KRLemmons African American History

April 5 African American Historical Events

* Today in Black History – April 5 *

1839 – Robert Smalls is born into slavery in Beaufort, South
Carolina. He will become a Civil War hero by sailing an
armed Confederate steamer out of Charleston Harbor and
presenting it to the Union Navy. He will later become a
three-term congressman from his state.

1856 – Booker Taliaferro Washington is born a slave near Hale’s
Ford, Virginia. He will become a world renown educator,
founder of Tuskegee Institute. He will become one of the
most famous African American educators and leaders of the
19th century. His message of acquiring practical skills and
emphasizing self-help over political rights will be popular
among whites and segments of the African American community.
His 1901 autobiography, “Up From Slavery”, which details his
rise to success despite numerous obstacles, will become a
best-seller and further enhances his public image as a
self-made man. As popular as he will be in some circles,
Washington will be aggressively opposed by critics such as
W.E.B. Du Bois and William Monroe Trotter. He will join the
ancestors on November 14, 1915. He will become the first
African American to be honored on a U.S. postage stamp.

1879 – Charles W. Follis is born in Cloverdale, Virginia. He is the
first African American to play professional football. He
will play halfback for the Blues of Shelby, Ohio in 1904.
The Blues were part of the American Professional Football
League, a forerunner of the National Football League.

1915 – Jess Willard defeats Jack Johnson for the heavyweight boxing
crown in twenty three rounds.

1934 – Stanley Turrentine is born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He
will become a jazz saxophonist and in 1953, will replace the
famed John Coltrane in the popular big band of Earl Bostic.
After a three-year army stint, which affords him his only
formal musical training, Turrentine comes to prominence on
the New York Jazz scene as a member of Max Roach’s group
in 1959. Over the years, Turrentine’s recordings will
combine musical energies with friends such as Ron Carter,
Roland Hanna, Ray Charles, Freddie Hubbard, Jon Hendricks,
George Benson, Cedar Walton, Herbie Hancock, Kenny Burrell,
Milt Jackson, Joe Sample, Shirley Scott, Jimmy Smith, Grady
Tate, and many others. He will be nominated for the Grammy
Award four times.

1937 – Colin Powell is born in New York City. He will become a
highly decorated Army officer, receiving the Bronze Star and
Purple Heart during the Vietnam War, and will be later
promoted to four-star general in 1988. He will become the
first African American to serve as the Chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff for the U.S. Armed Forces.

1956 – Booker T. Washington becomes the only African American
honored twice on a U.S. postage stamp. To commemorate the
centennial of his birth, the U.S. Postal Service issues a
stamp depicting the cabin where he was born.

1967 – Philadelphia ’76er Wilt Chamberlain sets a NBA record of 41
rebounds in a single game.

1976 – FBI documents, released in response to a freedom of
information suit, reveal that the government mounted an
intensive campaign against civil rights organizations in the
sixties. In a letter dated August 25, 1967, the FBI said
the government operation, called COINTELPRO, was designed
“to expose, disrupt, misdirect, discredit or otherwise
neutralize the activities of Black nationalists, hate-type
groups, their leadership, spokesmen, membership and
supporters, and to counter their propensity for violence and
civil disorders.” A later telegram specifically named the
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and the Southern
Christian Leadership Conference as organizations having
“radical and violence prone leaders, members and followers.”

1977 – Gertrude Downing receives a patent for the corner cleaner
attachment.

1984 – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar breaks Wilt Chamberlain’s all-time career
scoring record of 31,419 points (31,421).

1990 – Seven African American journalists are inducted into the
newly created Hall of Fame of the National Association of
Black Journalists in Washington, DC. Dubbed “pioneers of
mainstream journalism,” the inductees include Dorothy Butler
Gilliam of the Washington Post, Malvin R. Goode of ABC
News, Mal H. Johnson of Cox Broadcasting, Gordon Parks of
Life Magazine, Ted Poston of the New York Post, Norma
Quarles of Cable News Network, and Carl T. Rowan of King
Features Syndicate. Twelve Pulitzer Prize winners are also
honored at the awards ceremonies.

2000 – Ending a two-year investigation, an independent counsel clears
Labor Secretary Alexis Herman of allegations that she had
solicited $ 250,000 in illegal campaign contributions.

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

KRLemmons African American History

February 24 African American Historical Events

Today in Black History – February 24 *

**********************************************************
“Once a year we go through the charade of February being ‘Black
History Month.’ Black History Month needs to be a 12-MONTH THING.
When we all learn about our history, about how much we’ve
accomplished while being handicapped with RACISM, it can only
inspire us to greater heights, knowing we’re on the giant shoulders
of our ANCESTORS.” Subscribe to the Munirah Chronicle and receive
Black Facts every day of the year.
To SUBSCRIBE send E-mail to: <[log in to unmask]>
In the E-mail body place: Subscribe Munirah Your FULL Name
**********************************************************

1811 – The first African American to become a college president
(Wilberforce University in Ohio – 1863), Daniel A. Payne, is
born in Charleston, South Carolina. He will become an
educator, clergyman, bishop, and historian of the AME Church.

1842 – James Forten, Sr. joins the ancestors in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania. A businessman who amassed a fortune as a sail
maker, Forten was one of the most influential abolitionists
of the first half of the 19th century. He also was in the
midst of many significant events and was one of Philadelphia’s
most prominent African Americans. He was chairman of the
first Negro Convention in 1835, helped to organize the 1st
African Lodge of Free Masons in Philadelphia (1787), and one
of the founders of the Free African Society (1787 – which grew
into St. Thomas African Episcopal Church).

1940 – Jimmy Ellis is born in Louisville, Kentucky. He will become a
national Golden Gloves champion and will go on to become the
WBA heavyweight boxing champion from 1968 to 1970. At 197
pounds, he will be the lightest man to win the heavyweight
title in the past 35 years.

1956 – Eddie Murray is born in Los Angeles, California. He will
become a professional baseball player, winning the American
League Rookie of the Year award in 1977. Over his career, he
will hit over 500 career home runs. That will make him the
fifteenth player in baseball history to reach that milestone,
and will join Willie Mays and Henry Aaron as the only players
with 500 home runs and 3000 hits. Murray currently ranks
eleventh all time in hits (3,203), eighth in RBI (1,888), and
ninth in games played (2,950).

1966 – Military leaders oust Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana – while on a peace
mission, in Peking, to stop the Vietnam War.

1980 – Willie Davenport and Jeff Gadley, the first African Americans
to represent the United States in the Winter Olympics, place
12th in the four-man bobsled competition. Davenport had been
a medal winner in the 1968 and 1976 Summer Games.

1982 – Quincy Jones wins five Grammys for “The Dude,” including
‘Producer of the Year.’

1987 – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar of the Los Angeles Lakers scores his first
three-point shot. The leading scorer in NBA history had
already scored 36,000 points. Kareem had never scored more
than two points at a time.

1992 – Edward Perkins is nominated United Nations ambassador by
President George Bush. Perkins had formerly served as
director-general of the United States Foreign Service and
ambassador to the Republic of South Africa.

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

KRLemmons African American History

February 8 African American Historical Events

Today in Black History – February 8 *

***********************************************************************
* “Once a year we go through the charade of February being ‘Black *
* History Month.’ Black History Month needs to be a 12-MONTH THING. *
* When we all learn about our history, about how much we’ve *
* accomplished while being handicapped with RACISM, it can only *
* inspire us to greater heights, knowing we’re on the giant shoulders *
* of our ANCESTORS.” Subscribe to the Munirah Chronicle and receive *
* Black Facts every day of the year. *
* To SUBSCRIBE send E-mail to: <[log in to unmask]> *
* In the E-mail body place: Subscribe Munirah Your FULL Name *
***********************************************************************

1865 – The first African American major in the United States Army is a
physician, Dr. Martin Robinson Delany.

1894 – Congress repeals the Enforcement Act, which makes it easier for
some states to disenfranchise African American voters.

1925 – Marcus Garvey is sent to federal prison in Atlanta, Georgia for
mail fraud in connection with the sale of stock in his Black
Star Line. His prosecution was vigorously advocated by several
prominent African American leaders, including Robert Sengstacke
Abbott and others. Garvey was railroaded because of the power
he had amassed over the African American population of America.

1925 – Students stage a strike at Fisk University to protest the
policies of the white administration at the school.

1944 – Harry S. McAlpin of the “Daily World” in Atlanta, Georgia, is
the first African American journalist accredited to attend
White House press conferences.

1965 – Dr. Joseph B. Danquah, Ghanaian political leader, joins the
ancestors. He had been the leader of the United Gold Coast
Convention, a political body which had pressed the British for
a gradual relinquishing of colonial rule.

1968 – Gary Coleman is born in Zion, Ohio. He will become a child
actor portraying “Arnold” in the television series, “Different
Strokes,” which aired from 1978 to 1986. He will join the ancestors
on May 28, 2010.

1968 – Highway Patrol Officers kill three South Carolina State
University students during a demonstration in Orangeburg,
South Carolina. Students are protesting against a whites-only
Orangeburg bowling alley.

1970 – Alonzo Mourning is born in Chesapeake, Virginia. He will become
a basketball star at Georgetown University and will go on to
play for the NBA Miami Heat. He will be praised for his
courage for making a comeback after undergoing a kidney
transplant and years later winning his first NBA Championship
with the Miami Heat in 2006. Prior to the Heat, he will play
for the Charlotte Hornets and New Jersey Nets.

1984 – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar of the Los Angeles Lakers scores 27 points
while leading his team to a 111-109 victory over the Boston
Celtics. Abdul-Jabbar passes Wilt Chamberlain’s NBA career
record of 12,682 field goals.

1986 – Oprah Winfrey becomes the first African American woman to host
a nationally syndicated talk show.

1986 – 5′ 7″ Spud Webb, of the Atlanta Hawks, wins the NBA Slam Dunk
Competition.

1990 – CBS News suspends resident humorist Andy Rooney for racial
comments he supposedly made to a gay magazine, comments
Rooney denies making.

1995 – The U.N. Security Council approves sending 7,000 peacekeepers
to Angola to cement an accord ending 19 years of civil war.

2000 – Edna Griffin, an Iowa civil-rights pioneer best known for
integrating lunch counters, joins the ancestors at the age of
90. In 1948, Griffin led the fight against Katz Drug Store in
downtown Des Moines, which refused to serve blacks at its
lunch counter. Griffin staged sit-ins, picketed in front of
the store and filed charges against the store’s owner, Maurice
Katz, who was fined. The Iowa Supreme Court then enforced the
law which made it illegal to deny service based on race. She
organized Iowans to attend the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s
1963 march on Washington, D.C., and helped start the former
radio station KUCB. On May 15, 1999, Des Moines’ mayor
proclaimed “Edna Griffin Day.” On February 5, 2000, Griffin
was inducted into the Iowa African American Hall of Fame.

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

KRLemmons African American History

February 5 African American Historical Events

Today in Black History – February 5 *

***********************************************************************
* “Once a year we go through the charade of February being ‘Black *
* History Month.’ Black History Month needs to be a 12-MONTH THING. *
* When we all learn about our history, about how much we’ve *
* accomplished while being handicapped with RACISM, it can only *
* inspire us to greater heights, knowing we’re on the giant shoulders *
* of our ANCESTORS.” Subscribe to the Munirah Chronicle and receive *
* Black Facts every day of the year. *
* To SUBSCRIBE send E-mail to: <[log in to unmask]> *
* In the E-mail body place: Subscribe Munirah Your FULL Name *
***********************************************************************

1866 – The distribution of public land and confiscated land to freedmen
and loyal refugees in forty acre lots is offered in an
amendment to the Freedmen’s Bureau bill by Congressman Thaddeus
Stevens. The measure is defeated in the House by a vote of 126
to 37. An African American delegation, led by Frederick
Douglass calls on President Johnson and urges ballots for
former slaves. The meeting ends in disagreement and controversy
after Johnson reiterates his opposition to African American
suffrage.

1934 – Henry (Hank) Aaron is born in Mobile, Alabama. After starting
his major league baseball career with the Milwaukee Braves in
1954, he will distinguish himself as a home-run specialist.
Aaron will be considered by some, the best baseball player in
history. Over his 23-year Major League Baseball career, he will
compile more batting records than any other player in baseball
history. He will hold the record for runs batted in with 2297,
and will be a Gold Glove Winner in 1958, 1959, and 1960. His
most famous accomplishment will come on April 8, 1974, when at
the age of 40, he will hit a 385-foot home run against the Los
Angeles Dodgers, surpassing Babe Ruth’s record of 714 career
home runs. He will end his career with 755 home runs. In 1982,
he will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. After his
retirement, he will return to the Atlanta Braves as a vice-
president for player development, and will be promoted to
senior vice-president in 1989.

1941 – Barrett Strong is born in West Point, Mississippi. He will
become a Rhythm and Blues singer best known for his recording
of “Money (That’s What I Want).” He will also be a prolific
songwriter, responsible for hits such as “Just My
Imagination,” “Papa Was A Rolling Stone,” and “Ball of
Confusion.” He will receive a Grammy Award for Best Rhythm &
Blues Song for co-writing “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone”. He will
be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2004.

1956 – L.R. Lautier becomes the first African American to be admitted
to the National Press Club.

1958 – Clifton W. Wharton, Sr. becomes the first African American to
head an American diplomatic mission in Europe when he is
confirmed as minister to Romania.

1962 – A suit seeking to bar Englewood, New Jersey, from maintaining
“racial segregated” elementary schools, is filed in United
States District Court.

1968 – Students in Orangeburg, South Carolina try to end the
discriminatory practices of a local bowling alley. Their
confrontation with police and the National Guard, and the
subsequent death of three students, creates widespread
outrage among students on campuses across the South.

1969 – Cinque Gallery is incorporated by African American artists
Romare Bearden, Ernest Crichlow, and Norman Lewis. Located
in the SoHo district of New York City, the nonprofit gallery’s
mission is to assist in the growth and development of minority
artists and to end the cycle of exclusion of their work from
the mainstream artistic community.

1972 – Robert Lewis Douglas, founder, owner and coach of the New York
Renaissance is the first African American inducted into the
Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts. The
New York Renaissance was an African American team that won 88
consecutive games in 1933.

1977 – Sugar Ray Leonard defeats Luis Vega in 6 rounds in his first
professional fight.

1989 – Kareem Abdul-Jabar becomes the first NBA player to score 38,000
points.

1994 – Avowed white supremacist Byron de la Beckwith is convicted of
Medger Evers’ murder, more than thirty years after Evers was
shot in the back from ambush. After deliberating for seven
hours, a jury of eight African Americans and four whites
convicted 73-year-old De La Beckwith of Medgar Evers’s murder,
sentencing him to life in prison. He died there seven years
later. As a Mississippi State Supreme Court justice wrote
about the retrial: “Miscreants brought before the bar of
justice in this state must, sooner or later, face the cold
realization that justice, slow and plodding though she may be,
is certain in the state of Mississippi.”

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

KRLemmons African American History

December 5 African American Historical Events

Today in Black History – December 5 *

1784 – African American poet Phyllis Wheatley joins the
ancestors in Boston at the age of 31. Born in Africa
and brought to the American Colonies at the age of
eight in 1761, Wheatley was quick to learn both English
and Latin. Her first poem was published in 1770 and
she continued to write poems and eulogies. A 1773
trip to England secured her success there, where she
was introduced to English society. Her book, “Poems on
Various Subjects, Religious and Moral”, was published
late that year. Married for six years to John Peters,
Wheatley and her infant daughter died hours apart in a
Boston boarding house, where she worked.

1832 – Sarah Gorham, the first woman appointed by the African
Methodist Episcopal Church to serve as a foreign
missionary in 1881, is born.

1881 – The Forty-Seventh Congress (1881-83) convenes. Only two
African American congressmen have been elected, Robert
Smalls of South Carolina and John Roy Lynch of
Mississippi.

1895 – Elbert Frank Cox is born in Evansville, Indiana. He will
become the first African American to earn a doctorate
degree in mathematics (Cornell University – 1925).

1918 – Charity Adams (later Earley) is born. She will become
the first African American commissioned officer in the
Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps in 1942. She will serve in
the Army for four years and hold the rank of Lt. Colonel
at the time of her release from active duty.

1931 – James Cleveland is born in Chicago, Illinois. He will
sing his first gospel solo at the age of eight in a
choir directed by famed gospel pioneer Thomas Dorsey.
He will later sing with Mahalia Jackson, The Caravans,
and other groups before forming his own group, The
Gospel Chimes, in 1959. His recording of “Peace Be
Still” with the James Cleveland Singers and the 300-
voice Angelic Choir of Nutley, New Jersey, will earn him
the title “King of Gospel.” He will join the ancestors
on February 9, 1991.

1932 – (“Little”) Richard Penniman is born in Macon, Georgia.
He will be known for his flamboyant singing style, which
will be influential to many Rhythm and Blues and British
artists.’ His songs will include “Good Golly Miss Molly”,
“Tutti Frutti”, and “Lucille.”

1935 – The National Council of Negro Women is established by Mary
McLeod Bethune.

1935 – Langston Hughes’s play, “The Mulatto”, begins a long run
on Broadway.

1935 – Mary McLeod Bethune is awarded the NAACP’s Spingarn Medal
for her work as founder-president of Bethune Cookman
College and her national leadership.

1946 – The NAACP’s Spingarn Medal is awarded to Thurgood Marshall,
director of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund,
“for his distinguished service as a lawyer before the
Supreme Court.”

1946 – President Truman created The Committee on Civil Rights by
Executive Order No. 9808. Sadie M. Alexander and Channing
H. Tobias were two African Americans who will serve as
members of the committee.

1947 – Jersey Joe Wolcott defeats Joe Louis for the heavyweight
boxing title. It is also the first time a heavyweight
championship boxing match is televised.

1949 – Ezzard Charles defeats Jersey Joe Walcott for the
heavyweight boxing title.

1955 – The Montgomery bus boycott begins as a result of Rosa
Parks’ refusal to ride in the back of a city bus four
days earlier. At a mass meeting at the Holt Street
Baptist Church, Martin Luther King Jr. is elected
president of the boycott organization. The boycott will
last a little over a year and be the initial victory in
the civil rights struggle of African Americans in the
United States.

1955 – Asa Philip Randolph and Willard S. Townsend are elected
vice-presidents of the AFL-CIO.

1955 – Carl Murphy, publisher of the Baltimore Afro-American, is
awarded the NAACP’s Spingarn Medal for his contributions
as a publisher and civil rights leader.

1957 – New York City becomes the first city to legislate against
racial or religious discrimination in housing market
(Fair Housing Practices Law).

1957 – Martin Luther King Jr. is awarded the NAACP’s Spingarn
Medal for his leadership of the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

1981 – Marcus Allen, tailback for the University of Southern
California, wins the Heisman Trophy. Six years later,
Tim Brown of the Notre Dame “Fightin’ Irish” will win
the award.

1984 – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, at age 37, is the oldest player in
the National Basketball Association. He decides to push
those weary bones one more year by signing with the Los
Angeles Lakers – for $2 million.

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