate language, NOT a dialect or slang.

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

KRLemmons African American History

December 4 African American Historical Events

Today in Black History – December 4 *

1783 – George Washington’s farewell address to his troops is
held at Fraunces Tavern in New York City. The tavern
is owned by Samuel “Black Sam” Fraunces, a wealthy
West Indian of African and French descent who aided
Revolutionary forces with food and money.

1807 – Prince Hall, activist and Masonic leader, joins the
ancestors in Boston, Massachusetts.

1833 – The American Anti-Slavery Society is founded in
Philadelphia by James Barbados, Robert Purvis, James
McCrummell, James Forten, Jr., John B. Vashon and
others.

1895 – Fort Valley State College is established in Georgia.

1895 – The South Carolina Constitutional Convention adopted a
new constitution with “understanding clause” designed
to eliminate African American voters.

1899 – The Fifty-Sixth Congress convenes with only one African
American congressman, George H. White, from North
Carolina.

1906 – Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. is founded on the
campus of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York,
becoming the first African American Greek-letter
organization.

1909 – The New York “Amsterdam News” is founded by James
Anderson. Originally priced at two cents, it will grow
to a circulation of almost 35,000 by 1990.

1915 – The NAACP leads protest demonstrations against the
showing of the racist movie, “Birth of a Nation.”

1915 – The Ku Klux Klan receives its charter from Fulton
County, Georgia Superior Court. The modern Klan will
spread to Alabama and other Southern states and reach
the height of its influence in the twenties. By 1924,
the organization will be strong in Oklahoma, Indiana,
California, Oregon, Indiana, and Ohio, and have an
estimated four million members.

1927 – President Coolidge commutes Marcus Garvey’s sentence.
Garvey will be taken to New Orleans and deported to his
native Jamaica.

1927 – The NAACP’s Spingarn Medal is awarded to Anthony Overton,
publisher, insurance executive and cosmetics
manufacturer, for his achievements as a businessman.

1927 – Duke Ellington’s big band opens at the famed Cotton Club
in Harlem. It is the first appearance of the Duke’s
new and larger group. He will play the club until 1932.

1943 – Professional baseball’s commissioner Landis announces
that any club may sign Negroes to a playing contract.

1956 – Bernard King, professional basketball player (New York
Knicks, New Jersey Nets), is born.

1958 – Dahomey (Benin), and the Ivory Coast become autonomous
within the French Community of Nations.

1969 – The Pulitzer Prize for photography is awarded to Moneta
Sleet Jr. of Ebony magazine. He is the first African
American male cited by the Pulitzer committee.

1969 – Clarence Mitchell Jr., director of the Washington Bureau
of the NAACP, is awarded the Spingarn Medal “for the
pivotal role he….played in the enactment of civil
rights legislation.”

1969 – Two Black Panther leaders, Fred Hampton(Illinois State
Chairman) and Mark Clark, join the ancestors after
being killed in a Chicago police raid. The two men are
shot while sleeping in their beds. Fred Hampton is
just 20 years old.

1977 – Jean-Bedel Bokassa, ruler of the Central African Empire,
crowns himself.

1981 – According to South Africa, Ciskei gains independence,
but is not recognized as an independent country outside
South Africa.

1982 – Hershel Walker, a University of Georgia running back who
amassed an NCAA record of 5,097 yards in three seasons,
is named the Heisman Trophy winner. He is only the
seventh junior to win the award. He will go on to play
with the New Jersey Generals of the U.S. Football League
and the Minnesota Vikings and Dallas Cowboys in the NFL.

1990 – The Watts Health Foundation reports revenues in excess of
$100 million for the first year in its history.
Established in 1967, the Foundation grew from its initial
site on riot-torn 103rd Street to serve over 80,000
residents of the Greater Los Angeles area with its HMO,
United Health Plan, and its numerous community-based
programs. Led by CEO Dr. Clyde Oden, it is the largest
community-based health care system of its kind in the
nation.

1992 – United States troops land in the country of Somalia.

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

KRLemmons African American History

March 4 African American Historical Events

Today in Black History – March 4 *

1837 – The second major African American newspaper, the “Weekly
Advocate” changes its name to the “Colored American.”

1869 – The forty-second Congress convenes (1871-73) with five
African American congressmen: Joseph H. Rainey, Robert
Carlos Delarge, and Robert Brown Elliott from South Carolina;
Benjamin S. Turner, of Alabama; Josiah T. Walls of Florida.
Walls is elected in an at-large election and is the first
African American congressman to represent an entire state.

1889 – The fifty-first Congress convenes. Three Black congressmen:
Henry P. Cheatham of North Carolina; Thomas E. Miller of
South Carolina; and John Mercer Langston of Virginia.

1897 – Willie Covan is born in Atlanta, Georgia. He will become one
of the earliest successful tap dancers, appearing in the
original production of “Shuffle Along” as well as with the
Four Covans.

1901 – The congressional term of George H. White, last of the post
Reconstruction congressmen, ends.

1922 – Theater legend Bert Williams joins the ancestors at the age of
46 in New York City. He was considered the foremost African
American vaudeville performer, teaming first with George
Walker in 1895, most notably in “In Dahomey,” and later as a
soloist with the Ziegfeld Follies.

1932 – Miriam Zenzi Makeba, “Empress of African Song,” is born in
Prospect Township, South Africa. Although exiled from her
homeland, Makeba will become an internationally known
singer and critic of apartheid. Throughout her life and
singing career, She will use her voice to to draw the attention
of the world to the music of South Africa and to its oppressive
system of racial separation. After appearing in the
semi-documentary antiapartheid film, “Come Back, Africa,” she
will attract international attention. This will include
meeting Harry Belafonte, who will become her sponsor and
promoter in the United States. Because her music always
contained a political component – the denunciation of
apartheid, her South African passport will be revoked in 1960.
Her career in the United States will be crippled by her
marriage to Stokely Carmichael (later Kwame Ture’), who was
active in the Black Panther Party. Her career will continue
to flourish in Europe. She will later become a United Nations
delegate from Guinea and will continue to record and perform.
She will return to her homeland, South Africa, in 1990 and in
1991, will make her first performance there in over thirty
years. She will join the ancestors on November 10, 2008 after
succumbing to a heart attack suffered after singing her hit
song “Pata Pata” during a concert organized to support writer
Robert Saviano in his stand against the Camorra, a mafia-like
organization in the Campania region of Italy.

1934 – Barbara McNair is born in Racine, Wisconsin. She will become a
singer and actress, and will host her own television program
(The Barbara McNair Show). The glamorous actress will
moonlight as a pop singer between TV and film roles during
the 1960s. She will be a classy addition to Berry Gordy’s
talent roster when his firm attempts to diversify its appeal.
She will cut a pair of albums for Motown in 1966 and 1969.

1944 – Robert Dwayne “Bobby” Womack is born in Cleveland, Ohio. He
will become a Rhythm and Blues performer, guitarist and
songwriter.

1954 – The first African American sub-cabinet member is appointed.
President Eisenhower names J. Earnest Wilkins of Chicago as
the U.S. Assistant Secretary of Labor.

1968 – Joe Frazier defeats Buster Mathis for the world heavyweight
boxing championship by knockout in the eleventh round.

1968 – Martin Luther King, Jr. announces plans for the Poor People’s
Campaign in Washington, DC. He says that he will lead a
massive civil disobedience campaign in the capital to pressure
the government to provide jobs and income for all Americans.
He tells a press conference that an army of poor white, poor
African Americans and Hispanics will converge on Washington
on April 20 and will demonstrate until their demands were met.

1981 – A jury in Salt Lake City convicts Joseph Paul Franklin, an
avowed racist, of violating the civil rights of two black men
who were shot to death.

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

KRLemmons African American History

December 28 African American Historical Events

Today in Black History – December 28 *

***********************************************************************
* The Nguzo Saba – The seven principles of Kwanzaa – Principle for *
* Day #3 – Ujima (oo-JEE-mah) Collective Work & Responsibility: To *
* build and maintain our community together and to make our Brother’s *
* and Sister’s problems, our problems and to solve them together. *
* http://www.endarkenment.com/kwanzaa/ *
***********************************************************************

1817 – The American Colonization Society, a private philanthropic
organization, is organized in Washington, DC in the hall of the
House of Representatives, for the purpose of relocating freeborn
and emancipated blacks to Africa. The Society’s supporters
espoused a wide range of viewpoints on slavery and the treatment
of blacks, ranging from advocacy of the abolition of slavery to
the removal of the Negro race from the United States. The
primary motivation for this group stemmed from the fact that
there were too many ‘free’ Blacks in the United States.

1829 – Elizabeth “Mumbet” Freeman joins the ancestors. Freeman, born
into slavery, ran away from her owners after she was mistreated
by her master’s wife. She petitioned successfully for her
freedom, citing her knowledge of the Bill of Rights and the new
constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in her
argument that all men were created equal, thereby justifying
her petition for freedom. Her victory effectively abolished
slavery in Massachusetts. Freeman was the great-grandmother of
W.E.B. Dubois, one of America’s most renowned scholars,
leaders, and fighters for civil rights.

1905 – Earl “Fatha” Hines is born in Duquesne, Pennsylvania. He will
be considered the “Father of Modern Jazz Piano.”

1918 – The NAACP’s Spingarn Medal is awarded to William Stanley
Braithwaite, poet, literary critic and editor, for
distinguished achievement in literature.

1918 – George H. White joins the ancestors at the age of 66 in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was the last of the post
Reconstruction congressmen.

1954 – Denzel Washington is born in Mount Vernon, New York. He will
become an actor, playing Dr. Phillip Chandler for six seasons
on television’s “St. Elsewhere” and have a successful movie
career that will include roles in “A Soldier’s Story” and an
Oscar-winning performance in “Glory.”

1959 – Everson Walls is born. He will become a NFL corner back with
the Dallas Cowboys and the New York Giants.

1977 – Karen Farmer becomes the first African American member of the
Daughters of the American Revolution, when she traces her
ancestry back to William Hood, a soldier in the Revolutionary
War.

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

KRLemmons African American History

December 18 African American Historical Events

Today in Black History – December 18 *

1852 – George H. White is born in Rosindale, North Carolina.
He will become a lawyer, state legislator, and in 1896,
the only African American member of the United States
House of Representatives, where he will be the first to
introduce an anti-lynching bill. White will also found
the town of Whitesboro, New Jersey, as a haven for
African Americans escaping southern racism.

1860 – South Carolina declares itself an “independent
commonwealth.”

1865 – Congress proclaims the ratification of the thirteenth
Amendment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery. The
ratification process had been completed on December 6,
1865.

1917 – Raiford Chatman “Ossie” Davis is born in Cogdell, Georgia.
While he will be best known as an actor in such plays as
“Jeb” (where he will meet his wife, Ruby Dee) and “Purlie
Victorious” and films like “Let’s Do It Again,” “Do The
Right Thing,” and “Jungle Fever,” he will be a playwright,
screenwriter, and director(Cotton Comes to Harlem). In
1969, he will win an Emmy for his role in “Teacher,
Teacher” and will be a featured performer in television’s
“Evening Shade.” He will join the ancestors on February 4,
2005.

1958 – Niger gains autonomy within the French Community of Nations.

1961 – Wilt Chamberlain of the NBA Philadelphia Warriors scores 78
points vs the Los Angeles Lakers.

1964 – Funeral services are held in Chicago for Sam Cooke. Hundreds
of fans will cause damage to the A.R. Leak Funeral Home,
where Cooke’s body is on display.

1971 – Jesse Jackson announces the formation of Operation Push
(People United to Save Humanity), a new African American
political and economic development organization. Jackson,
who resigned from Operation Breadbasket, the economic arm
of the SCLC, says, “the problems of the 1970’s are economic
so the solution and goal must be economic.”

1971 – The NAACP’s Spingarn Medal is presented to Rev. Leon H.
Sullivan, founder of Opportunities Industrialization
Centers of America (OIC) for his leadership.

1989 – Ernest Dickerson wins the New York Film Critics Circle Award
for best cinematography for the movie “Do the Right Thing.”

1996 – The Oakland, California School board becomes the first in
the nation to recognize Black english, a.k.a. Ebonics, as a
separate language, NOT a dialect or slang.

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

KRLemmons African American History

March 4 African American Historical Events

Today in Black History – March 4 *

1837 – The second major African American newspaper, the “Weekly
Advocate” changes its name to the “Colored American.”

1869 – The forty-second Congress convenes (1871-73) with five
African American congressmen: Joseph H. Rainey, Robert
Carlos Delarge, and Robert Brown Elliott from South Carolina;
Benjamin S. Turner, of Alabama; Josiah T. Walls of Florida.
Walls is elected in an at-large election and is the first
African American congressman to represent an entire state.

1889 – The fifty-first Congress convenes. Three Black congressmen:
Henry P. Cheatham of North Carolina; Thomas E. Miller of
South Carolina; and John Mercer Langston of Virginia.

1897 – Willie Covan is born in Atlanta, Georgia. He will become one
of the earliest successful tap dancers, appearing in the
original production of “Shuffle Along” as well as with the
Four Covans.

1901 – The congressional term of George H. White, last of the post
Reconstruction congressmen, ends.

1922 – Theater legend Bert Williams joins the ancestors at the age of
46 in New York City. He was considered the foremost African
American vaudeville performer, teaming first with George
Walker in 1895, most notably in “In Dahomey,” and later as a
soloist with the Ziegfeld Follies.

1932 – Miriam Zenzi Makeba, “Empress of African Song,” is born in
Prospect Township, South Africa. Although exiled from her
homeland, Makeba will become an internationally known
singer and critic of apartheid. Throughout her life and
singing career, She will use her voice to to draw the attention
of the world to the music of South Africa and to its oppressive
system of racial separation. After appearing in the
semi-documentary antiapartheid film, “Come Back, Africa,” she
will attract international attention. This will include
meeting Harry Belafonte, who will become her sponsor and
promoter in the United States. Because her music always
contained a political component – the denunciation of
apartheid, her South African passport will be revoked in 1960.
Her career in the United States will be crippled by her
marriage to Stokely Carmichael (later Kwame Ture’), who was
active in the Black Panther Party. Her career will continue
to flourish in Europe. She will later become a United Nations
delegate from Guinea and will continue to record and perform.
She will return to her homeland, South Africa, in 1990 and in
1991, will make her first performance there in over thirty
years. She will join the ancestors on November 10, 2008 after
succumbing to a heart attack suffered after singing her hit
song “Pata Pata” during a concert organized to support writer
Robert Saviano in his stand against the Camorra, a mafia-like
organization in the Campania region of Italy.

1934 – Barbara McNair is born in Racine, Wisconsin. She will become a
singer and actress, and will host her own television program
(The Barbara McNair Show). The glamorous actress will
moonlight as a pop singer between TV and film roles during
the 1960s. She will be a classy addition to Berry Gordy’s
talent roster when his firm attempts to diversify its appeal.
She will cut a pair of albums for Motown in 1966 and 1969.

1944 – Robert Dwayne “Bobby” Womack is born in Cleveland, Ohio. He
will become a Rhythm and Blues performer, guitarist and
songwriter.

1954 – The first African American sub-cabinet member is appointed.
President Eisenhower names J. Earnest Wilkins of Chicago as
the U.S. Assistant Secretary of Labor.

1968 – Joe Frazier defeats Buster Mathis for the world heavyweight
boxing championship by knockout in the eleventh round.

1968 – Martin Luther King, Jr. announces plans for the Poor People’s
Campaign in Washington, DC. He says that he will lead a
massive civil disobedience campaign in the capital to pressure
the government to provide jobs and income for all Americans.
He tells a press conference that an army of poor white, poor
African Americans and Hispanics will converge on Washington
on April 20 and will demonstrate until their demands were met.

1981 – A jury in Salt Lake City convicts Joseph Paul Franklin, an
avowed racist, of violating the civil rights of two black men
who were shot to death.

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

KRLemmons African American History

December 28 African American Historical Events

Today in Black History – December 28 *

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* The Nguzo Saba – The seven principles of Kwanzaa – Principle for *
* Day #3 – Ujima (oo-JEE-mah) Collective Work & Responsibility: To *
* build and maintain our community together and to make our Brother’s *
* and Sister’s problems, our problems and to solve them together. *
* http://www.endarkenment.com/kwanzaa/ *
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1817 – The American Colonization Society, a private philanthropic
organization, is organized in Washington, DC in the hall of the
House of Representatives, for the purpose of relocating freeborn
and emancipated blacks to Africa. The Society’s supporters
espoused a wide range of viewpoints on slavery and the treatment
of blacks, ranging from advocacy of the abolition of slavery to
the removal of the Negro race from the United States. The
primary motivation for this group stemmed from the fact that
there were too many ‘free’ Blacks in the United States.

1829 – Elizabeth “Mumbet” Freeman joins the ancestors. Freeman, born
into slavery, ran away from her owners after she was mistreated
by her master’s wife. She petitioned successfully for her
freedom, citing her knowledge of the Bill of Rights and the new
constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in her
argument that all men were created equal, thereby justifying
her petition for freedom. Her victory effectively abolished
slavery in Massachusetts. Freeman was the great-grandmother of
W.E.B. Dubois, one of America’s most renowned scholars,
leaders, and fighters for civil rights.

1905 – Earl “Fatha” Hines is born in Duquesne, Pennsylvania. He will
be considered the “Father of Modern Jazz Piano.”

1918 – The NAACP’s Spingarn Medal is awarded to William Stanley
Braithwaite, poet, literary critic and editor, for
distinguished achievement in literature.

1918 – George H. White joins the ancestors at the age of 66 in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was the last of the post
Reconstruction congressmen.

1954 – Denzel Washington is born in Mount Vernon, New York. He will
become an actor, playing Dr. Phillip Chandler for six seasons
on television’s “St. Elsewhere” and have a successful movie
career that will include roles in “A Soldier’s Story” and an
Oscar-winning performance in “Glory.”

1959 – Everson Walls is born. He will become a NFL corner back with
the Dallas Cowboys and the New York Giants.

1977 – Karen Farmer becomes the first African American member of the
Daughters of the American Revolution, when she traces her
ancestry back to William Hood, a soldier in the Revolutionary
War.

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

KRLemmons African American History

December 18 African American Historical Events

Today in Black History – December 18           *

1852 – George H. White is born in Rosindale, North Carolina. 
He will become a lawyer, state legislator, and in 1896,
the only African American member of the United States
House of Representatives, where he will be the first to
introduce an anti-lynching bill.  White will also found
the town of Whitesboro, New Jersey, as a haven for
African Americans  escaping southern racism.

1860 – South Carolina declares itself an “independent
commonwealth.”

1865 – Congress proclaims the ratification of the thirteenth
Amendment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery.  The
ratification process had been completed on December 6,
1865.

1917 – Raiford Chatman “Ossie” Davis is born in Cogdell, Georgia. 
While he will be best known as an actor in such plays as
“Jeb” (where he will meet his wife, Ruby Dee) and “Purlie
Victorious” and films like “Let’s Do It Again,” “Do The
Right Thing,” and “Jungle Fever,” he will be a playwright,
screenwriter, and director(Cotton Comes to Harlem).  In
1969, he will win an Emmy for his role in “Teacher,
Teacher” and will be a featured performer in television’s
“Evening Shade.” He will join the ancestors on February 4,
2005.

1958 – Niger gains autonomy within the French Community of Nations.

1961 – Wilt Chamberlain of the NBA Philadelphia Warriors scores 78
points vs the Los Angeles Lakers.

1964 – Funeral services are held in Chicago for Sam Cooke. Hundreds
of fans will cause damage to the A.R. Leak Funeral Home,
where Cooke’s body is on display.

1971 – Jesse Jackson announces the formation of Operation Push
(People United to Save Humanity), a new African American
political and economic development organization.  Jackson,
who resigned from Operation Breadbasket, the economic arm
of the SCLC, says, “the problems of the 1970’s are economic
so the solution and goal must be economic.”

1971 – The NAACP’s Spingarn Medal is presented to Rev. Leon H.
Sullivan, founder of Opportunities Industrialization
Centers of America (OIC) for his leadership.

1989 – Ernest Dickerson wins the New York Film Critics Circle Award
for best cinematography for the movie “Do the Right Thing.”

1996 – The Oakland, California School board becomes the first in
the nation to recognize Black english, a.k.a. Ebonics, as a
separate language, NOT a dialect or slang.

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