Today in Black History - November 18 * 1797 - Abolitionist and orator, Sojourner Truth, is born a New York slave on the plantation of Johannes Hardenbergh. Her given name is Isabelle VanWagener (some references use the name Isabelle Baumfree). She will walk away from her last owner one year prior to being freed by a New York law in 1827, which proclaimed that all slaves twenty-eight years of age and over were to be freed. Several years later, in response to what she describes as a command from God, she becomes an itinerant preacher and takes the name Sojourner Truth. Among her most memorable appearances will be at an 1851 women's rights conference in Akron, Ohio. In her famous "Ain't I a woman?" speech she forcefully attacks the hypocrisies of organized religion, white privilege and everything in between. 1900 - Howard Thurman is born in Daytona Beach, Florida. A theologian who studied at Morehouse with Martin L. King, Sr., he will found the interracial Church of Fellowship of All Peoples. The first African American to hold a full-time faculty position at Boston University (in 1953), Dr. Thurman will write 22 books and become widely regarded as one of the greatest spiritual leaders of the 20th century. He will join the ancestors on April 10, 1981. 1936 - John Henry Kendricks is born in Detroit, Michigan. He will become a prolific songwriter as well as a major rhythm and blues singer better known as Hank Ballard. He will perform with his group, The Midnighters, and make the following songs popular: "There's A Thrill Upon The Hill" (Let's Go, Let's Go, Let's Go), "The Twist"(made famous later by Chubby Checker), "Finger Poppin' Time", "Work with Me Annie", "Sexy Ways", and "Annie Had a Baby". He will be enshrined in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990. He will join the ancestors on March 2, 2003. 1949 - Jackie Robinson, of the Brooklyn Dodgers, is named the National League's Most Valuable Player. 1956 - Harold Warren Moon, professional football player (Minnesota Vikings, Houston Oilers, and Seattle Seahawks quarterback), is born in Los Angeles, California. He will be the first undrafted quarterback and first African American quarterback to be elected to the Football Hall of Fame in 2006. 1964 - The head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, J. Edgar Hoover, describes Martin Luther King as a "most notorious liar". This statement is indicative of the agency head's dislike of the civil rights leader. 1969 - The National Association of Health Services Executives is incorporated. NAHSE's goal is to elevate the quality of health-care services rendered to poor and disadvantaged communities. 1975 - Calvin Murphy of the Houston Rockets, ends the NBA free throw streak at 58 games. 1977 - Robert Edward Chambliss, a former KKK member, is convicted of first-degree murder in connection with the 1963 bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, that killed four African American teenage girls. 1978 - The NAACP's Spingarn Medal is presented to Ambassador Andrew J. Young "in recognition of the deftness with which he has handled relations between this nation and other countries" and "for his major role in raising the consciousness of American citizens to the significance in world affairs of the massive African continent." 1980 - Wally "Famous" Amos' signature Panama hat and embroidered shirt are donated to the National Museum of American History's Business Americana collection. It is the first memorabilia added to the collection by an African American entrepreneur and recognizes the achievement of Amos, who built his company from a mom-and-pop enterprise to a $250 million cookie manufacturing business. 1983 - "Sweet Honey in the Rock," a capella singers, perform their 10th anniversary reunion concert in Washington, DC. 1994 - Bandleader Cab Calloway joins the ancestors in Hockessin, Delaware, at age 86. Information retrieved from the Munirah Chronicle archives and is edited by Rene' A. Perry. |
October 23 African American Historical Events
Today in Black History – October 23 *
1775 – The Continental Congress approves resolution prohibiting
the enlistment of African Americans in the Army.
1783 – Virginia emancipates slaves who fought for independence
during the Revolutionary War.
1790 – A major slave revolt occurs in Haiti, which is later
suppressed.
1847 – William Leidesdorff brings his ship Sitka from Sitka,
Alaska, to San Francisco, California. Earlier in the
year, the Danish West Indies Native had launched the
first steamboat ever to sail in San Francisco Bay. The
ventures were one of many activities for Leidesdorff,
which included appointment as United States vice-counsel
for property acquisition in San Francisco.
1886 – Wiley Jones operates the first streetcar system in Pine
Bluff, Arkansas.
1911 – Three organizations, The Committee for Improving the
Industrial Conditions of Negroes in New York, The
Committee on Urban Conditions and The National League
for the Protection of Colored Women merge, under the
leadership of Dr. George E. Hayne and Eugene Kinckle
Jones, to form the National Urban League. Eugene
Kinckle Jones is named executive secretary.
1940 – Edson Arantes do Nascimento is born in a small village
in Brasil called Três Corações in the Brasilian state
of Minas Gerais. He will become a soccer player and at
the age of sixteen will join the Brasilian National
team. He will be known world-wide as Pele’, seen as
the greatest player in history of soccer. After
retiring from his team, the Santos, he will be
recruited to play for the New York Cosmos in 1971,
playing an additional three years. He will score
1,281 goals in his career.
1945 – Branch Rickey of the Brooklyn Dodgers signs Jackie
Robinson to the club’s Triple A farm team, the Montreal
Royals. In a little under 18 months, Robinson will be
called up to the majors, the first African American to
play major league baseball in the twentieth century.
1947 – The NAACP petition on racism and racial injustice, “An
Appeal to the World,” is presented to the United
Nations at Lake Success, New York.
1951 – The NAACP pickets the Stork Club in support of Josephine
Baker, who had been refused admission to the club a
week earlier. After a city-convened special committee
calls Baker’s charges unfounded, Thurgood Marshall will
call the findings a “complete and shameless whitewash
of the long-established and well-known discriminatory
policies of the Stork Club.”
1966 – “Supremes” Album Tops U.S. Charts. The record “Supremes
A Go Go” becomes the top-selling LP album in the U.S.
It is the first album by an all-female group to reach
that position. One of the most successful groups of
its kind, the Supremes, fronted by Diana Ross, will
have seven albums reach the top 10 during the 1960s.
1968 – Kip Keino of Kenya wins an Olympic Gold Medal for the
1,500 meter run (3 min 34.9 sec).
Information retrieved from the Munirah Chronicle and is edited by Rene’ A. Perry.Wile
The CamaraIfe Maktaba 