KRLemmons African American History

November 3 African American Historical Events

* Today in Black History – November 3 *

1868 – John W. Menard, of Louisiana, is elected as the African
American representative to Congress. Menard defeats a 
white candidate, 5,107 to 2,833, in an election in 
Louisiana’s Second Congressional District to fill an 
unexpired term in the Fortieth Congress.

1874 – James Theodore Holly, an African American who emigrated 
to Haiti in 1861, is elected bishop of Haiti.

1883 – Race riots occur in Danville, Virginia, resulting in the 
death of four African Americans.

1896 – South Carolina State College is established.

1905 – Artist Lois Mailou Jones is born in Boston, Massachusetts. 
She will win her first award in 1926 and have major 
exhibitions at the Harmon Foundation, the Salon des 
Artistes Francais in Paris, the National Academy of 
Design, and many others. Despite her long career, she 
will not have a major retrospective of her work until 
the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston mounts a show in her 
honor in 1973. She will join the ancestors on June 9,
1998. 

1920 – “Emperor Jones” opens at the Provincetown Theater with 
Charles Gilpin in the title role.

1933 – Louis Wade Sullivan is born in Atlanta, Georgia. He will 
become the founder and first dean of the Morehouse 
School of Medicine and Secretary of Health and Human 
Services, the highest-ranking African American in the 
Bush Administration.

1942 – William L. Dawson is elected to Congress from Chicago. 

1942 – Black and white advocates of direct, nonviolent action 
organized the Congress of Racial Equality in Chicago. 
Three CORE members stage a sit-in at Stoner’s Restaurant
in Chicago’s Loop.

1942 – The Spingarn Medal is presented to Asa Philip Randolph 
“for organizing the Sleeping Car Porters under the 
Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters and securing 
recognition for them; and because of his fearless, 
determined mobilization of mass opinion that resulted 
in… Executive Order No. 8802, which banned racial 
discrimination in defense industries and government work.”

1945 – Irving C. Mollison, a Chicago Republican, is sworn in as 
U.S. Customs Court judge in New York City.

1945 – The NAACP’s Spingarn Medal is presented to Paul Robeson 
“for his outstanding achievement in the theater, on the 
concert stage, and in the general field of racial 
welfare.”

1949 – Larry Holmes is born in Easton, Pennsylvania. He will 
become a professional boxer and world heavyweight 
champion from 1978 to 1985. During his reign, he will 
defend his title more times than any other heavyweight 
in history, with the exception of Joe Louis.

1953 – Jeffrey Banks is born in Washington, DC. He will become 
an influential fashion designer and the youngest designer 
to win the prestigious Coty Award, for his outstanding 
fur designs. 

1962 – Wilt Chamberlain of the NBA San Francisco Warriors, scores 
72 points vs the Los Angeles Lakers.

1964 – John Conyers, Jr. is elected to the House of 
Representatives from Detroit, Michigan.

1970 – Twelve African Americans are elected to the Ninety-second 
Congress, including five new congressmen: Ralph H. 
Metcalfe (Illinois), George Collins (Illinois), Charles 
Rangel (New York), Ronald Dellums (California), and 
Parren Mitchell (Maryland).

1970 – Wilson Riles is elected as the first African American 
superintendent of Public Instruction in California. 

1970 – Richard Austin is elected as the first African American 
secretary of state in Michigan.

1974 – Harold G. Ford is elected U.S. Congressman from Tennessee. 

1978 – Dominica is granted its independence by Great Britain.

1979 – Klansmen fire on an anti-Klan rally in Greensboro, North 
Carolina, and kill five persons.

1981 – Coleman Young is re-elected mayor of Detroit. Thurman L. 
Milner is elected mayor of Hartford, Connecticut. James 
Chase is elected mayor of Spokane, Washington. 

1983 – Reverend Jesse Jackson announces his candidacy for 
President of the United States. Although unsuccessful in 
this and a later 1988 campaign, Jackson will win many 
Democratic state primaries. His candidacy will win him 
national attention and a platform for increased 
representation by African Americans in the Democratic
Party. 

1992 – Carol Moseley Braun is the first African American woman to
be elected to the U.S. Senate. 

1992 – James Clyburn is the first African American to represent 
South Carolina since Reconstruction. He had previously 
served for 18 years as South Carolina’s Human Affairs 
Commissioner.

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

KRLemmons African American History

May 16 African American Historical Events

* Today in Black History – May 16 *

1792 – Denmark abolishes the importation of slaves.

1857 – Juan Morel Campos is born in Ponce, Puerto Rico. He will
become a musician and composer who will be one of the
first to integrate Afro-Caribbean styles and folk rhythms
into the classical European musical model. He will be
considered the father of the “danza.” He will join the
ancestors on May 12, 1896.

1917 – Harry T. Burleigh, composer, pianist, and singer, is
awarded the NAACP’s Spingarn Medal for excellence in the
field of creative music.

1929 – John Conyers, Jr. is born in Detroit, Michigan. He will
be elected to the House of Representatives from Michigan’s
1st District in 1964, where he will advocate home rule and
Congressional representation for the District of Columbia.
He will be the principal sponsor of the 1965 Voting Rights
Act and the 1983 Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday bill, as
well as a founder of the Congressional Black Caucus.

1930 – Lillie Mae Jones is born in Flint, Michigan. She will
become an uncompromising jazz singer using the stage name,
Betty Carter, who will earn the nickname “Betty Bebop” for
her bop improvisational style. She will tour with Lionel
Hampton and Miles Davis during her career. In 1997, she
will receive the National Medal of Arts award from
President Bill Clinton. She will join the ancestors on
September 26, 1998.

1966 – Stokely Carmichael (later named Kwame Ture) is elected
chairman of SNCC, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating
Committee, a group formed during the Freedom Marches and
dedicated to voter registration in the South.

1966 – Janet Damita Jackson is born in Gary, Indiana. Sister of
the famous Jacksons of the Jackson 5 singing group, she
will have her own successful career, first in acting
(“Good Times,” “Diff’rent Strokes,” and “Fame”), then as
a solo recording artist. Her albums “Control” and
“Rhythm Nation 1814” will earn her five American Music
Awards and a Grammy award.

1966 – The National Welfare Rights Organization is organized.

1977 – Modibo Keita joins the ancestors in Bamako, Mali. He was
the first president of Mali, serving from 1960 to 1968.

1979 – Asa Philip Randolph, labor leader and civil rights pioneer,
joins the ancestors in New York at the age of 90.

1985 – Michael Jordan is named Rookie of the Year in the National
Basketball Association. Jordan, of the Chicago Bulls, was
the number three draft choice. At the time, Michael was
third in the league scoring a 28.2 average and fourth in
steals with 2.39 per game.

1990 – Sammy Davis Jr., actor, dancer, singer and world class
entertainer, joins the ancestors in Beverly Hills,
California at the age of 64 from throat cancer. Davis,
born in Harlem, was a member of the Hollywood “Rat Pack.”
He also had starring roles in a host of Broadway musicals
and motion pictures and had been an entertainer for over
sixty years.

1997 – In Zaire, President Mobutu Sese Seko ends 32 years of
autocratic rule, ceding control of the country to rebel
forces.

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

KRLemmons African American History

May 9 African American Historical Events

* Today in Black History – May 9 *

1750 – The South Carolina Gazette reports that Caesar, a South
Carolina slave, has been granted his freedom and a life
time annuity in exchange for his cures for poison and
rattlesnake bite. Caesar and the famous James Derham of
New Orleans are two of the earliest known African American
medical practitioners.

1862 – General Hunter of the Union Army issues a proclamation
freeing the slaves of Georgia, Florida and South Carolina.
A displeased President Lincoln annuls this act. Lincoln
stated, “General Hunter is an honest man…He proclaimed
all men free within certain states. I repudiated the
proclamation.”

1919 – James Reese Europe joins the ancestors after being stabbed
to death by a crazed band member (his drummer) after a
concert at Mechanics Hall in Boston. Europe was one of
the preeminent jazz bandleaders of the early 20th century,
beginning with his association with the team of J. Rosamond
Johnson and Bob Cole in The Shoo Fly Regiment in 1906.
Founder of the Clef Club, Europe joined the 15th, and
later, 369th Infantry Regiments. The military band he
formed during World War I was one of the most popular in
all of Europe.

1936 – After a eight month occupation, Italy annexes Abyssinia (now
Ethiopia). Italy’s dictator Benito Mussolini announces in
front of 400,000 people at the Piazza Venezia in Rome that,
by controlling Abyssinia, Eritrea, and Somaliland, Italy
now has its own Empire. This is the beginning of a five
year occupation, which will end in 1941.

1952 – Canada Lee joins the ancestors in New York at the age of 45.
A jockey and amateur boxer before turning to acting, Lee
achieved wide acclaim for his portrayal of Bigger Thomas
in the 1941 Broadway play “Native Son” and for the film,
“Cry the Beloved Country.”

1960 – Nigeria becomes a member of the British Commonwealth.

1974 – The House Judiciary Committee formally opens its impeachment
hearings against President Richard M. Nixon with
representatives John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) and Barbara
Jordan (D-Tex.) among members of the committee. Jordan, in
particular, distinguishes herself as an eloquent and
incisive contributor to the hearings process.

1977 – Mabel Murphy Smythe is confirmed as Ambassador to the
Republic of Cameroon.

1987 – Chief Obafemi Awolowo, leader of the banned Action Group and
leader of the Yorubas of western Nigeria and first premier
of the defunct Western Region, joins the ancestors at the
age of 78.

1987 – Eddie Murray, of the Baltimore Orioles, is the first
baseball player to hit home runs as a switch hitter in 2
consecutive games.

1994 – South Africa’s newly elected parliament chooses Nelson
Mandela to be the country’s first Black president.

1995 – Kinshasa, capital of Zaire, is placed under quarantine after
an outbreak of the Ebola virus.

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

KRLemmons African American History

May 16 African American Historical Events

Today in Black History – May 16 *

1792 – Denmark abolishes the importation of slaves.

1857 – Juan Morel Campos is born in Ponce, Puerto Rico. He will
become a musician and composer who will be one of the
first to integrate Afro-Caribbean styles and folk rhythms
into the classical European musical model. He will be
considered the father of the “danza.” He willjoin the
ancestors on May 12, 1896.

1917 – Harry T. Burleigh, composer, pianist, and singer, is
awarded the NAACP’s Spingarn Medal for excellence in the
field of creative music.

1929 – John Conyers, Jr. is born in Detroit, Michigan. He will
be elected to the House of Representatives from Michigan’s
1st District in 1964, where he will advocate home rule and
Congressional representation for the District of Columbia.
He will be the principal sponsor of the 1965 Voting Rights
Act and the 1983 Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday bill, as
well as a founder of the Congressional Black Caucus.

1930 – Lillie Mae Jones is born in Flint, Michigan. She will
become an uncompromising jazz singer using the stage name,
Betty Carter, who will earn the nickname “Betty Bebop” for
her bop improvisational style. She will tour with Lionel
Hampton and Miles Davis during her career. In 1997, she
will receive the National Medal of Arts award from
President Bill Clinton. She will join the ancestors on
September 26, 1998.

1966 – Stokely Carmichael (later named Kwame Ture) is elected
chairman of SNCC, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating
Committee, a group formed during the Freedom Marches and
dedicated to voter registration in the South.

1966 – Janet Damita Jackson is born in Gary, Indiana. Sister of
the famous Jacksons of the Jackson 5 singing group, she
will have her own successful career, first in acting
(“Good Times,” “Diff’rent Strokes,” and “Fame”), then as
a solo recording artist. Her albums “Control” and
“Rhythm Nation 1814” will earn her five American Music
Awards and a Grammy award.

1966 – The National Welfare Rights Organization is organized.

1977 – Modibo Keita joins the ancestors in Bamako, Mali. He was
the first president of Mali, from 1960 to 1968.

1979 – Asa Philip Randolph, labor leader and civil rights pioneer,
joins the ancestors in New York at the age of 90.

1985 – Michael Jordan is named Rookie of the Year in the National
Basketball Association. Jordan, of the Chicago Bulls, was
the number three draft choice. At the time, Michael was
third in the league scoring a 28.2 average and fourth in
steals with 2.39 per game.

1990 – Sammy Davis Jr., actor, dancer, singer and world class
entertainer, joins the ancestors in Beverly Hills,
California at the age of 64 from throat cancer. Davis,
born in Harlem, was a member of the Hollywood “Rat Pack.”
He also had starring roles in a host of Broadway musicals
and motion pictures and had been an entertainer for over
sixty years.

1997 – In Zaire, President Mobutu Sese Seko ends 32 years of
autocratic rule, ceding control of the country to rebel
forces.

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

KRLemmons African American History

November 3 African American Historical Events

Today in Black History – November 3             *

1868 – John W. Menard, of Louisiana, is elected as the African
American representative to Congress.  Menard defeats a
white candidate, 5,107 to 2,833, in an election in
Louisiana’s Second Congressional District to fill an
unexpired term in the Fortieth Congress.

1874 – James Theodore Holly, an African American who emigrated
to Haiti in 1861, is elected bishop of Haiti.

1883 – Race riots occur in Danville, Virginia, resulting in the
death of four African Americans.

1896 – South Carolina State College is established.

1905 – Artist Lois Mailou Jones is born in Boston, Massachusetts.
She will win her first award in 1926 and have major
exhibitions at the Harmon Foundation, the Salon des
Artistes Francais in Paris, the National Academy of
Design, and many others.  Despite her long career, she
will not have a major retrospective of her work until
the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston mounts a show in her
honor in 1973. She will join the ancestors on June 9,
1998.

1920 – “Emperor Jones” opens at the Provincetown Theater with
Charles Gilpin in the title role.

1933 – Louis Wade Sullivan is born in Atlanta, Georgia.  He will
become the founder and first dean of the Morehouse
School of Medicine and Secretary of Health and Human
Services, the highest-ranking African American in the
Bush Administration.

1942 – William L. Dawson is elected to Congress from Chicago.

1942 – Black and white advocates of direct, nonviolent action
organized the Congress of Racial Equality in Chicago.
Three CORE members stage a sit-in at Stoner’s Restaurant
in Chicago’s Loop.

1942 – The Spingarn Medal is presented to Asa Philip Randolph
“for organizing the Sleeping Car Porters under the
Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters and securing
recognition for them; and because of his fearless,
determined mobilization of mass opinion that resulted
in… Executive Order No. 8802, which banned racial
discrimination in defense industries and government work.”

1945 – Irving C. Mollison, a Chicago Republican, is sworn in as
U.S. Customs Court judge in New York City.

1945 – The NAACP’s Spingarn Medal is presented to Paul Robeson
“for his outstanding achievement in the theater, on the
concert stage, and in the general field of racial
welfare.”

1949 – Larry Holmes is born in Easton, Pennsylvania.  He will
become a professional boxer and world heavyweight
champion from 1978 to 1985.  During his reign, he will
defend his title more times than any other heavyweight
in history, with the exception of Joe Louis.

1953 – Jeffrey Banks is born in Washington, DC.  He will become
an influential fashion designer and the youngest designer
to win the prestigious Coty Award, for his outstanding
fur designs.

1962 – Wilt Chamberlain of the NBA San Francisco Warriors, scores
72 points vs the Los Angeles Lakers.

1964 – John Conyers, Jr. is elected to the House of
Representatives from Detroit, Michigan.

1970 – Twelve African Americans are elected to the Ninety-second
Congress, including five new congressmen: Ralph H.
Metcalfe (Illinois), George Collins (Illinois), Charles
Rangel (New York), Ronald Dellums (California), and
Parren Mitchell (Maryland).

1970 – Wilson Riles is elected as the first African American
superintendent of Public Instruction in California.

1970 – Richard Austin is elected as the first African American
secretary of state in Michigan.

1974 – Harold G. Ford is elected U.S. Congressman from Tennessee.

1978 – Dominica is granted its independence by Great Britain.

1979 – Klansmen fire on an anti-Klan rally in Greensboro, North
Carolina, and kill five persons.

1981 – Coleman Young is re-elected mayor of Detroit. Thurman L.
Milner is elected mayor of Hartford, Connecticut.  James
Chase is elected mayor of Spokane, Washington.

1983 – Reverend Jesse Jackson announces his candidacy for
President of the United States.  Although unsuccessful in
this and a later 1988 campaign, Jackson will win many
Democratic state primaries. His candidacy will win him
national attention and a platform for increased
representation by African Americans in the Democratic
Party.

1992 – Carol Moseley Braun is the first African American woman to
be elected to the U.S. Senate.

1992 – James Clyburn is the first African American to represent
South Carolina since Reconstruction.  He had previously
served for 18 years as South Carolina’s Human Affairs
Commissioner.

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