KRLemmons African American History

November 26 African American Historical Events

* Today in Black History – November 26 *

1866 – Rust College is founded in Holly Springs, Mississippi.

1872 – Macon B. Allen is elected judge of the Lower Court of
Charleston, South Carolina. Allen, the first African
American lawyer, becomes the second African American
to hold a major judicial position and the first
African American with a major judicial position on
the municipal level.

1878 – Marshall Walter “Major” Taylor is born in Indianapolis,
Indiana. He will become an American cyclist and win the
world 1 mile (1.6 km) track cycling championship in 1899
after setting numerous world records and overcoming
racial discrimination. He will be the first African
American athlete to achieve the level of world champion
and only the second black man to win a world championship,
after Canadian boxer George Dixon. He will hold the title
of “the world’s fastest bicycle racer” for 12 years. He
will join the ancestors on June 28, 1932 in Chicago,
Illinois.

1883 – Sojourner Truth, women’s rights advocate, poet, and
freedom fighter, joins the ancestors in Battle Creek,
Michigan.

1890 – Savannah State College is founded in Savannah, Georgia.

1968 – O.J. Simpson is named Heisman Trophy winner for 1968.
A running back for the University of Southern
California, Simpson amassed a total of 3,187 yards in
18 games and scored 33 touchdowns in two seasons. He
will play professional football with the Buffalo Bills
and the San Francisco 49ers and be equally well known
as a sportscaster and actor.

1970 – Benjamin O. Davis, Sr. the first African American
general in the U.S. military, joins the ancestors at
the age of 93 in Chicago, Illinois.

1970 – Charles Gordone is awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his
play, “No Place To Be Somebody.”

1970 – Painter, Jacob Lawrence is awarded the Spingarn Medal
“in tribute to the compelling power of his work which
has opened to the world…a window on the Negro’s
condition in the United States” and “in salute to his
unswerving commitment” to the Black struggle.

1986 – Scatman Crothers, actor, who is best known for his role
as “Louie” on TV’s “Chico & the Man”, joins the
ancestors at the age of 76.

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

KRLemmons African American History

October 15 African American Historical Events

* Today in Black History – October 15 *

1877 – Jackson College in Jackson, Mississippi is established.

1883 – The U.S. Supreme Court declares that The Civil Rights Act
of 1875 is unconstitutional. The Civil Rights Act of
1875 stated that “All persons within the jurisdiction of
the United States shall be entitled to the full and
equal enjoyment of the accommodations, advantages,
facilities, and privileges of inns, public conveyances
on land or water, theaters, and other places of public
amusement; subject only to the conditions and
limitations established by law and applicable alike to
citizens of every race and color, regardless of any
previous condition of servitude.”

1890 – Savannah State College in Savannah, Georgia is
established.

1890 – The Alabama Penny Savings Bank is founded in Birmingham,
Alabama by Reverend William Reuben Pettiford with $2,000
in capital. Although, so strapped for funds in its initial
months that its officers will not draw salaries, the bank
will prosper so well that during the panic of 1893, it will
remain open when larger, white banks in Birmingham fail.

1917 – The first significant group of African American officers
is commissioned by the U.S. Army.

1949 – William Hastie is nominated for the U.S. Circuit Court
of Appeals. He will be the first African American to
sit on the court.

1953 – Toriano Adaryll Jackson is born in Gary, Indiana. He
will become a singer and member of The Jackson Five
known as Tito.

1957 – The Sickle Cell Disease Research Foundation opens in Los
Angeles, California. It is the forerunner to a national
association and over 50 local chapters dedicated to
providing education, screening, counseling, and research
in the genetic disease that affects over 50,000
individuals, mostly African Americans.

1964 – Bob Hayes wins a gold medal for the 100-meter dash in the
1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo with a time of ten seconds,
equaling the world record.

1968 – Wyomia Tyus becomes the first person to win a gold medal
in the 100-meter race in consecutive Olympic games.

1969 – Abdi Rashid Ali Shermarke, President of Somalia, is
assassinated.

1974 – The National Guard is mobilized to restore order in the
Boston school busing crisis.

1989 – South African officials release eight prominent political
prisoners, including Walter Sisulu, a leader of the
African National Congress.

1991 – Judge Clarence Thomas is confirmed as the 106th associate
justice of the United States Supreme Court, despite
sexual harassment allegations by Anita Hill, with a
Senate vote of 52-48. He becomes the second African
American to sit on the Supreme Court.

1993 – African National Congress leader Nelson Mandela and South
African President F.W. de Klerk are awarded the Nobel
Peace Prize for their work to end apartheid and laying
the foundations for a democratic South Africa.

1994 – Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide returns to his
country, three years after being overthrown by army
rulers. The U.N. Security Council welcomes Aristide’s
return by voting to lift stifling trade sanctions
imposed against Haiti.

2005 – The Million More Movement convenes on the National Mall
in Washington, DC. In addition to celebrating the 10th
anniversary of the Million Man March, there is a call
for an end to the war in Iraq, and pointed criticism of
the federal response to Hurricane Katrina.

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

KRLemmons African American History

October 15 African American Historical Events

Today in Black History – October 15          *

1877 – Jackson College in Jackson, Mississippi is established.

1883 – The U.S. Supreme Court declares that The Civil Rights Act
of 1875 is unconstitutional. The Civil Rights Act of
1875 stated that “All persons within the jurisdiction of
the United States shall be entitled to the full and
equal enjoyment of the accomodations, advantages,
facilities, and privileges of inns, public conveyances
on land or water, theaters, and other places of public
amusement; subject only to the conditions and
limitations established by law and applicable alike to
citizens of every race and color, regardless of any
previous condition of servitude.”

1890 – Savannah State College in Savannah, Georgia is
established.

1890 – The Alabama Penny Savings Bank is founded in Birmingham,
Alabama by Reverend William Reuben Pettiford with $2,000
in capital. Although, so strapped for funds in its initial
months that its officers will not draw salaries, the bank
will prosper so well that during the panic of 1893, it will
remain open when larger, white banks in Birmingham fail.

1917 – The first significant group of African American officers
is commissioned by the U.S. Army.

1949 – William Hastie is nominated for the U.S. Circuit Court
of Appeals. He will be the first African American to
sit on the court.

1953 – Toriano Adaryll Jackson is born in Gary, Indiana.  He
will become a singer and member of The Jackson Five
known as Tito.

1957 – The Sickle Cell Disease Research Foundation opens in Los
Angeles, California. It is the forerunner to a national
association and over 50 local chapters dedicated to
providing education, screening, counseling, and research
in the genetic disease that affects over 50,000
individuals, mostly African Americans.

1964 – Bob Hayes wins a gold medal for the 100-meter dash in the
1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo with a time of ten seconds,
equaling the world record.

1968 – Wyomia Tyus becomes the first person to win a gold medal
in the 100-meter race in consecutive Olympic games.

1969 – Abdi Rashid Ali Shermarke, President of Somalia, joins the
ancestors after being assassinated.

1974 – The National Guard is mobilized to restore order in the
Boston school busing crisis.

1989 – South African officials release eight prominent political
prisoners, including Walter Sisulu, a leader of the
African National Congress.

1991 – Judge Clarence Thomas is confirmed as the 106th associate
justice of the United States Supreme Court, despite
sexual harassment allegations by Anita Hill, with a
Senate vote of 52-48.  He becomes the second African
American to sit on the Supreme Court.

1993 – African National Congress leader Nelson Mandela and South
African President F.W. de Klerk are awarded the Nobel
Peace Prize for their work to end apartheid and laying
the foundations for a democratic South Africa.

1994 – Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide returns to his
country, three years after being overthrown by army
rulers. The U.N. Security Council welcomes Aristide’s
return by voting to lift stifling trade sanctions
imposed against Haiti.

2005 – The Million More Movement convenes on the National Mall
in Washington, DC.  In addition to celebrating the 10th
anniversary of the Million Man March, there is a call
for an end to the war in Iraq, and pointed criticism of
the federal response to Hurricane Katrina.

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