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

May 16 African American Historical Events

* Today in Black History – May 16 *

1792 – Denmark abolishes the importation of slaves.

1857 – Juan Morel Campos is born in Ponce, Puerto Rico. He will
become a musician and composer who will be one of the
first to integrate Afro-Caribbean styles and folk rhythms
into the classical European musical model. He will be
considered the father of the “danza.” He will join the
ancestors on May 12, 1896.

1917 – Harry T. Burleigh, composer, pianist, and singer, is
awarded the NAACP’s Spingarn Medal for excellence in the
field of creative music.

1929 – John Conyers, Jr. is born in Detroit, Michigan. He will
be elected to the House of Representatives from Michigan’s
1st District in 1964, where he will advocate home rule and
Congressional representation for the District of Columbia.
He will be the principal sponsor of the 1965 Voting Rights
Act and the 1983 Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday bill, as
well as a founder of the Congressional Black Caucus.

1930 – Lillie Mae Jones is born in Flint, Michigan. She will
become an uncompromising jazz singer using the stage name,
Betty Carter, who will earn the nickname “Betty Bebop” for
her bop improvisational style. She will tour with Lionel
Hampton and Miles Davis during her career. In 1997, she
will receive the National Medal of Arts award from
President Bill Clinton. She will join the ancestors on
September 26, 1998.

1966 – Stokely Carmichael (later named Kwame Ture) is elected
chairman of SNCC, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating
Committee, a group formed during the Freedom Marches and
dedicated to voter registration in the South.

1966 – Janet Damita Jackson is born in Gary, Indiana. Sister of
the famous Jacksons of the Jackson 5 singing group, she
will have her own successful career, first in acting
(“Good Times,” “Diff’rent Strokes,” and “Fame”), then as
a solo recording artist. Her albums “Control” and
“Rhythm Nation 1814” will earn her five American Music
Awards and a Grammy award.

1966 – The National Welfare Rights Organization is organized.

1977 – Modibo Keita joins the ancestors in Bamako, Mali. He was
the first president of Mali, serving from 1960 to 1968.

1979 – Asa Philip Randolph, labor leader and civil rights pioneer,
joins the ancestors in New York at the age of 90.

1985 – Michael Jordan is named Rookie of the Year in the National
Basketball Association. Jordan, of the Chicago Bulls, was
the number three draft choice. At the time, Michael was
third in the league scoring a 28.2 average and fourth in
steals with 2.39 per game.

1990 – Sammy Davis Jr., actor, dancer, singer and world class
entertainer, joins the ancestors in Beverly Hills,
California at the age of 64 from throat cancer. Davis,
born in Harlem, was a member of the Hollywood “Rat Pack.”
He also had starring roles in a host of Broadway musicals
and motion pictures and had been an entertainer for over
sixty years.

1997 – In Zaire, President Mobutu Sese Seko ends 32 years of
autocratic rule, ceding control of the country to rebel
forces.

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

May 16 African American Historical Events

Today in Black History – May 16 *

1792 – Denmark abolishes the importation of slaves.

1857 – Juan Morel Campos is born in Ponce, Puerto Rico. He will
become a musician and composer who will be one of the
first to integrate Afro-Caribbean styles and folk rhythms
into the classical European musical model. He will be
considered the father of the “danza.” He willjoin the
ancestors on May 12, 1896.

1917 – Harry T. Burleigh, composer, pianist, and singer, is
awarded the NAACP’s Spingarn Medal for excellence in the
field of creative music.

1929 – John Conyers, Jr. is born in Detroit, Michigan. He will
be elected to the House of Representatives from Michigan’s
1st District in 1964, where he will advocate home rule and
Congressional representation for the District of Columbia.
He will be the principal sponsor of the 1965 Voting Rights
Act and the 1983 Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday bill, as
well as a founder of the Congressional Black Caucus.

1930 – Lillie Mae Jones is born in Flint, Michigan. She will
become an uncompromising jazz singer using the stage name,
Betty Carter, who will earn the nickname “Betty Bebop” for
her bop improvisational style. She will tour with Lionel
Hampton and Miles Davis during her career. In 1997, she
will receive the National Medal of Arts award from
President Bill Clinton. She will join the ancestors on
September 26, 1998.

1966 – Stokely Carmichael (later named Kwame Ture) is elected
chairman of SNCC, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating
Committee, a group formed during the Freedom Marches and
dedicated to voter registration in the South.

1966 – Janet Damita Jackson is born in Gary, Indiana. Sister of
the famous Jacksons of the Jackson 5 singing group, she
will have her own successful career, first in acting
(“Good Times,” “Diff’rent Strokes,” and “Fame”), then as
a solo recording artist. Her albums “Control” and
“Rhythm Nation 1814” will earn her five American Music
Awards and a Grammy award.

1966 – The National Welfare Rights Organization is organized.

1977 – Modibo Keita joins the ancestors in Bamako, Mali. He was
the first president of Mali, from 1960 to 1968.

1979 – Asa Philip Randolph, labor leader and civil rights pioneer,
joins the ancestors in New York at the age of 90.

1985 – Michael Jordan is named Rookie of the Year in the National
Basketball Association. Jordan, of the Chicago Bulls, was
the number three draft choice. At the time, Michael was
third in the league scoring a 28.2 average and fourth in
steals with 2.39 per game.

1990 – Sammy Davis Jr., actor, dancer, singer and world class
entertainer, joins the ancestors in Beverly Hills,
California at the age of 64 from throat cancer. Davis,
born in Harlem, was a member of the Hollywood “Rat Pack.”
He also had starring roles in a host of Broadway musicals
and motion pictures and had been an entertainer for over
sixty years.

1997 – In Zaire, President Mobutu Sese Seko ends 32 years of
autocratic rule, ceding control of the country to rebel
forces.

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