KRLemmons African American History

September 10 African American Historical Events

* Today in Black History – September 10 *

1847 – John Roy Lynch is born a slave in Concordia Parish,
Louisiana. Becoming free during the American Civil War,
he will settle in Natchez, Mississippi. There he will
learn the photography business, attend night school, and
enter public life in 1869 as justice of the peace for
Natchez county. In November, 1869 Lynch will be elected
to the Mississippi House of Representatives, and re-
elected in 1871. Although Blacks never will be in the
majority in the Mississippi legislature, Lynch will be
chosen speaker of the House in 1872. He will be elected
to the U.s. House of Representatives in 1873. In 1884,
he will become the first African American to preside
over a national convention of a major U.S. political
party and deliver the keynote address, when he was
appointed temporary chairman. In his book, “The Facts
of Reconstruction” (1913), Lynch will attempt to dispel
the erroneous notion that Southern state governments
after the Civil War were under the control of Blacks.
He will join the ancestors on November 2, 1939 in
Chicago, Illinois.

1886 – Poet Georgia Douglas Johnson is born in Atlanta, Georgia.
(Editor’s Note: Her birth is uncertain, given as early as
1877 and as late as 1886). Among her books will be “Heart
of a Woman”, “Bronze”, “An Autumn Love Cycle”, and “Share
My Love”. She will be anthologized in Arna Bontemps’s
“American Negro Poetry” and Davis and Lee’s “Negro
Caravan,” among others. Her home in Washington, DC, will
become the center for African American literary
gatherings. She will join the ancestors on May 14, 1966.

1913 – George W. Buckner, a physician from Indiana, is named
minister to Liberia.

1913 – The Cleveland Call & Post newspaper is established.

1927 – Jacques E. Leeds in born in Baltimore, Maryland. He will
become a leading African American attorney in Baltimore.
He will become the first African American appointed a
commisioner on the Maryland Worker’s Compensation
Commission in 1991 (by governor William Donald Schaefer).

1930 – Charles E. Mitchell, certified public accountant and banker
from West Virginia, is named minister to Liberia.

1940 – Roy Ayers is born in Los Angeles, California. In high
school Ayers will form his first group, the Latin Lyrics,
and in the early 60s will begin working professionally
with flautist/saxophonist Curtis Amy. He will become a
popular jazz vibraphonist and vocalist, reaching the peak
of his commercial popularity during the mid-70s and early
80s.

1948 – Robert “Bob” Lanier is born in Buffalo, New York. He will
become a professional basketball player and will be a NBA
center for 14 years (10 years with the Detroit Pistons and
4 years with the Milwaukee Bucks). He will be an eight-
time NBA All-Star and will be elected to the Basketball
Hall of Fame in 1991.

1956 – Louisville, Kentucky integrates its public school system.

1960 – Running barefoot, Ethiopian Abebe Bikila wins the marathon
at the Rome Olympic Games.

1961 – Jomo Kenyatta returns to Kenya from exile to lead his
country.

1962 – Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black vacates an order of a
lower court, ruling that the University of Mississippi
had to admit James H. Meredith, an African American Air
Force veteran whose application for admission had been on
file and in the courts for fourteen months.

1963 – 20 African American students enter public schools in
Birmingham, Tuskegee and Mobile, Alabama, following a
standoff between federal authorities and Governor George
C. Wallace.

1965 – Father Divine joins the ancestors in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania. Divine, born George Baker, was the founder
of the Peace Mission, a religious group whose followers
worshiped Divine as God incarnate on earth.

1972 – Gayle Sayers, of the Chicago Bears, retires from pro
football.

1973 – A commemorative stamp of Henry Ossawa Tanner is issued by
the U.S. Postal Service. Part of its American Arts issue,
the stamp celebrates the work and accomplishments of
Tanner, the first African American artist elected to the
National Academy of Design.

1973 – Muhammad Ali defeats Ken Norton in a championship
heavyweight boxing match in Los Angeles — and avenges a
loss to Norton the previous March in San Diego.

1974 – Guinea-Bissau gains independence from Portugal.

1974 – Lou Brock, of the St. Louis Cardinals, breaks Maury Wills’
major league record for stolen bases in a season.
‘Lighting’ Lou Brock steals his 105th base on his way to
a career total of 938 stolen bases, a record which will
be later broken by Rickey Henderson.

1976 – Mordecai Johnson, the first African American president of
Howard University, joins the ancestors at age 86.

1986 – Sprinter, Evelyn Ashford is defeated for the first time in
eight years. Ashford loses to Valerie Brisco-Hooks in
the 200-meter run held in Rome, Italy.

2000 – At The 52nd Annual Primetime Emmy awards the following
quotes were made as Charles Dutton and Halle Berry
accepted their respective awards – “There goes my acting
career.” – Charles S. Dutton, accepting as outstanding
director of a miniseries or movie for HBO’s “The Corner.”
– “Wherever Dorothy Dandridge is right now, I know she is
standing tall and proud and smiling.” – Halle Berry,
accepting a best actress Emmy for the HBO movie
“Introducing Dorothy Dandridge.”

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

KRLemmons African American History

May 14 African American Historical Events

* Today in Black History – May 14 *

1867 – A riot occurs in Mobile, Alabama, after an African American
mass meeting. One African American and one white are
killed.

1885 – Erskine Henderson wins the Kentucky Derby riding Joe Cotton.
The horse’s trainer is another African-American, Alex
Perry.

1897 – Sidney Joseph Bechet is born in New Orleans, Louisiana. A
member of both Duke Ellington’s and Noble Sissle’s
orchestras, Bechet moved to France and there achieved the
greatest success of his career. He had been the greatest
jazz soloist of the 1920s along with Louis Armstrong. He
will join the ancestors on May 14, 1959.

1898 – Arthur James ‘Zutty’ Singleton is born in Bunkie, Louisiana.
He will become a percussion musician and bandleader. He
will start as a drummer at the age of 15 and will work in
a variety of bands until he forms his own in 1920. He will
eventually make his way to Chicago and will become part of
the “Chicago School of Jazz.” He will be primarily
remembered for introducing sock cymbals and wire brushes
as percussion accessories. These innovations will place
him in demand as an accompanist for jazz greats like Louis
Armstrong, Fats Waller, Dizzy Gillespie, Jelly Roll Morton,
and Charlie Parker. He will perform primarily in New York
City from 1953 until 1970. He will join the ancestors on
July 14, 1975.

1906 – Ngwazi Hastings Kamuzu Banda is born near Kasungu, British
Central African Protectorate. Even though his official
birthdate is cited as 1906, many sources show his birth
date as 1898. He will become Malawi’s first prime minister
after independence in 1963. In 1966, he will elected
Malawi’s president in 1966. He will lead Malawi until
1994. He will join the ancestors in Johannesburg, South
Africa on November 25, 1997.

1913 – Clara Stanton Jones is born in St. Louis, Missouri. She
will become the first African American director of the
Detroit Public Library and the first African American
president of the American Library Association. She will
join the ancestors on September 30, 2012.

1943 – Tania J. Leon is born in Havana, Cuba. She will become a
pianist, composer, and orchestral conductor. Her music
style will encompass Afro-Cuban rhythm and elements of
jazz and gospel. She will emigrate to the United States
in 1967 and in 1969 will join the Dance Theater of Harlem
as a pianist. She will later become the artistic director
of the troupe. Some her compositions for the Dance
Theater of Harlem will include “Tones,” “Beloved,” and
“Dougla.” She will debut as a conductor in 1971 and
starting in 1980 when she leaves the Dance Theater of
Harlem, will serve as guest conductor and composer with
orchestras in the United States and Europe. In 1993, she
will become an advisor to the New York Philharmonic
conductor, Kurt Masur on contemporary music.

1959 – Soprano saxophonist Sidney Joseph Bechet joins the
ancestors in Paris, France on his sixty second birthday
after succumbing to cancer.

1961 – A bus, with the first group of Freedom Riders, is bombed
and burned by segregationists outside Anniston, Alabama.
The group is attacked in Anniston and Birmingham.

1963 – Twenty-year-old Arthur Ashe becomes the first African
American to make the U.S. Davis Cup tennis team.

1966 – Georgia Douglas Johnson joins the ancestors in Washington,
DC at the age of 88. She was a poet and playwright. While
she never lived in Harlem, she is associated with the
Harlem Renaissance because her home was a regular oasis
for many of the writers of that literary movement. Her
home hosted writer workshops and discussion groups while
also being a place of lodging for those writers when they
visited Washington, DC. Her own poetry and plays were
very popular with African American audiences during the
1920s.

1969 – John B. McLendon becomes the first African American coach
in the ABA when he signs a two-year contract with the
Denver Nuggets.

1970 – Two students are killed by police officers in a major
racial disturbance at Jackson State University in
Jackson, Mississippi.

1986 – Reggie Jackson hits his 537th home run passing Mickey
Mantle into 6th place of all time home run hitters.

1989 – Kirby Puckett becomes the first professional baseball
player since 1948 to hit 6 consecutive doubles.

1995 – Myrlie Evers-Williams (widow of Medgar Evers) is sworn in
to head the NAACP, pledging to lead the civil rights group
away from its recent troubles and restore it as a
political and social force.

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

KRLemmons African American Biography, African American Poetry, Resources

April 4 Poet of the Day: Georgia Douglas Johnson

April 4 Poet of the Day is Georgia Douglas Johnson, who was born in Atlanta, Georgia. Read about this fascinating poet here:

Poets.Org: http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/19686

BlackPast:http://www.blackpast.org/aah/johnson-georgia-blanche-douglas-camp-1877-1966

Modern American Poetry:http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/g_l/douglas-johnson/johnson.htm

Voices from the Gap: http://voices.cla.umn.edu/artistpages/johnsonGeorgia.php

KRLemmons African American History

May 14 African American Historical Events

Today in Black History – May 14 *

1867 – A riot occurs in Mobile, Alabama, after an African American
mass meeting. One African American and one white are
killed.

1885 – Erskine Henderson wins the Kentucky Derby riding Joe Cotton.
The horse’s trainer is another African-American, Alex
Perry.

1897 – Sidney Joseph Bechet is born in New Orleans, Louisiana. A
member of both Duke Ellington’s and Noble Sissle’s
orchestras, Bechet moved to France and there achieved the
greatest success of his career. He had been the greatest
jazz soloist of the 1920s along with Louis Armstrong. He
will join the ancestors on May 14, 1959.

1898 – Arthur James ‘Zutty’ Singleton is born in Bunkie, Louisiana.
He will become a percussion musician and bandleader. He
will start as a drummer at the age of 15 and will work in
a variety of bands until he forms his own in 1920. He will
eventually make his way to Chicago and will become part of
the “Chicago School of Jazz.” He will be primarily
remembered for introducing sock cymbals and wire brushes
as percussion accessories. These innovations will place
him in demand as an accompanist for jazz greats like Louis
Armstrong, Fats Waller, Dizzy Gillespie, Jelly Roll Morton,
and Charlie Parker. He will perform primarily in New York
City from 1953 until 1970. He will join the ancestors on
July 14, 1975.

1906 – Ngwazi Hastings Kamuzu Banda is born near Kasungu, British
Central African Protectorate. Even though his official
birthdate is cited as 1906, many sources show his birth
date as 1898. He will become Malawi’s first prime minister
after independence in 1963. In 1966, he will elected
Malawi’s president in 1966. He will lead Malawi until
1994. He will join the ancestors in Johannesburg, South
Africa in 1997.

1913 – Clara Stanton Jones is born in St. Louis, Missouri. She
will become the first African American director of the
Detroit Public Library and the first African American
president of the American Library Association. She will
join the ancestors on September 30, 2012.

1943 – Tania J. Leon is born in Havana, Cuba. She will become a
pianist, composer, and orchestral conductor. Her music
style will encompass Afro-Cuban rhythm and elements of
jazz and gospel. She will emigrate to the United States
in 1967 and in 1969 will join the Dance Theater of Harlem
as a pianist. She will later become the artistic director
of the troupe. Some her compositions for the Dance
Theater of Harlem will include “Tones,” “Beloved,” and
“Dougla.” She will debut as a conductor in 1971 and
starting in 1980 when she leaves the Dance Theater of
Harlem, will serve as guest conductor and composer with
orchestras in the United States and Europe. In 1993, she
will become an advisor to the New York Philharmonic
conductor, Kurt Masur on contemporary music.

1959 – Soprano saxophonist Sidney Joseph Bechet joins the
ancestors in Paris, France on his sixty second birthday
after succumbing to cancer.

1961 – A bus, with the first group of Freedom Riders, is bombed
and burned by segregationists outside Anniston, Alabama.
The group is attacked in Anniston and Birmingham.

1963 – Twenty-year-old Arthur Ashe becomes the first African
American to make the U.S. Davis Cup tennis team.

1966 – Georgia Douglas Johnson joins the ancestors in Washington,
DC at the age of 88. She was a poet and playwright. While
she never lived in Harlem, she is associated with the
Harlem Renaissance because her home was a regular oasis
for many of the writers of that literary movement. Her
home hosted writer workshops and discussion groups while
also being a place of lodging for those writers when they
visited Washington, DC. Her own poetry and plays were
very popular with African American audiences during the
1920s.

1969 – John B. McLendon becomes the first African American coach
in the ABA when he signs a two-year contract with the
Denver Nuggets.

1970 – Two students are killed by police officers in a major
racial disturbance at Jackson State University in
Jackson, Mississippi.

1986 – Reggie Jackson hits his 537th home run passing Mickey
Mantle into 6th place of all time home run hitters.

1989 – Kirby Puckett becomes the first professional baseball
player since 1948 to hit 6 consecutive doubles.

1995 – Myrlie Evers-Williams (widow of Medgar Evers) is sworn in
to head the NAACP, pledging to lead the civil rights group
away from its recent troubles and restore it as a
political and social force.

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