KRLemmons African American History

September 13 African American Historical Events

* Today in Black History – September 13 *

1663 – The first known slave revolt in the thirteen American
colonies is planned in Gloucester County, Virginia.
The conspirators, both white servants and African
American slaves, are betrayed by fellow indentured
servants.

1867 – Gen. E.R.S. Canby orders South Carolina courts to
impanel African American jurors.

1881 – Louis Latimer patents an electric lamp with a carbon
filament.

1886 – Alain Leroy Locke is born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
He will graduate from Harvard University in 1907 with a
degree in philosophy and become the first African
American Rhodes scholar, studying at Oxford University
from 1907-10 and the University of Berlin from 1910-11.
He will receive his Ph.D. in philosophy from Harvard in
1918. For almost 40 years, until retirement in 1953 as
head of the department of philosophy, Locke will teach
at Howard University, Washington, DC. He will be best
known for his involvement with the Harlem Renaissance,
although his work and influence extend well beyond.
Through “The New Negro”, published in 1925, Locke
popularized and most adequately defined the Renaissance
as a movement in Black arts and letters. He will join
the ancestors on June 9, 1954.

1915 – The first historically black and Catholic university for
African Americans in the United States, Xavier
University, is founded by Blessed Katherine Drexel and
the religious order she established, the “Sisters of
the Blessed Sacrament,” in New Orleans, Louisiana.

1948 – Nell Ruth Hardy is born in Birmingham, Alabama. She will
be better known as Nell Carter and become a Broadway
sensation as a singer and actress in Broadway’s
“Bubbling Brown Sugar”, “Ain’t Misbehavin’ “(for which
she will win a Tony), and for five seasons in
television’s “Gimme a Break”. She will join the ancestors
on January 23, 2003 after succumbing to heart disease
complicated by diabetes and obesity.

1962 – Mississippi Governor Ross R. Barnett defies the federal
government in an impassioned speech on statewide radio-
television hookup, saying he would “interpose” the
authority of the state between the University of
Mississippi and federal judges who had ordered the
admission of James H. Meredith. Barnett says, “There is
no case in history where the Caucasian race has survived
social integration.” He promises to go to jail, if
necessary, to prevent integration at the state
university. His defiance set the stage for the gravest
federal/state crisis since the Civil War.

1962 – President John F. Kennedy denounces the burning of
churches in Georgia and supports voter registration
drives in the South.

1965 – Willie Mays hits his 500th career home run.

1967 – Michael Johnson is born in Dallas, Texas. He will become
a world class sprinter, Olympic athlete, and the first
person to break 44 (43.65) seconds for the 400-meter run.
At the Atlanta Olympics, he also will become the first
man to win the double gold in the 400 ad 200 meters.

1971 – Two hundred troopers and officers storm the Attica
Correctional Facility in upstate New York under orders
from Governor Nelson Rockefeller. Thirty-three
convicts and ten guards are killed. Later investigations
show that nine of the ten guards were killed by the
storming party. This riot will focus national attention
on corrections departments nationwide and the practice
of imprisonment in the United States. A National
Conference on Corrections will be convened in December,
1971 resulting in the formation of the National
Institute of Corrections in 1974.

1971 – Frank Robinson hits his 500th career home run.

1972 – Two African Americans, Johnny Ford of Tuskegee and A.J.
Cooper of Prichard, are elected mayors in Alabama.

1979 – South Africa grants Venda independence (Not recognized
outside of South Africa). Venda is a homeland situated
in the north eastern part of the Transvaal Province of
South Africa.

1981 – Isabel Sanford wins an Emmy award as best comedic actress
for “The Jeffersons”.

1989 – Archbishop Desmond Tutu leads huge crowds of singing and
dancing people through central Cape Town in the biggest
anti-apartheid protest march in South Africa for 30
years.

1996 – Rap artist Tupac Shakur joins the ancestors six days after
being the target of a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas at
the age of 25.

1998 – Sammy Sosa of the Chicago Cubs hits his 61st and 62nd home
runs of the season, passing Roger Maris’ record and
pulling into a tie with St. Louis Cardinals’ Mark McGwire
in this years home run derby.

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

KRLemmons African American History

June 16 African American Historical Events

* Today in Black History – June 16 *

1822 – Denmark Vesey’s slave rebellion in South Carolina is aborted
when his plans are revealed to authorities by slave George
Wilson. After 10 of the conspirators are arrested, one of
them, Monday Gell, informs on the others. Although an
estimated 9,000 are involved, only 67 are convicted of any
offense. Denmark and over 30 others will be hanged.

1858 – In a speech in Springfield, Illinois, Senate candidate
Abraham Lincoln says the slavery issue has to be resolved,
declaring, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.”

1939 – Chick Webb, famous jazz drummer and band leader joins the
ancestors. Webb discovered singer Ella Fitzgerald after
she won an amateur contest at the Apollo Theater. She
performed with his band until his death. After his death,
Ella will take over the band until she starts her solo
career in 1942.

1941 – Lamont Dozier is born in Detroit, Michigan. He will become
part of the legendary songwriting team of Holland, Dozier &
Holland. Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier and Eddie Holland will
write and produce many of the songs that are most closely
identified with Motown. These include “Stop! In the Name of
Love” and “You Can’t Hurry Love” (the Supremes), “Heat Wave”
and “Jimmy Mack” (Martha and the Vandellas), “Reach Out I’ll
Be There” and “Baby I Need Your Loving” (the Four Tops), and
“Can I Get a Witness” and “How Sweet It Is to Be Loved by
You” (Marvin Gaye). These classics are only the tip of the
iceberg, insofar as Holland-Dozier-Holland’s ten-year output
at Motown is concerned. In their behind-the-scenes roles as
staff producers and songwriters, Holland-Dozier-Holland were
as responsible as any of the performers for Motown’s
spectacular success. Dozier and his team will be inducted
into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995.

1942 – Eddie Levert is born in Canton. Ohio. He will become a
Rhythm & Blues singer and will form the group, The O’Jays
with William Powell, Walter Williams, Bobby Massey and Bill
Isles. The group had more than one name until they were
named by Cleveland disc jockey Eddie O’Jay. They will
become a trio in 1971 without Bill Isles and Bobby Massey.
They will record many hit songs including “Back Stabbers,”
“Love Train,” “Put Your Hands Together,” “Time To Get Down,”
“For The Love Of Money,” “Give The People What They Want,”
“I Love Music,” “Livin’ For The Weekend,” “Message In Our
Music,” and “Use Ta Be My Girl.” Eddie will remain with the
group for over forty years.

1943 – A race riot occurs in Beaumont, Texas, resulting in two
deaths.

1969 – The U.S. Supreme Court rules that the suspension of Adam
Clayton Powell Jr. from the House of Representatives is
unconstitutional.

1970 – Kenneth A. Gibson is elected mayor of Newark, New Jersey. He
is the first African American to serve in the position and
the first of a major northeastern city. In 1976 he will be
elected the first African American president of the U.S.
Conference of Mayors.

1970 – A racially motivated civil disturbance occurs in Miami,
Florida.

1971 – Tupac Shakur is born in Brooklyn, New York. He will move to
Baltimore, Maryland to attend the High School for Performing
Arts, where he will begin writing rap music. He will move
to Marin City, California, located near San Francisco,
continuing to write and record rap. He will release many
albums, with the album “All Eyez on Me” selling over 5
million copies. Tupac will join the ancestors on Friday,
September 13, 1996 after succumbing from wounds he will
receive as a result of a drive-by shooting.

1971 – A major racial disturbance occurs in Jacksonville, Florida
and will last through June 20.

1975 – Adam Wade hosts the nationally televised game show ‘Musical
Chairs’. He becomes the first African American game show
host.

1976 – Hector Petersen, a 13-year-old Soweto schoolboy, is the
first to join the ancestors in what will become known as the
‘Children’s Crusade,’ the first nationwide black South
African uprising in the 1970’s. The violence will last 16
months and result in 570 deaths, 3,900 injuries, and 5,900
detentions.

1984 – Edwin Moses wins his 100th consecutive 400-meter hurdles
race.

1985 – Willie Banks sets the triple jump record at 58 feet 11
inches in Indianapolis, Indiana at the USA championships.
Banks breaks the record that had been set by Brazil’s Joao
Oliveria in 1975.

1987 – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar signs a two-year contract with the Los
Angeles Lakers for $5,000,000. The 18-year veteran of the
NBA becomes the highest paid player in any sport.

1990 – African National Congress leader Nelson Mandela, welcomed by
a crowd in the Netherlands, thanks them for staunch Dutch
support of the anti-apartheid movement.

1991 – Natalie Cole’s album ‘Unforgettable’ is released. The album
consists of her rendition of 24 songs by her father, Nat
King Cole, and includes the title track, specially remixed
to include both father and daughter’s voices. It will be
her most successful album, selling over 4,000,000 copies,
and will sweep the Grammy Awards ceremonies in 1992.

1999 – Thabo Mbeki takes the oath as president of South Africa,
succeeding Nelson Mandela.

2002 – The late Rev. W.J. Hodge is honored at a service at the
church where he pastored, as the newest member of the
Gallery of Great Black Kentuckians. A framed poster that
will hang in the gallery is unveiled at the Fifth Street
Baptist Church, where Hodge’s son, the Rev. Phillip Hodge,
became pastor. W.J. Hodge joined the ancestors in December
2000 at age 80. The gallery is meant to teach young people
about Blacks’ influence in the state. Hodge became the 32nd
member. “If all of us did half of what Dr. Hodge did in his
life, this world would be a better place,” said Beverly
Watts, executive director of the Kentucky Commission on
Human Rights.

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

KRLemmons African American History

June 15 African American Historical Events

* Today in Black History – June 16 *

1822 – Denmark Vesey’s slave rebellion in South Carolina is aborted
when his plans are revealed to authorities by slave George
Wilson. After 10 of the conspirators are arrested, one of
them, Monday Gell, informs on the others. Although an
estimated 9,000 are involved, only 67 are convicted of any
offense. Denmark and over 30 others will be hanged.

1858 – In a speech in Springfield, Illinois, Senate candidate
Abraham Lincoln says the slavery issue has to be resolved,
declaring, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.”

1939 – Chick Webb, famous jazz drummer and band leader joins the
ancestors. Webb discovered singer Ella Fitzgerald after
she won an amateur contest at the Apollo Theater. She
performed with his band until his death. After his death,
Ella will take over the band until she starts her solo
career in 1942.

1941 – Lamont Dozier is born in Detroit, Michigan. He will become
part of the legendary songwriting team of Holland, Dozier &
Holland. Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier and Eddie Holland will
write and produce many of the songs that are most closely
identified with Motown. These include “Stop! In the Name of
Love” and “You Can’t Hurry Love” (the Supremes), “Heat Wave”
and “Jimmy Mack” (Martha and the Vandellas), “Reach Out I’ll
Be There” and “Baby I Need Your Loving” (the Four Tops), and
“Can I Get a Witness” and “How Sweet It Is to Be Loved by
You” (Marvin Gaye). These classics are only the tip of the
iceberg, insofar as Holland-Dozier-Holland’s ten-year output
at Motown is concerned. In their behind-the-scenes roles as
staff producers and songwriters, Holland-Dozier-Holland were
as responsible as any of the performers for Motown’s
spectacular success. Dozier and his team will be inducted
into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995.

1942 – Eddie Levert is born in Canton. Ohio. He will become a
Rhythm & Blues singer and will form the group, The O’Jays
with William Powell, Walter Williams, Bobby Massey and Bill
Isles. The group had more than one name until they were
named by Cleveland disc jockey Eddie O’Jay. They will
become a trio in 1971 without Bill Isles and Bobby Massey.
They will record many hit songs including “Back Stabbers,”
“Love Train,” “Put Your Hands Together,” “Time To Get Down,”
“For The Love Of Money,” “Give The People What They Want,”
“I Love Music,” “Livin’ For The Weekend,” “Message In Our
Music,” and “Use Ta Be My Girl.” Eddie will remain with the
group for over forty years.

1943 – A race riot occurs in Beaumont, Texas, resulting in two
deaths.

1969 – The U.S. Supreme Court rules that the suspension of Adam
Clayton Powell Jr. from the House of Representatives is
unconstitutional.

1970 – Kenneth A. Gibson is elected mayor of Newark, New Jersey. He
is the first African American to serve in the position and
the first of a major northeastern city. In 1976 he will be
elected the first African American president of the U.S.
Conference of Mayors.

1970 – A racially motivated civil disturbance occurs in Miami,
Florida.

1971 – Tupac Shakur is born in Brooklyn, New York. He will move to
Baltimore, Maryland to attend the High School for Performing
Arts, where he will begin writing rap music. He will move
to Marin City, California, located near San Francisco,
continuing to write and record rap. He will release many
albums, with the album “All Eyez on Me” selling over 5
million copies. Tupac will join the ancestors on Friday,
September 13, 1996 after succumbing from wounds he will
receive as a result of a drive-by shooting.

1971 – A major racial disturbance occurs in Jacksonville, Florida
and will last through June 20.

1975 – Adam Wade hosts the nationally televised game show ‘Musical
Chairs’. He becomes the first African American game show
host.

1976 – Hector Petersen, a 13-year-old Soweto schoolboy, is the
first to join the ancestors in what will become known as the
‘Children’s Crusade,’ the first nationwide black South
African uprising in the 1970’s. The violence will last 16
months and result in 570 deaths, 3,900 injuries, and 5,900
detentions.

1984 – Edwin Moses wins his 100th consecutive 400-meter hurdles
race.

1985 – Willie Banks sets the triple jump record at 58 feet 11
inches in Indianapolis, Indiana at the USA championships.
Banks breaks the record that had been set by Brazil’s Joao
Oliveria in 1975.

1987 – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar signs a two-year contract with the Los
Angeles Lakers for $5,000,000. The 18-year veteran of the
NBA becomes the highest paid player in any sport.

1990 – African National Congress leader Nelson Mandela, welcomed by
a crowd in the Netherlands, thanks them for staunch Dutch
support of the anti-apartheid movement.

1991 – Natalie Cole’s album ‘Unforgettable’ is released. The album
consists of her rendition of 24 songs by her father, Nat
King Cole, and includes the title track, specially remixed
to include both father and daughter’s voices. It will be
her most successful album, selling over 4,000,000 copies,
and will sweep the Grammy Awards ceremonies in 1992.

1999 – Thabo Mbeki takes the oath as president of South Africa,
succeeding Nelson Mandela.

2002 – The late Rev. W.J. Hodge is honored at a service at the
church where he pastored, as the newest member of the
Gallery of Great Black Kentuckians. A framed poster that
will hang in the gallery is unveiled at the Fifth Street
Baptist Church, where Hodge’s son, the Rev. Phillip Hodge,
became pastor. W.J. Hodge joined the ancestors in December
2000 at age 80. The gallery is meant to teach young people
about Blacks’ influence in the state. Hodge became the 32nd
member. “If all of us did half of what Dr. Hodge did in his
life, this world would be a better place,” said Beverly
Watts, executive director of the Kentucky Commission on
Human Rights.

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

KRLemmons African American History

September 13 African American Historical Events

Today in Black History – September 13 *

1663 – The first known slave revolt in the thirteen American
colonies is planned in Gloucester County, Virginia.
The conspirators, both white servants and African
American slaves, are betrayed by fellow indentured
servants.

1867 – Gen. E.R.S. Canby orders South Carolina courts to
impanel African American jurors.

1881 – Louis Latimer patents an electric lamp with a carbon
filament.

1886 – Alain Leroy Locke is born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
He will graduate from Harvard University in 1907 with a
degree in philosophy and become the first African
American Rhodes scholar, studying at Oxford University
from 1907-10 and the University of Berlin from 1910-11.
He will receive his Ph.D. in philosophy from Harvard in
1918. For almost 40 years, until retirement in 1953 as
head of the department of philosophy, Locke will teach
at Howard University, Washington, DC. He will be best
known for his involvement with the Harlem Renaissance,
although his work and influence extend well beyond.
Through “The New Negro”, published in 1925, Locke
popularized and most adequately defined the Renaissance
as a movement in Black arts and letters. He will join
the ancestors on June 9, 1954.

1915 – The first historically black and Catholic university for
African Americans in the United States, Xavier
University, is founded by Blessed Katherine Drexel and
the religious order she established, the “Sisters of
the Blessed Sacrament,” in New Orleans, Louisiana.

1948 – Nell Ruth Hardy is born in Birmingham, Alabama. She will
be better known as Nell Carter and become a Broadway
sensation as a singer and actress in Broadway’s
“Bubbling Brown Sugar”, “Ain’t Misbehavin’ “(for which
she will win a Tony), and for five seasons in
television’s “Gimme a Break”. She will join the ancestors
on January 23, 2003 after succumbing to heart disease
complicated by diabetes and obesity.

1962 – Mississippi Governor Ross R. Barnett defies the federal
government in an impassioned speech on statewide radio-
television hookup, saying he would “interpose” the
authority of the state between the University of
Mississippi and federal judges who had ordered the
admission of James H. Meredith. Barnett says, “There is
no case in history where the Caucasian race has survived
social integration.” He promises to go to jail, if
necessary, to prevent integration at the state
university. His defiance set the stage for the gravest
federal/state crisis since the Civil War.

1962 – President John F. Kennedy denounces the burning of
churches in Georgia and supports voter registration
drives in the South.

1965 – Willie Mays hits his 500th career home run.

1967 – Michael Johnson is born in Dallas, Texas. He will become
a world class sprinter, Olympic athlete, and the first
person to break 44 (43.65) seconds for the 400-meter run.
At the Atlanta Olympics, he also will become the first
man to win the double gold in the 400 ad 200 meters.

1971 – Two hundred troopers and officers storm the Attica
Correctional Facility in upstate New York under orders
from Governor Nelson Rockefeller. Thirty-three
convicts and ten guards are killed. Later investigations
show that nine of the ten guards were killed by the
storming party. This riot will focus national attention
on corrections departments nationwide and the practice
of imprisonment in the United States. A National
Conference on Corrections will be convened in December,
1971 resulting in the formation of the National
Institute of Corrections in 1974.

1971 – Frank Robinson hits his 500th career home run.

1972 – Two African Americans, Johnny Ford of Tuskegee and A.J.
Cooper of Prichard, are elected mayors in Alabama.

1979 – South Africa grants Venda independence (Not recognized
outside of South Africa). Venda is a homeland situated
in the north eastern part of the Transvaal Province of
South Africa.

1981 – Isabel Sanford wins an Emmy award as best comedic actress
for “The Jeffersons”.

1989 – Archbishop Desmond Tutu leads huge crowds of singing and
dancing people through central Cape Town in the biggest
anti-apartheid protest march in South Africa for 30
years.

1996 – Rap artist Tupac Shakur joins the ancestors six days after
being the target of a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas at
the age of 25.

1998 – Sammy Sosa of the Chicago Cubs hits his 61st and 62nd home
runs of the season, passing Roger Maris’ record and
pulling into a tie with St. Louis Cardinals’ Mark McGwire
in this years home run derby.

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

KRLemmons African American History

June 16 African American Historical Events

Today in Black History – June 16 *

1822 – Denmark Vesey’s slave rebellion in South Carolina is aborted
when his plans are revealed to authorities by slave George
Wilson. After 10 of the conspirators are arrested, one of
them, Monday Gell, informs on the others. Although an
estimated 9,000 are involved, only 67 are convicted of any
offense. Denmark and over 30 others will be hanged.

1858 – In a speech in Springfield, Illinois, Senate candidate
Abraham Lincoln says the slavery issue has to be resolved,
declaring, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.”

1939 – Chick Webb, famous jazz drummer and band leader joins the
ancestors. Webb discovered singer Ella Fitzgerald after
she won an amateur contest at the Apollo Theater. She
performed with his band until his death. After his death,
Ella will take over the band until she starts her solo
career in 1942.

1941 – Lamont Dozier is born in Detroit, Michigan. He will become
part of the legendary songwriting team of Holland, Dozier &
Holland. Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier and Eddie Holland will
write and produce many of the songs that are most closely
identified with Motown. These include “Stop! In the Name of
Love” and “You Can’t Hurry Love” (the Supremes), “Heat Wave”
and “Jimmy Mack” (Martha and the Vandellas), “Reach Out I’ll
Be There” and “Baby I Need Your Loving” (the Four Tops), and
“Can I Get a Witness” and “How Sweet It Is to Be Loved by
You” (Marvin Gaye). These classics are only the tip of the
iceberg, insofar as Holland-Dozier-Holland’s ten-year output
at Motown is concerned. In their behind-the-scenes roles as
staff producers and songwriters, Holland-Dozier-Holland were
as responsible as any of the performers for Motown’s
spectacular success. Dozier and his team will be inducted
into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995.

1942 – Eddie Levert is born in Canton. Ohio. He will become a
Rhythm & Blues singer and will form the group, The O’Jays
with William Powell, Walter Williams, Bobby Massey and Bill
Isles. The group had more than one name until they were
named by Cleveland disc jockey Eddie O’Jay. They will
become a trio in 1971 without Bill Isles and Bobby Massey.
They will record many hit songs including “Back Stabbers,”
“Love Train,” “Put Your Hands Together,” “Time To Get Down,”
“For The Love Of Money,” “Give The People What They Want,”
“I Love Music,” “Livin’ For The Weekend,” “Message In Our
Music,” and “Use Ta Be My Girl.” Eddie will remain with the
group for over forty years.

1943 – A race riot occurs in Beaumont, Texas, resulting in two
deaths.

1969 – The U.S. Supreme Court rules that the suspension of Adam
Clayton Powell Jr. from the House of Representatives is
unconstitutional.

1970 – Kenneth A. Gibson is elected mayor of Newark, New Jersey. He
is the first African American to serve in the position and
the first of a major northeastern city. In 1976 he will be
elected the first African American president of the U.S.
Conference of Mayors.

1970 – A racially motivated civil disturbance occurs in Miami,
Florida.

1971 – Tupac Shakur is born in Brooklyn, New York. He will move to
Baltimore, Maryland to attend the High School for Performing
Arts, where he will begin writing rap music. He will move
to Marin City, California, located near San Francisco,
continuing to write and record rap. He will release many
albums, with the album “All Eyez on Me” selling over 5
million copies. Tupac will join the ancestors on Friday,
September 13, 1996 after succumbing from wounds he will
receive as a result of a drive-by shooting.

1971 – A major racial disturbance occurs in Jacksonville, Florida
and will last through June 20.

1975 – Adam Wade hosts the nationally televised game show ‘Musical
Chairs’. He becomes the first African American game show
host.

1976 – Hector Petersen, a 13-year-old Soweto schoolboy, is the
first to join the ancestors in what will become known as the
‘Children’s Crusade,’ the first nationwide black South
African uprising in the 1970’s. The violence will last 16
months and result in 570 deaths, 3,900 injuries, and 5,900
detentions.

1984 – Edwin Moses wins his 100th consecutive 400-meter hurdles
race.

1985 – Willie Banks sets the triple jump record at 58 feet 11
inches in Indianapolis, Indiana at the USA championships.
Banks breaks the record that had been set by Brazil’s Joao
Oliveria in 1975.

1987 – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar signs a two-year contract with the Los
Angeles Lakers for $5,000,000. The 18-year veteran of the
NBA becomes the highest paid player in any sport.

1990 – African National Congress leader Nelson Mandela, welcomed by
a crowd in the Netherlands, thanks them for staunch Dutch
support of the anti-apartheid movement.

1991 – Natalie Cole’s album ‘Unforgettable’ is released. The album
consists of her rendition of 24 songs by her father, Nat
King Cole, and includes the title track, specially remixed
to include both father and daughter’s voices. It will be
her most successful album, selling over 4,000,000 copies,
and will sweep the Grammy Awards ceremonies in 1992.

1999 – Thabo Mbeki takes the oath as president of South Africa,
succeeding Nelson Mandela.

2002 – The late Rev. W.J. Hodge is honored at a service at the
church where he pastored, as the newest member of the
Gallery of Great Black Kentuckians. A framed poster that
will hang in the gallery is unveiled at the Fifth Street
Baptist Church, where Hodge’s son, the Rev. Phillip Hodge,
became pastor. W.J. Hodge joined the ancestors in December
2000 at age 80. The gallery is meant to teach young people
about Blacks’ influence in the state. Hodge became the 32nd
member. “If all of us did half of what Dr. Hodge did in his
life, this world would be a better place,” said Beverly
Watts, executive director of the Kentucky Commission on
Human Rights.

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