KRLemmons African American History

February 6 African American Historical Events

Today in Black History – February 6 *

1810 – The Argentine national hero from Buenos Aires, Argentina,
Antonio Ruiz (El Negro Falucho), joins the ancestors, fighting
for his country.

1820 – The first organized emigration back to Africa begins when
86 free African Americans leave New York Harbor aboard the
Mayflower of Liberia. They are bound for the British colony
of Sierra Leone, which welcomes free African Americans as well
as fugitive slaves.

1867 – The Anglo-American merchant George Peabody, founds the $ 2
million Peabody Education Fund. It is the first philanthropy
established in the wake of the Civil War to promote free public
education in 12 Civil War devastated southern states for whites
and African Americans. The Peabody Fund will provide funding
for construction, endowments, scholarships, teacher and
industrial education for newly freed slaves.

1898 – Haywood Hall is born in South Omaha, Nebraska. After
relocating to Minneapolis, Minnesota with his family, he will
join the U.S. Army. He will serve with the 370th Infantry in
France during World War I. Returning to Chicago, Illinois after
the war, he will be active as a Black Nationalist, becoming a
member of the African Blood Brotherhood and the Communist Party
of the USA. In 1925, he will adopt the pseudonym, Harry
Haywood. He will be a leading proponent of Black Nationalism,
self-determination, and the idea that American Blacks are a
colonized people who should organize themselves into a nation.
From 1926 to 1930, he will study in the Soviet Union, where he
will meet several anti-colonial revolutionaries, including
Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh. On his return to the U.S. in 1931, he
will be chosen to lead the Communist Party’s Negro Department,
and in 1934 will be elected a member of its politburo. The
Spanish Civil War will take him to Spain in 1937, where he
will fight in a volunteer Communist brigade against General
Francisco Franco’s fascist regime. During World War II, his
belief in black self-determination and territorial autonomy
will put him at odds with Communist Party policy, which had
gravitated away from support for a Black nation in the American
south. His agitation on “The Negro Question” led to his
expulsion from the Party in 1959. He will remain in Chicago,
supporting Black Nationalist movements such as the Nation of
Islam. He will publish “Negro Liberation” (1948), a detailed
analysis of the national character of Black oppression,
particularly in the South. In his later years he will write
his memoirs, “Black Bolshevik: Autobiography of an Afro-
American Communist” (1978). Harry Haywood’s greatest
contribution will be his central role in developing a
theoretical understanding of the Black nation in the United
States. He will join the ancestors in January, 1985.

1898 – Melvin B. Tolson, author and educator, is born in Moberly,
Missouri. Educated at Fisk, Lincoln, and Columbia
Universities, his first volume of poetry, “Rendezvous with
America,” will be published in 1944. He will be best known
for “Libretto for the Republic of Liberia,” published in
1953.

1931 – The Harlem Experimental Theatre Group performs its first play
at St. Philips Parish House. The group’s advisory board
includes famed actress Rose McClendon, author Jesse Fauset,
and Grace Nail.

1933 – Walter E. Fauntroy is born in Washington, DC. He will become a
civil rights leader and minister. He will later become the
non-voting delegate to the United States Congress for the
District of Columbia from 1971 to 1991.

1945 – Robert Nesta Marley is born in St. Ann, Jamaica to Captain
Norval and Cedella Marley. He will become a successful singer
along with his group, The Wailers. Bob Marley and The Wailers
were among the earliest to sing Reggae, a blend of Jamaican
dance music and American Rhythm & Blues with a heavy dose of
Rastafarianism, the Jamaican religion that blends Christian and
African teachings. He will join the ancestors in 1981 at the
age of 36, succumbing to cancer. As a result of his
accomplishments, he will be awarded Jamaica’s Order Of Merit,
the nation’s third highest honor, (April, 1981) in recognition
of his outstanding contribution to the country’s culture. He
will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991.

1950 – Natalie Cole is born to Nat “King” and Maria Cole. She will
follow in her famous father’s footsteps and become a recording
star. She will become a Grammy Award-winning singer, and Best
New Artist in 1975.

1961 – The “jail-in” movement starts in Rock Hill, South Carolina,
when arrested students demand to be jailed rather than pay
fines.

1993 – Arthur Ashe, tennis champion, joins the ancestors at the age of
49. He succumbs from complications of AIDS, contracted from a
transfusion during a earlier heart surgery.

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

KRLemmons African American History

June 16 African American Historical Events

Today in Black History – June 16 *

1822 – Denmark Vesey’s slave rebellion in South Carolina is aborted
when his plans are revealed to authorities by slave George
Wilson. After 10 of the conspirators are arrested, one of
them, Monday Gell, informs on the others. Although an
estimated 9,000 are involved, only 67 are convicted of any
offense. Denmark and over 30 others will be hanged.

1858 – In a speech in Springfield, Illinois, Senate candidate
Abraham Lincoln says the slavery issue has to be resolved,
declaring, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.”

1939 – Chick Webb, famous jazz drummer and band leader joins the
ancestors. Webb discovered singer Ella Fitzgerald after
she won an amateur contest at the Apollo Theater. She
performed with his band until his death. After his death,
Ella will take over the band until she starts her solo
career in 1942.

1941 – Lamont Dozier is born in Detroit, Michigan. He will become
part of the legendary songwriting team of Holland, Dozier &
Holland. Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier and Eddie Holland will
write and produce many of the songs that are most closely
identified with Motown. These include “Stop! In the Name of
Love” and “You Can’t Hurry Love” (the Supremes), “Heat Wave”
and “Jimmy Mack” (Martha and the Vandellas), “Reach Out I’ll
Be There” and “Baby I Need Your Loving” (the Four Tops), and
“Can I Get a Witness” and “How Sweet It Is to Be Loved by
You” (Marvin Gaye). These classics are only the tip of the
iceberg, insofar as Holland-Dozier-Holland’s ten-year output
at Motown is concerned. In their behind-the-scenes roles as
staff producers and songwriters, Holland-Dozier-Holland were
as responsible as any of the performers for Motown’s
spectacular success. Dozier and his team will be inducted
into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995.

1942 – Eddie Levert is born in Canton. Ohio. He will become a
Rhythm & Blues singer and will form the group, The O’Jays
with William Powell, Walter Williams, Bobby Massey and Bill
Isles. The group had more than one name until they were
named by Cleveland disc jockey Eddie O’Jay. They will
become a trio in 1971 without Bill Isles and Bobby Massey.
They will record many hit songs including “Back Stabbers,”
“Love Train,” “Put Your Hands Together,” “Time To Get Down,”
“For The Love Of Money,” “Give The People What They Want,”
“I Love Music,” “Livin’ For The Weekend,” “Message In Our
Music,” and “Use Ta Be My Girl.” Eddie will remain with the
group for over forty years.

1943 – A race riot occurs in Beaumont, Texas, resulting in two
deaths.

1969 – The U.S. Supreme Court rules that the suspension of Adam
Clayton Powell Jr. from the House of Representatives is
unconstitutional.

1970 – Kenneth A. Gibson is elected mayor of Newark, New Jersey. He
is the first African American to serve in the position and
the first of a major northeastern city. In 1976 he will be
elected the first African American president of the U.S.
Conference of Mayors.

1970 – A racially motivated civil disturbance occurs in Miami,
Florida.

1971 – Tupac Shakur is born in Brooklyn, New York. He will move to
Baltimore, Maryland to attend the High School for Performing
Arts, where he will begin writing rap music. He will move
to Marin City, California, located near San Francisco,
continuing to write and record rap. He will release many
albums, with the album “All Eyez on Me” selling over 5
million copies. Tupac will join the ancestors on Friday,
September 13, 1996 after succumbing from wounds he will
receive as a result of a drive-by shooting.

1971 – A major racial disturbance occurs in Jacksonville, Florida
and will last through June 20.

1975 – Adam Wade hosts the nationally televised game show ‘Musical
Chairs’. He becomes the first African American game show
host.

1976 – Hector Petersen, a 13-year-old Soweto schoolboy, is the
first to join the ancestors in what will become known as the
‘Children’s Crusade,’ the first nationwide black South
African uprising in the 1970’s. The violence will last 16
months and result in 570 deaths, 3,900 injuries, and 5,900
detentions.

1984 – Edwin Moses wins his 100th consecutive 400-meter hurdles
race.

1985 – Willie Banks sets the triple jump record at 58 feet 11
inches in Indianapolis, Indiana at the USA championships.
Banks breaks the record that had been set by Brazil’s Joao
Oliveria in 1975.

1987 – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar signs a two-year contract with the Los
Angeles Lakers for $5,000,000. The 18-year veteran of the
NBA becomes the highest paid player in any sport.

1990 – African National Congress leader Nelson Mandela, welcomed by
a crowd in the Netherlands, thanks them for staunch Dutch
support of the anti-apartheid movement.

1991 – Natalie Cole’s album ‘Unforgettable’ is released. The album
consists of her rendition of 24 songs by her father, Nat
King Cole, and includes the title track, specially remixed
to include both father and daughter’s voices. It will be
her most successful album, selling over 4,000,000 copies,
and will sweep the Grammy Awards ceremonies in 1992.

1999 – Thabo Mbeki takes the oath as president of South Africa,
succeeding Nelson Mandela.

2002 – The late Rev. W.J. Hodge is honored at a service at the
church where he pastored, as the newest member of the
Gallery of Great Black Kentuckians. A framed poster that
will hang in the gallery is unveiled at the Fifth Street
Baptist Church, where Hodge’s son, the Rev. Phillip Hodge,
became pastor. W.J. Hodge joined the ancestors in December
2000 at age 80. The gallery is meant to teach young people
about Blacks’ influence in the state. Hodge became the 32nd
member. “If all of us did half of what Dr. Hodge did in his
life, this world would be a better place,” said Beverly
Watts, executive director of the Kentucky Commission on
Human Rights.

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

KRLemmons African American History

February 25 African American Historical Events

Today in Black History – February 25 *

***********************************************************************
* “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 *
***********************************************************************

1867 – Tennessee Gov. William Gannaway Brownlow issues a proclamation
warning that the unlawful events of the Ku Klux Klan “must and
SHALL cease” and that militia would be immediately organized
against the organization. This is in response to Ku Klux Klan
activities in a nine county area. The Klan’s aim is to
reverse the interlocking changes sweeping over the South
during the Reconstruction: to destroy the Republican’s party’s
infrastructure, undermine the Reconstruction state, reestablish
control of the black labor force, and restore racial
subordination in every aspect of Southern life. (Editor’s Note:
The KKK was founded in Pulaski, Tennessee on December 15, 1865)

1870 – Hiram Rhoades Revels of Mississippi becomes the first African
American Senator. He is elected by the Mississippi legislature
to fill the Senate seat vacated by Jefferson Davis. After the
Senate term expires, he will become the first President of
Alcorn A&M College, in Lorman, Mississippi (the first African
American land-grant institution in the United States).

1948 – Martin Luther King, Jr. is ordained as a Baptist minister.
After graduating from Morehouse College in June, 1948, he will
enter the Crozer Theological Seminary in Chester, Pennsylvania.

1964 – Twenty-two year old Cassius Clay becomes world heavyweight
boxing champion when he defeats Sonny Liston in Miami, Florida.
The feared Liston is the favorite, but Clay predicts he will
“float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.” Soon after his
victory, Clay will assume his Muslim name of Muhammad Ali. He
will be considered by many, the greatest heavyweight champion
of all time.

1978 – Daniel “Chappie” James, Jr. joins the ancestors at the age of
58 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. James was an early graduate
of the Tuskegee Institute Flying School and flew more than 100
missions during the Korean War. He was the first African
American to achieve the rank of four-star general.

1980 – Robert E. Hayden, African American poet and former poetry
consultant to the Library of Congress, joins the ancestors in
Ann Arbor, Michigan. Hayden’s most notable works include
“Words in Mourning Time and Angle of Ascent: New and Selected
Poems.”

1991 – Adrienne Mitchell becomes the first African American woman to
die in a combat zone in the Persian Gulf War when she joins
the ancestors after being killed in her military barracks in
Dharan, Saudi Arabia.

1992 – Natalie Cole, Patti LaBelle, Lisa Fischer, Luther Vandross,
B.B. King, Boyz II Men, and James Brown, among others, win
Grammy awards in ceremonies hosted by Whoopi Goldberg.

1999 – A jury in Jasper, Texas, sentences white supremacist John
William King to death for chaining James Byrd Jr., an African
American man, to a pickup truck and dragging him to pieces.

2000 – The killers of unarmed African immigrant Amadou Diallo, four
white New York police officers, are acquitted of all charges
by a jury in Albany, New York. Diallo had been fired upon 41
times, with 19 shots hitting him while holding only his wallet
in the vestibule of his own home.

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

KRLemmons African American History

February 6 African American Historical Events

Today in Black History – February 6 *

***********************************************************************
* “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 *
***********************************************************************

1810 – The Argentine national hero from Buenos Aires, Argentina,
Antonio Ruiz (El Negro Falucho), joins the ancestors, fighting
for his country.

1820 – The first organized emigration back to Africa begins when
86 free African Americans leave New York Harbor aboard the
Mayflower of Liberia. They are bound for the British colony
of Sierra Leone, which welcomes free African Americans as well
as fugitive slaves.

1867 – The Anglo-American merchant George Peabody, founds the $ 2
million Peabody Education Fund. It is the first philanthropy
established in the wake of the Civil War to promote free public
education in 12 Civil War devastated southern states for whites
and African Americans. The Peabody Fund will provide funding
for construction, endowments, scholarships, teacher and
industrial education for newly freed slaves.

1898 – Haywood Hall is born in South Omaha, Nebraska. After
relocating to Minneapolis, Minnesota with his family, he will
join the U.S. Army. He will serve with the 370th Infantry in
France during World War I. Returning to Chicago, Illinois after
the war, he will be active as a Black Nationalist, becoming a
member of the African Blood Brotherhood and the Communist Party
of the USA. In 1925, he will adopt the pseudonym, Harry
Haywood. He will be a leading proponent of Black Nationalism,
self-determination, and the idea that American Blacks are a
colonized people who should organize themselves into a nation.
From 1926 to 1930, he will study in the Soviet Union, where he
will meet several anti-colonial revolutionaries, including
Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh. On his return to the U.S. in 1931, he
will be chosen to lead the Communist Party’s Negro Department,
and in 1934 will be elected a member of its politburo. The
Spanish Civil War will take him to Spain in 1937, where he
will fight in a volunteer Communist brigade against General
Francisco Franco’s fascist regime. During World War II, his
belief in black self-determination and territorial autonomy
will put him at odds with Communist Party policy, which had
gravitated away from support for a Black nation in the American
south. His agitation on “The Negro Question” led to his
expulsion from the Party in 1959. He will remain in Chicago,
supporting Black Nationalist movements such as the Nation of
Islam. He will publish “Negro Liberation” (1948), a detailed
analysis of the national character of Black oppression,
particularly in the South. In his later years he will write
his memoirs, “Black Bolshevik: Autobiography of an Afro-
American Communist” (1978). Harry Haywood’s greatest
contribution will be his central role in developing a
theoretical understanding of the Black nation in the United
States. He will join the ancestors in January, 1985.

1898 – Melvin B. Tolson, author and educator, is born in Moberly,
Missouri. Educated at Fisk, Lincoln, and Columbia
Universities, his first volume of poetry, “Rendezvous with
America,” will be published in 1944. He will be best known
for “Libretto for the Republic of Liberia,” published in
1953.

1931 – The Harlem Experimental Theatre Group performs its first play
at St. Philips Parish House. The group’s advisory board
includes famed actress Rose McClendon, author Jesse Fauset,
and Grace Nail.

1933 – Walter E. Fauntroy is born in Washington, DC. He will become a
civil rights leader and minister. He will later become the
non-voting delegate to the United States Congress for the
District of Columbia from 1971 to 1991.

1945 – Robert Nesta Marley is born in St. Ann, Jamaica to Captain
Norval and Cedella Marley. He will become a successful singer
along with his group, The Wailers. Bob Marley and The Wailers
were among the earliest to sing Reggae, a blend of Jamaican
dance music and American Rhythm & Blues with a heavy dose of
Rastafarianism, the Jamaican religion that blends Christian and
African teachings. He will join the ancestors in 1981 at the
age of 36, succumbing to cancer. As a result of his
accomplishments, he will be awarded Jamaica’s Order Of Merit,
the nation’s third highest honor, (April, 1981) in recognition
of his outstanding contribution to the country’s culture. He
will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991.

1950 – Natalie Cole is born to Nat “King” and Maria Cole. She will
follow in her famous father’s footsteps and become a recording
star. She will become a Grammy Award-winning singer, and Best
New Artist in 1975.

1961 – The “jail-in” movement starts in Rock Hill, South Carolina,
when arrested students demand to be jailed rather than pay
fines.

1993 – Arthur Ashe, tennis champion, joins the ancestors at the age of
49. He succumbs from complications of AIDS, contracted from a
transfusion during a earlier heart surgery.

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