KRLemmons African American History

November 10 African American Historical Events

* Today in Black History – November 10 *

1891 – Granville T. Woods obtains a patent for the electric 
railway.

1898 – A race riot occurs in Wilmington, North Carolina 
resulting in the death of eight African Americans. 

1898 – The National Benefit Life Insurance Company is 
organized in Washington, DC, by Samuel W. Rutherford. 
National Benefit will be the largest African American 
insurance company for several years.

1919 – Moise Tshombe is born near Musumba, in the then-Belgian 
Congo. He will lead a secessionist movement in Katanga, 
the Congo’s (Zaire) richest province in 1960, following 
independence from Belgium. In January 1963, UN forces 
will succeed in capturing Katanga, driving him into 
exile in Northern Rhodesia, later to Spain. In July 1964, 
he will return to the Congo to serve as prime minister 
in a new Coalition government. Scarcely a year later he 
will be dismissed from his position in October 1965 by 
President Joseph Kasavubu. In late 1965, Prime Minister 
Joseph Mobutu, who had staged a successful coup against 
President Kasavubu, will bring charges of treason against 
him. He will again flee the country, this time settling 
in Spain. In 1967, he will be sentenced to death in 
absentia. On June 30, 1967, a jet aircraft in which he was 
traveling in will be hijacked. He will be taken to Algeria, 
jailed, then placed under house arrest. He will join the
ancestors on June 29, 1969, the official cause of death
listed as “death from heart failure”.

1930 – Clarence M. Pendleton, Jr. is born in Louisville, Kentucky. 
He will become the first African American chairman of the 
United States Civil Rights Commission in 1981(through 
1988), where he will oppose affirmative action and 
busing to achieve school desegregation. He will support 
the Reagan social agenda and hence come into conflict 
with long-established civil rights dogma. He will 
oppose the use of cross-town school busing to bring 
about racial balance among pupils. He will challenge 
the need for affirmative action policies because he will
claim that African Americans could succeed without 
special consideration being written into law. Under his
tenure, the commission will be split by an internal 
debate over fundamental principles of equality under the 
law. The commission will narrow the description of legal 
and political rights at the expense of social and economic 
claims. The debate will center principally between him
and Mary Frances Berry, an original appointee of President 
Jimmy Carter. Democrat Morris B. Abram, also a Reagan 
appointee, will be vice chairman under him. He will 
describe “an intellectual sea change” at the agency with 
the conservative view dominant at that time. Authorized 
under the Civil Rights Act of 1957, the commission will be
reconstituted by a 1983 law of Congress after Reagan 
dismisses three commissioners critical of his policies. He
will join the ancestors on June 5, 1988 after succumbing 
to a heart attack.

1951 – Hosea Richardson becomes the first African American 
jockey to ride in Florida. 

1956 – David Adkin is born in Benton Harbor, Michigan. He will 
become a comedian and actor, better known as “Sinbad.” 
He will get his big break on television’s “Star Search” 
in 1984. He will appear in the television series 
“Different World,” and become the emcee of “Showtime at 
the Apollo.” His movie credits will include “Necessary
Roughness,” “The Meteor Man,” “Coneheads,” “Sinbad-Afros 
and Bellbottoms,” “The Frog Prince,” “The Cherokee Kid,”
“Jingle All The Way,” “First Kid,” ” and “Good Burger.”
He will also produce and emcee the successful “Soul 
Music Festivals” that were held annually for a few years
in Caribbean countries.

1957 – Charlie Sifford becomes the first African American to 
win a major professional golf tournament, by winning the 
Long Beach Open.

1960 – Andrew Hatcher is named associate press secretary to 
President John F. Kennedy. He is the highest-ranking 
African American, appointed to date, in the executive 
branch. 

1968 – Ida Cox, blues singer of such songs as “Wild Women Don’t 
Have the Blues,” joins the ancestors in Knoxville, 
Tennessee.

1989 – The Rhythm and Blues Foundation presents its first 
lifetime achievement awards in Washington DC. Among the 
honorees are bluesmen Charles Brown, Ruth Brown, Percy 
Sledge (“When a Man Loves a Woman”), and Mary Wells (“My 
Guy”).

2006 – Gerald Levert, the fiery singer of passionate Rhythm & 
Blues love songs and the son of O’Jays singer Eddie 
Levert, joins the ancestors at the age of 40, at his 
home in Cleveland, Ohio.

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

KRLemmons African American History

May 28 African American Historical Events

* Today in Black History – May 28 *

1863 – The first African American regiment from the North leaves Boston
to fight in the Civil War.

1910 – Aaron Thibeaux “T-Bone” Walker is born in Linden, Texas. He will
become a creator of the modern blues and a pioneer in the
development of the electric guitar sound that will shape
virtually all of popular music in the post-World War II period.
Equally important, Walker will be the quintessential blues
guitarist. He will influence virtually every major post-World
War II guitarist, including B.B. King, Jimi Hendrix, Freddie
King, Albert King, Buddy Guy, Otis Rush, Eric Clapton, and Stevie
Ray Vaughan. He will join the ancestors on March 16, 1975.

1936 – Betty Sanders is born in Detroit, Michigan. She will become the
wife of El Hajj Malik Shabazz (Malcolm X), Hajja Betty Bahiyah
Shabazz. After the assassination of Malcolm, she will show
herself to be a very strong individual in her own right. She will
face the difficulty of raising six children after witnessing
Malcom’s tragic death. In order to support herself and her
children, she will go back to school, earning three degrees
including a doctorate in education from the University of
Massachusetts. She will teach others and become an international
figure of dignity and discipline. She will work on Jesse Jackson’s
campaigns for the presidency, and will work in the African
liberation struggle to free Angola, Namibia and South Africa, and
to bring democracy to Haiti. She will join the ancestors on June
23, 1997 after succumbing to injuries received in a fire at her
New York home. At the time she will be the director of
Institutional Advancement and Public Relations at Medgar Evers
College in Brooklyn, New York.

1944 – Gladys Knight is born in Atlanta, Georgia. Making her first
public appearance at age four, she will win first place on Ted
Mack’s Original Amateur Hour at seven. A member of the “Gladys
Knight and the Pips” since the early 1950’s, Knight will remain
with the popular group for over 30 years before pursuing a
successful solo career.

1951 – Willie Mays gets his first major league hit, a home run.

1962 – A suit alleging de facto school segregation is filed in Rochester,
New York, by the NAACP.

1966 – Percy Sledge hits number one with his first — and what turned out
to be his biggest — hit. “When a Man Loves a Woman” would stay
at the top of the pop music charts for two weeks. It will be the
singer’s only hit to make the top ten and a million seller.

1974 – Cicely Tyson wins two Emmy awards for best actress in a special
and best actress in a drama for her portrayal of a strong
Southern matriarch in “The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman.”

1974 – Richard Pryor wins an Emmy for his writing contributions on the
Lily Tomlin special “Lily.”

1981 – Mary Lou Williams joins the ancestors in Durham, North Carolina at
the age of 71. A jazz pianist who played with Louis Armstrong,
Tommy Dorsey, Earl “Fatha” Hines, and Benny Goodman, she formed
her own band in 1943. Williams was known for her jazz masses
including one “Mary Lou’s Mass” that was choreographed by the
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in 1971.

1991 – Journalist Ethel L. Payne joins the ancestors in Washington, DC at
the age of 79.

2003 – Janet Collins, ballerina, joins the ancestors at age 86. She was
the first African American artist to perform at the Metropolitan
Opera House.

2014 – Legendary author and poetress, Maya Angelou joins the ancestors at
her home in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. She leaves behind a
body of important artistic work that influenced several
generations. She will be praised by those who knew her as a good
person, a woman who pushed for justice and education and equality.
She will write staggeringly beautiful poetry. She will also write
a cookbook and be nominated for a Tony. She will deliver a poem at
a presidential inauguration. In 2010, President Barack Obama names
her a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the country’s
highest civilian honor. She will be friends with Malcolm X and the
Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and inspire young adults and world
celebrities. She will be best known for her book “I Know Why the
Caged Bird Sings,” which will bear witness to the brutality of a
Jim Crow South.

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

KRLemmons African American History

November 10 African American Historical Events

Today in Black History – November 10 *

1891 – Granville T. Woods obtains a patent for the electric
railway.

1898 – A race riot occurs in Wilmington, North Carolina
resulting in the death of eight African Americans.

1898 – The National Benefit Life Insurance Company is
organized in Washington, DC, by Samuel W. Rutherford.
National Benefit will be the largest African American
insurance company for several years.

1919 – Moise Tshombe is born. He will lead a secessionist
movement in Katanga, the Congo’s (Zaire) richest
province in 1960, following independence from Belgium.
Tshombe will end his secession and accept a
UN-brokered National Conciliation Plan in January 1963.
Eighteen months of further negotiations will lead to
him being appointed Prime Minister, but he will go
into exile in 1965. He will join the ancestors in 1969.

1930 – Clarence Pendleton is born in Louisville, Kentucky. He
will become the first African American chairman of the
United States Civil Rights Commission in 1981(through
1988), where he will oppose affirmative action and
busing to achieve school desegregation.

1951 – Hosea Richardson becomes the first African American
jockey to ride in Florida.

1956 – David Adkin is born in Benton Harbor, Michigan. He will
become a comedian and actor, better known as “Sinbad.”
He will get his big break on television’s “Star Search”
in 1984. He will appear in the television series
“Different World,” and become the emcee of “Showtime at
the Apollo.” His movie credits will include “Necessary
Roughness,” “The Meteor Man,” “Coneheads,” “Sinbad-Afros
and Bellbottoms,” “The Frog Prince,” “The Cherokee Kid,”
“Jingle All The Way,” “First Kid,” ” and “Good Burger.”
He will also produce and emcee the successful “Soul
Music Festivals” held annually in Caribbean countries.

1957 – Charlie Sifford becomes the first African American to
win a major professional golf tournament, by winning the
Long Beach Open.

1960 – Andrew Hatcher is named associate press secretary to
President John F. Kennedy. He is the highest-ranking
African American, appointed to date, in the executive
branch.

1968 – Ida Cox, blues singer of such songs as “Wild Women Don’t
Have the Blues,” joins the ancestors in Knoxville,
Tennessee.

1989 – The Rhythm and Blues Foundation presents its first
lifetime achievement awards in Washington DC. Among the
honorees are bluesmen Charles Brown, Ruth Brown, Percy
Sledge (“When a Man Loves a Woman”), and Mary Wells (“My
Guy”).

2006 – Gerald Levert, the fiery singer of passionate Rhythm &
Blues love songs and the son of O’Jays singer Eddie
Levert, joins the ancestors at the age of 40, at his
home in Cleveland, Ohio.

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

KRLemmons African American History

May 28 African American Historical Events

Today in Black History – May 28 *

1863 – The first African American regiment from the North leaves Boston
to fight in the Civil War.

1910 – Aaron Thibeaux “T-Bone” Walker is born in Linden, Texas. He will
become a creator of the modern blues and a pioneer in the
development of the electric guitar sound that will shape
virtually all of popular music in the post-World War II period.
Equally important, Walker will be the quintessential blues
guitarist. He will influence virtually every major post-World
War II guitarist, including B.B. King, Jimi Hendrix, Freddie
King, Albert King, Buddy Guy, Otis Rush, Eric Clapton, and Stevie
Ray Vaughan. He will join the ancestors on March 16, 1975.

1936 – Betty Sanders is born in Detroit, Michigan. She will become the
wife of El Hajj Malik Shabazz (Malcolm X), Hajja Betty Bahiyah
Shabazz. After the assassination of Malcolm, she will show
herself to be a very strong individual in her own right. She will
face the difficulty of raising six children after witnessing
Malcom’s tragic death. In order to support herself and her
children, she will go back to school, earning three degrees
including a doctorate in education from the University of
Massachusetts. She will teach others and become an international
figure of dignity and discipline. She will work on Jesse Jackson’s
campaigns for the presidency, and will work in the African
liberation struggle to free Angola, Namibia and South Africa, and
to bring democracy to Haiti. She will join the ancestors on June
23, 1997 after succumbing to injuries received in a fire at her
New York home. At the time she will be the director of
Institutional Advancement and Public Relations at Medgar Evers
College in Brooklyn, New York.

1944 – Gladys Knight is born in Atlanta, Georgia. Making her first
public appearance at age four, she will win first place on Ted
Mack’s Original Amateur Hour at seven. A member of the “Gladys
Knight and the Pips” since the early 1950’s, Knight will remain
with the popular group for over 30 years before pursuing a
successful solo career.

1951 – Willie Mays gets his first major league hit, a home run.

1962 – A suit alleging de facto school segregation is filed in Rochester,
New York, by the NAACP.

1966 – Percy Sledge hits number one with his first — and what turned out
to be his biggest — hit. “When a Man Loves a Woman” would stay
at the top of the pop music charts for two weeks. It will be the
singer’s only hit to make the top ten and a million seller.

1974 – Cicely Tyson wins two Emmy awards for best actress in a special
and best actress in a drama for her portrayal of a strong
Southern matriarch in “The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman.”

1974 – Richard Pryor wins an Emmy for his writing contributions on the
Lily Tomlin special “Lily.”

1981 – Mary Lou Williams joins the ancestors in Durham, North Carolina at
the age of 71. A jazz pianist who played with Louis Armstrong,
Tommy Dorsey, Earl “Fatha” Hines, and Benny Goodman, she formed
her own band in 1943. Williams was known for her jazz masses
including one “Mary Lou’s Mass” that was choreographed by the
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in 1971.

1991 – Journalist Ethel L. Payne joins the ancestors in Washington, DC at
the age of 79.

2003 – Janet Collins, ballerina, joins the ancestors at age 86. She was
the first African American artist to perform at the Metropolitan
Opera House.

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