KRLemmons African American History

August 6 African American Historical Events

* Today in Black History – August 6 *

1795 – Absalom Jones is ordained a deacon in the Protestant
Episcopal Church.

1816 – Peter Salem, Battle of Bunker Hill hero, joins the
ancestors in Framingham, Massachusetts.

1861 – Congress passes The First Confiscation Act, authorizing
the appropriation of the property, including slaves, of
rebel slaveholders.

1925 – African American lawyers organize the National Bar
Association and name George H. Woodson of Des Moines,
Iowa, as President, and Wendell Gree of Chicago,
Illinois, as Secretary.

1930 – Anna Marie Wooldridge is born in Chicago, Illinois. She
will become a jazz vocalist, songwriter, and actress
known as Abbey Lincoln. She will be widely respected for
her writing skills. She will be one of many singers
influenced by Billie Holiday. She will have a very long
and productive career. With Ivan Dixon, she will co-star
in “Nothing But a Man” (1964), an independent film written
and directed by Michael Roemer. She also will co-star with
Sidney Poitier and Beau Bridges in 1968’s “For Love of
Ivy.” She will also appear in the 1956 film “The Girl
Can’t Help It.” She will continue to perform and
will often be found at the Blue Note in New York City. She
will perform until 2007. She will join the ancestors on
August 14, 2010.

1934 – United States troops leave Haiti, which it had occupied
since 1915.

1941 – An African American private and a white military policeman
are shot to death on a bus in North Carolina during a
fight between African American and white soldiers. This
is the first of a series of serious racial incidents
(between African American and white soldiers and African
American soldiers and white civilians) which will
continue throughout the war.

1952 – Satchel Paige, at age 46, becomes the oldest pitcher to
complete a major-league baseball game. Paige, pitching
for the Cleveland Indians, shuts out the Detroit Tigers
1-0 in a 12-inning game.

1962 – Jamaica becomes independent after 300 years of British
rule.

1965 – The Voting Rights Act is signed by President Lyndon B.
Johnson in the same room that Abraham Lincoln signed the
Emancipation Proclamation. Rosa Parks, Martin Luther
King, Jr., and a host of others witness the signing of
the act, which suspends the use of literary tests and
calls for federal examiners to ensure fair elections in
the South.

1965 – David Maurice Robinson is born in Key West, Florida.. He
will become a NBA center (San Antonio Spurs), NBA Rookie
of Year (1990), and will lead the NBA in scoring in 1994.
He will help lead the Spurs to the NBA Championship in
1999.

1969 – The Learning Tree, directed by Gordon Parks, Jr., premieres.
The film is the first directed by an African American in
modern times.

1973 – Stevie Wonder is nearly killed in an automobile accident
near Durham, North Carolina, where he was to perform in a
benefit concert. Wonder suffers severe brain contusions
and a broken skull and will be in a coma for ten days as a
result of his injuries.

1984 – Carl Lewis wins 2nd (long jump) of 4 gold medals in the
Summer Olympics.

1988 – Once accused by African American artists of racism, MTV,
the 24-hour cable music channel, premieres “Yo! MTV Raps.”
It will become one of the station’s most popular programs.

1994 – In Wedowee, Alabama, an apparent arson fire destroys
Randolph County High School, which had been the focus of
tensions over the principal’s stand against interracial
dating.

1996 – U.S. Officials announce that the Air Force had punished 16
officers in connection with the crash that killed Commerce
Secretary Ron Brown and 34 others the previous April.

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

KRLemmons African American History

June 17 African American Historical Events

* Today in Black History – June 17 *

1775 – Former slave Peter Salem shoots and kills British
Commander Major John Pitcairn, becoming the hero of
the Battle of Bunker Hill. Salem, along with Seasor,
Pharoah, Salem Poor, Barzaillai Lew, and Cuff
Whittmore, fights in the battles of Bunker Hill and
Breed’s Hill. Pitcairn was the major who ordered
British soldiers to fire on the Minutemen at
Lexington.

1822 – In New York City, the first elders of the newly
founded African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Zion Church
are ordained.

1871 – James William Johnson is born in Jacksonville,
Florida. He will become a writer (“Autobiography of
an Ex-Colored Man”), poet, first African American
admitted to the Florida bar, diplomat, executive
secretary of the NAACP, and professor. He will change
his middle name to Weldon in 1913. He also will write
the words and his brother J. Rosamond Johnson will
write the music to “Lift Every Voice And Sing”,
referred to as the “Negro National Anthem.” He will
join the ancestors on June 26, 1938 near his summer
home in Wiscasset, Maine, when the car in which he will
be driving, is struck by a train.

1897 – William Frank Powell, a New Jersey educator, is
named minister to Haiti.

1957 – A major boycott begins in Tuskegee, Alabama. African
Americans boycott city stores in protest against an
act of the state legislature which deprives them of
municipal votes by placing their homes outside city
limits.

1966 – Stokely Carmichael calls for the Black Power Movement
at a Greenwood, Mississippi rally.

1967 – Six days of racially motivated disturbances end in
Newark, New Jersey, in the worst urban violence since
the Watts Rebellion of 1965.

1969 – Jazz musician, Charles Mingus, comes out of a two-year,
self-imposed retirement to make a concert appearance at
the Village Vanguard in New York City.

1972 – Frank Wills, a Washington, DC security guard, foils
break-in at offices of the Democratic National Committee.
The offices at the Watergate complex, are targeted for
the placement of surveillance equipment. This will be the
first event of the Watergate conspiracy. Mr. Wills will
be rewarded for his actions by losing his job and
becoming unable to get another security job in the
Washington area.

1990 – South African Black nationalist Nelson Mandela and his
wife, Winnie, arrive in Ottawa, Canada, en route to an
11-day tour of the United States.

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

KRLemmons African American History

August 6 African American Historical Events

Today in Black History – August 6 *

1795 – Absalom Jones is ordained a deacon in the Protestant
Episcopal Church.

1816 – Peter Salem, Battle of Bunker Hill hero, joins the
ancestors in Framingham, Massachusetts.

1861 – Congress passes The First Confiscation Act, authorizing
the appropriation of the property, including slaves, of
rebel slaveholders.

1925 – African American lawyers organize the National Bar
Association and name George H. Woodson of Des Moines,
Iowa, as President, and Wendell Gree of Chicago,
Illinois, as Secretary.

1930 – Anna Marie Wooldridge is born in Chicago, Illinois. She
will become a jazz vocalist, songwriter, and actress
known as Abbey Lincoln. She will be widely respected for
her writing skills. She will be one of many singers
influenced by Billie Holiday. She will have a very long
and productive career. With Ivan Dixon, she will co-star
in “Nothing But a Man” (1964), an independent film written
and directed by Michael Roemer. She also will co-star with
Sidney Poitier and Beau Bridges in 1968’s “For Love of
Ivy.” She will also appear in the 1956 film “The Girl
Can’t Help It.” She will continue to perform and
will often be found at the Blue Note in New York City. She
will perform until 2007. She will join the ancestors on
August 14, 2010.

1934 – United States troops leave Haiti, which it had occupied
since 1915.

1941 – An African American private and a white military policeman
are shot to death on a bus in North Carolina during a
fight between African American and white soldiers. This
is the first of a series of serious racial incidents
(between African American and white soldiers and African
American soldiers and white civilians) which will
continue throughout the war.

1952 – Satchel Paige, at age 46, becomes the oldest pitcher to
complete a major-league baseball game. Paige, pitching
for the Cleveland Indians, shuts out the Detroit Tigers
1-0 in a 12-inning game.

1962 – Jamaica becomes independent after 300 years of British
rule.

1965 – The Voting Rights Act is signed by President Lyndon B.
Johnson in the same room that Abraham Lincoln signed the
Emancipation Proclamation. Rosa Parks, Martin Luther
King, Jr., and a host of others witness the signing of
the act, which suspends the use of literary tests and
calls for federal examiners to ensure fair elections in
the South.

1965 – David Maurice Robinson is born in Key West, Florida.. He
will become a NBA center (San Antonio Spurs), NBA Rookie
of Year (1990), and will lead the NBA in scoring in 1994.
He will help lead the Spurs to the NBA Championship in
1999.

1969 – The Learning Tree, directed by Gordon Parks, Jr., premieres.
The film is the first directed by an African American in
modern times.

1973 – Stevie Wonder is nearly killed in an automobile accident
near Durham, North Carolina, where he was to perform in a
benefit concert. Wonder suffers severe brain contusions
and a broken skull and will be in a coma for ten days as a
result of his injuries.

1984 – Carl Lewis wins 2nd (long jump) of 4 gold medals in the
Summer Olympics.

1988 – Once accused by African American artists of racism, MTV,
the 24-hour cable music channel, premieres “Yo! MTV Raps.”
It will become one of the station’s most popular programs.

1994 – In Wedowee, Alabama, an apparent arson fire destroys
Randolph County High School, which had been the focus of
tensions over the principal’s stand against interracial
dating.

1996 – U.S. Officials announce that the Air Force had punished 16
officers in connection with the crash that killed Commerce
Secretary Ron Brown and 34 others the previous April.

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

KRLemmons African American History

June 17 African American Historical Events

* Today in Black History – June 17 *

1775 – Former slave Peter Salem shoots and kills British
Commander Major John Pitcairn, becoming the hero of
the Battle of Bunker Hill. Salem, along with Seasor,
Pharoah, Salem Poor, Barzaillai Lew, and Cuff
Whittmore, fights in the battles of Bunker Hill and
Breed’s Hill. Pitcairn was the major who ordered
British soldiers to fire on the Minutemen at
Lexington.

1822 – In New York City, the first elders of the newly
founded African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Zion Church
are ordained.

1871 – James William Johnson is born in Jacksonville,
Florida. He will become a writer (“Autobiography of
an Ex-Colored Man”), poet, first African American
admitted to the Florida bar, diplomat, executive
secretary of the NAACP, and professor. He will change
his middle name to Weldon in 1913. He also will write
the words and his brother J. Rosamond Johnson will
write the music to “Lift Every Voice And Sing”,
referred to as the “Negro National Anthem.” He will
join the ancestors on June 26, 1938 near his summer
home in Wiscasset, Maine, when the car in which he will
be driving, is struck by a train.

1897 – William Frank Powell, a New Jersey educator, is
named minister to Haiti.

1957 – A major boycott begins in Tuskegee, Alabama. African
Americans boycott city stores in protest against an
act of the state legislature which deprives them of
municipal votes by placing their homes outside city
limits.

1966 – Stokely Carmichael calls for the Black Power Movement
at a Greenwood, Mississippi rally.

1967 – Six days of racially motivated disturbances end in
Newark, New Jersey, in the worst urban violence since
the Watts Rebellion of 1965.

1969 – Jazz musician, Charles Mingus, comes out of a two-year,
self-imposed retirement to make a concert appearance at
the Village Vanguard in New York City.

1972 – Frank Wills, a Washington, DC security guard, foils
break-in at offices of the Democratic National Committee.
The offices at the Watergate complex, are targeted for
the placement of surveillance equipment. This will be the
first event of the Watergate conspiracy. Mr. Wills will
be rewarded for his actions by losing his job and
becoming unable to get another security job in the
Washington area.

1990 – South African Black nationalist Nelson Mandela and his
wife, Winnie, arrive in Ottawa, Canada, en route to an
11-day tour of the United States.

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