KRLemmons African American History

August 11 African American Historical Events

Today in Black History – August 11 *

1841 – African American abolitionist Frederick Douglass delivers
his first public speech before the Massachusetts Anti-
Slavery Society in Nantucket. Having escaped from
slavery only three years earlier, Douglass is legally a
fugitive when he delivers his speech about his life as a
slave. The Massachusetts Society immediately hires
Douglass as a full-time lecturer.

1873 – John Rosamond Johnson is born in Jacksonville, Florida.
He will, with Bob Cole, be part of the famous vaudeville
team Cole & Johnson. He will best be remembered as a
composer who, with his brother James Weldon Johnson
providing the lyrics, will write “Lift Every Voice and
Sing.” He will join the ancestors on November 11, 1954.

1921 – Alexander Murray Palmer Haley is born in Ithaca, New York.
He will become an award-winning author, most notably for his
authorship with Malcolm X of the latter’s autobiography and
for “Roots”, which will win a special Pulitzer Prize.
“Roots” will be his most successful work, selling over 1
million copies and contributing to a new interest in
African American history. He will join the ancestors on
February 10, 1992 in Seattle, Washington.

1925 – Carl T. Rowan is born in Ravencroft, Tennessee. He will
become one of America’s most outspoken journalist with
NBC News and The Chicago Daily News. As an author, he
will write “Dream Makers, Dream Breakers:The World of
Justice Thurgood Marshall,” “Breaking Barriers,” “Wait
Till Next Year,” “Go South in Sorrow,” and “South of
Freedom.” He will be appointed to the positions of
Director: U.S. Information Agency and U.S. Ambassador to
Finland. He will join the ancestors on September 23, 2000.

1942 – Otis Taylor is born in Houston, Texas. He will become a
professional football player with the Kansas City Chiefs,
playing wide receiver. He will be the UPI AFC Player of
the Year in 1971, and will help lead his team to Super
Bowl I and a victory in Super Bowl IV.

1948 – Amanda Randolph appears on the television series “The
Laytons” on the Dumont Network. She and Bob Howard of
CBS’ “The Bob Howard Show”, which premiered earlier in
the summer, are the first African Americans to be
featured in a national network television series.

1949 – Peter Marshall Murray of New York is appointed to the
American Medical Association’s House of Delegates.

1960 – The African country of Chad declares independence from
France.

1962 – After integrated groups try to use the facilities, police
close the Municipal parks and library in Albany, Georgia.

1964 – A racially motivated disturbance occurs in Paterson, New
Jersey.

1965 – Racially motivated disturbances start in the Watts section
of Los Angeles, California. In six days, the death toll
will stand at 34, 1,032 persons will be injured, 3952 will
be arrested and $ 35 million in property will be lost.

1965 – The U.S. Senate confirms the nomination of Thurgood
Marshall as U.S. Solicitor General.

1980 – Reggie Jackson hits his 400th homer.

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

KRLemmons African American History

May 24 African American Historical Events

* Today in Black History – May 24 *

1854 – Anthony Burns, celebrated fugitive slave, is arrested by United States
Deputy Marshals in Boston, Massachusetts.

1861 – Major General Benjamin F. Butler declare slaves “contraband of war.”

1864 – Two regiments, the First and Tenth U.S. Colored Troops, repulse an
attack by rebel General Fitzhugh Lee. Also participating in battle
at Wilson’s Wharf Landing, on the bank of the James River, were a
small detachment of white Union troops and a battery of light
artillery.

1881 – Paul Quinn College is chartered in the State of Texas. The college,
founded in 1872, had moved from its original site in Austin to Waco in
1877.

1918 – Coleman Alexander Young is born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. He will fight
as a bombardier-navigator with the Tuskegee Airmen during World War II
and will settle in Detroit and work as an auto worker after the war.
In 1948, he will become the first African American elected to the
Wayne County Council of the AFL-CIO. He will found the National Negro
Labor Council in 1951. Walter Reuther and other white leaders of the
labor movement will refer to the NNLC as a tool of the Soviet Union
and cause Young to be called to testify before the House Committee on
Un-American Activities in 1952. He will reach the pinnacle of his
political career when, as a state senator, he is elected the first
African American mayor of the city of Detroit, Michigan in 1973. He
will revitalize Detroit, integrate the police and fire departments,
and will significantly increase the number of city contracts with
minority businesses. He will be elected mayor for an unprecedented
five terms. He will step down as mayor in 1993 at the age of 75. He
will join the ancestors on November 29, 1997, succumbing to
respiratory failure.

1937 – Archie Shepp is born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He will become a
renowned avant-garde jazz saxophonist and play with a variety of jazz
greats including John Coltrane, Bobby Hutcherson, and Donald Cherry.
He also will be a composer of jazz instrumental compositions and the
play “Lady Day: A Musical Tragedy.” He will use free jazz as a vehicle
for political expression and will be an important factor in the growing
acceptance of African American identity. He will become an Associate
Professor at the University of Massachusetts but will continue his
concert career at the same time, working mostly in Europe. He will be a
seminal figure in the development of the New Music and influence many
saxophonists of the avant-garde.

1944 – Patricia Louise Holt is born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She will be
better known as Patti LaBelle, organizer and lead singer of Patti LaBelle
and the Bluebells in 1960. In the 1970’s, she will reconfigure the group
and later reteam with Nona Hendryx and Sara Dash as LaBelle. In 1976,
LaBelle will pursue a solo career, gain even more critical and popular
acclaim, and win a 1992 Grammy.

1951 – Racial segregation in Washington, DC, restaurants is ruled illegal by the
Municipal Court of Appeals.

1954 – Peter Marshall Murray is installed as president of the New York County
Medical Society. He is the first African American physician to head an
AMA affiliate.

1961 – Twenty-seven Freedom Riders are arrested in Jackson, Mississippi.

1963 – The Organization of African Unity is founded in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

1974 – Edward “Duke” Ellington joins the ancestors in New York City at the age
of 75. For nearly half a century, Duke Ellington led the premier American
big-band, and is considered by many sources to be the greatest composer
in the history of jazz.

1983 – Jesse L. Jackson becomes the first African American to address a joint
session of a state legislature in the 20th century, when he talks to the
Alabama legislature.

1984 – Ralph Sampson of the Houston Rockets becomes the first unanimous choice
for NBA Rookie of the Year since Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul-Jabar) of
the Los Angeles Lakers in 1970.

1991 – Hal McRae is named manager of the Kansas City Royals. He will become one
of two African American managers serving in major league baseball.

1993 – The African nation of Eritrea gains independence from Ethiopia.

2000 – Isiah Thomas and Bob McAdoo are elected to be enshrined in the 2000 class
of the Basketball Hall of Fame.

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

KRLemmons African American History

May 24 African American Historical Events

Today in Black History – May 24 *

1854 – Anthony Burns, celebrated fugitive slave, is arrested by United States
Deputy Marshals in Boston, Massachusetts.

1861 – Major General Benjamin F. Butler declare slaves “contraband of war.”

1864 – Two regiments, the First and Tenth U.S. Colored Troops, repulse an
attack by rebel General Fitzhugh Lee. Also participating in battle
at Wilson’s Wharf Landing, on the bank of the James River, were a
small detachment of white Union troops and a battery of light
artillery.

1881 – Paul Quinn College is chartered in the State of Texas. The college,
founded in 1872, had moved from its original site in Austin to Waco in
1877.

1918 – Coleman Alexander Young is born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. He will fight
as a bombardier-navigator with the Tuskegee Airmen during World War II
and will settle in Detroit and work as an auto worker after the war.
In 1948, he will become the first African American elected to the
Wayne County Council of the AFL-CIO. He will found the National Negro
Labor Council in 1951. Walter Reuther and other white leaders of the
labor movement will refer to the NNLC as a tool of the Soviet Union
and cause Young to be called to testify before the House Committee on
Un-American Activities in 1952. He will reach the pinnacle of his
political career when, as a state senator, he is elected the first
African American mayor of the city of Detroit, Michigan in 1973. He
will revitalize Detroit, integrate the police and fire departments,
and will significantly increase the number of city contracts with
minority businesses. He will be elected mayor for an unprecedented
five terms. He will step down as mayor in 1993 at the age of 75. He
will join the ancestors on November 29, 1997, succumbing to
respiratory failure.

1937 – Archie Shepp is born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He will become a
renowned avant-garde jazz saxophonist and play with a variety of jazz
greats including John Coltrane, Bobby Hutcherson, and Donald Cherry.
He also will be a composer of jazz instrumental compositions and the
play “Lady Day: A Musical Tragedy.” He will use free jazz as a vehicle
for political expression and will be an important factor in the growing
acceptance of African American identity. He will become an Associate
Professor at the University of Massachusetts but will continue his
concert career at the same time, working mostly in Europe. He will be a
seminal figure in the development of the New Music and influence many
saxophonists of the avant-garde.

1944 – Patricia Louise Holt is born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She will be
better known as Patti LaBelle, organizer and lead singer of Patti LaBelle
and the Bluebells in 1960. In the 1970’s, she will reconfigure the group
and later reteam with Nona Hendryx and Sara Dash as LaBelle. In 1976,
LaBelle will pursue a solo career, gain even more critical and popular
acclaim, and win a 1992 Grammy.

1951 – Racial segregation in Washington, DC, restaurants is ruled illegal by the
Municipal Court of Appeals.

1954 – Peter Marshall Murray is installed as president of the New York County
Medical Society. He is the first African American physician to head an
AMA affiliate.

1961 – Twenty-seven Freedom Riders are arrested in Jackson, Mississippi.

1963 – The Organization of African Unity is founded in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

1974 – Edward “Duke” Ellington joins the ancestors in New York City at the age
of 75. For nearly half a century, Duke Ellington led the premier American
big-band, and is considered by many sources to be the greatest composer
in the history of jazz.

1983 – Jesse L. Jackson becomes the first African American to address a joint
session of a state legislature in the 20th century, when he talks to the
Alabama legislature.

1984 – Ralph Sampson of the Houston Rockets becomes the first unanimous choice
for NBA Rookie of the Year since Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul-Jabar) of
the Los Angeles Lakers in 1970.

1991 – Hal McRae is named manager of the Kansas City Royals. He will become one
of two African American managers serving in major league baseball.

1993 – The African nation of Eritrea gains independence from Ethiopia.

2000 – Isiah Thomas and Bob McAdoo are elected to be enshrined in the 2000 class
of the Basketball Hall of Fame.

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