October 27 African American Historical Events

Today in Black History – October 27 *

1890 – Charles H. Garvin is born in Jacksonville, Florida. He will
graduate from Howard University”s medical school in 1915.
He will practice medicine in Cleveland, Ohio from 1916 until
he joins the ancestors on July 17, 1968. During WORLD WAR I,
he will become the first black physician commissioned in the
U.S. Army, serving in France as commanding officer in the
92nd Division. His interest in medicine will extended beyond
his practice to research and writing, especially tracing the
history of Africans and African Americans in medicine. He will
amass an important collection of books on the black experience
and also complete a manuscript (unpublished as of 1994) and
write several articles on the subject. His account of the
history of blacks in medicine in Cleveland will be published
in 1939 in the ‘Women”s Voice,’ a national women”s magazine.
He will be a founder of the Dunbar Life Insurance Company and
assist in organizing Quincy Savings & Loan, serving as a
director and board chairman. He will also pioneer integrated
housing during a period of intense racial separation in the
city, living in the home he built on Wade Park Ave., an
exclusive allotment, despite threats of violence and two
bombings. He will be a trustee of Karamu House, the Urban League
of Greater Cleveland, the Cleveland branch of the NAACP, and the
Cleveland Public Library. He will also be 4th General President
of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity from 1912 to 1914.

1891 – Philip B. Downing, invents the street letter box and is
awarded patent # 462,093.

1924 – Ruby Ann Wallace is born in Cleveland, Ohio. She will become
one of the foremost actresses in America, better known as
Ruby Dee, beginning her career on Broadway in the early
1940’s. She will marry actor Ossie Davis and have a strong
personal career with such notable stage roles as “A Raisin
in the Sun”, “Purlie Victorious”, and “The Taming of the
Shrew” as well as work in numerous television series and
movies including “Raisin”, “Do the Right Thing”, and “Jungle
Fever.” She will be married to Ossie Davis until he joins
the ancestors in 2005. She will join the ancestors on June
11, 2014.

1951 – Jayne Kennedy is born in Washington, DC. She will become
an actress, writer and producer. Her movie credits will
include “Fighting Mad,” “Body and Soul,” “Mysterious
Island of Beautiful Women,” “Cover Girls,” “The Muthers,”
and “Group Marriage.”

1954 – Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. becomes the first African American
general in the history of the United States Air Force.
He is designated by President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

1960 – Martin Luther King Jr. is released on bond from the
Georgia State Prison in Reidsville. Political observers
say the John F. Kennedy call for King’s release increased
the number of African American voters who ensured his
election.

1971 – The Republic of the Congo becomes the Republic of Zaire.

1978 – President Carter signs the Hawkins-Humphrey full
employment bill.

1979 – St Vincent & the Grenadines becomes independent of Great
Britain.

1981 – Andrew Young, former United Nations Ambassador, is elected
mayor of Atlanta, Georgia.

2003 – Walter Washington, ex-mayor of Washington, DC, joins the
ancestors at age 88. He was the first elected mayor of
the nation’s capital in modern times and the first
African American to head the government of a major U.S.
city.
Information retrieved from the Munirah Chronicle and is edited by Rene’ A. Perry

September 28 African American Historical Events

* Today in Black History – September 28 *

1829 – “Walker’s Appeal (To the Coloured Citizens of the World),”
a racial antislavery pamphlet, is published in Boston,
Massachusetts, by David Walker.

1833 – Lemuel Haynes, Revolutionary War veteran and first African
American to be ordained by the Congregational Church,
joins the ancestors at the age of 80.

1912 – W.C. Handy’s ground-breaking “Memphis Blues” is published
in Memphis, Tennessee. The composition was originally
entitled “Mr. Crump” and was written for the 1909
political campaign of Edward H. “Boss” Crump.

1938 – Benjamin Earl “Ben E.” King is born in Henderson, North
Carolina. He will become a rhythm and blues singer and
will be best known for his song, “Stand By Me.”

1941 – Charles Robert “Charley” Taylor is born in Grand Prairie,
Texas. He will become a NFL wide receiver/running back with
the Washington Redskins. He will be inducted into the Pro
Football Hall of Fame in 1984.

1945 – Todd Duncan debuts with the New York City Opera as Tonio
in Il Pagliacci. He is the first African American to
sing a leading role with a major American company, almost
ten years before Marian Anderson sings with the
Metropolitan Opera.

1961 – Ossie Davis’s “Purlie Victorious” opens on Broadway. The
play stars Davis, Ruby Dee, Godfrey Cambridge, Alan Alda,
and Beah Richards.

1961 – Atlanta’s segregated restaurants and other public
facilities are peacefully integrated, part of a plan
adopted by city officials earlier in the year.

1967 – Walter Washington takes office as the first mayor of the
District of Columbia.

1972 – The Secretary of the Army repeals the dishonorable
discharges of 167 soldiers involved in the Brownsville
(Texas) Raid. The soldiers, members of the 25th Infantry
who were involved in a riot with the city’s police and
merchants, were dishonorably discharged by President
Theodore Roosevelt without a trial.

1976 – Muhammad Ali retains the heavyweight boxing championship
in a close 15-round decision over Ken Norton at Yankee
Stadium.

1979 – Larry Holmes retains the heavyweight boxing championship
by knocking out Ernie Shavers in 11 rounds.

1981 – Joseph Paul Franklin, avowed racist, is sentenced to life
in prison for killing 2 African American joggers in Salt
Lake City, Utah.

1987 – The National Museum of African Art, now a part of the
Smithsonian Institution, opens on the National Mall in
Washington, DC. Founded by Warren M. Robbins in 1964 as
a private educational institution, it is the only museum
in the United States devoted exclusively to the
collection, study, and exhibition of the art of sub-
Saharan Africa.

1990 – Marvin Gaye gets a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame.

1991 – Miles Davis, jazz musician, joins the ancestors at the age
of 65 from pneumonia.

2003 – Althea Gibson, pioneering tennis player, joins the
ancestors at the age of 76 after succumbing to
respiratory failure. She was the first African American
woman to win the Wimbledon championship and was also a
professional golfer.

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

September 21 African American Historical Events

* Today in Black History – September 21 *

1814 – African American troops are cited for bravery in the
Battle of New Orleans.

1872 – John Henry Conyers of South Carolina becomes first
African American student at U.S. Naval Academy
(Annapolis). He will later resign.

1905 – The Atlanta Life Insurance Company is founded by Alonzo
F. Herndon.

1909 – Kwame Nkrumah is born in Nkroful, Ghana. A leader in
African colonial liberation, Nkrumah will be the first
prime minister of Ghana (1958-1966), but will be forced
into exile following a coup.

1932 – Melvin Van Peebles, playwright and director(Watermelon
Man), is born.

1948 – Artis Gilmore, who will become a professional basketball
all-star, is born.

1967 – Walter Washington is nominated by President Lyndon B.
Johnson as the first mayor of the newly reorganized
municipal government of Washington, DC. In 1974, he
will be elected to the post, another first for an
African American.

1970 – The Oakland Athletics’s Vida Blue pitches a no-hitter
against the Minneapolis Twins, 6-0.

1971 – Alfonso Ribeiro, actor/pianist (Alfonso-“Silver Spoons”,
“Fresh Prince of Bel Air”), is born.

1981 – Belize gains independence from Great Britain.

1985 – Michael Spinks becomes the first light heavyweight to
defeat the reigning heavyweight champion when he defeats
Larry Holmes.

1989 – Army General Colin Powell receives Senate confirmation as
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the highest
military position in the United States, thereby becoming
the military’s highest-ranking African American.

1990 – Pittsburgh Pirate Barry Bonds is the second person to hit
30 home runs and steal 50 bases in the same season.

2009 – The Rev. John “Bootsie” Wilson, a former lead singer and
last surviving member of the soul group The Silhouettes,
joins the ancestors.

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

November 5 African American Historical Events

* Today in Black History – November 5 *

1828 – Theodore Sedgwick Wright becomes the first African
American person to get a Theology Degree in the United
States, when he graduates from Princeton Theological
Seminary.

1867 – First Reconstruction constitutional convention opens in
Montgomery, Alabama. It has eighteen African Americans
and ninety whites in attendance.

1901 – Etta Moten (later Barnett) is born in San Antonio, Texas.
She will become an actress starring in “Porgy and Bess”
and have a successful career on Broadway. She will
appear in the movie “Flying Down to Rio”(1933), singing
and dancing the Carioca, and as a singer in “The Gold
Diggers of 1933″(1933). In her later years, she will be
active as an Advisory Board Member of The Black Academy
of Arts and Letters.

1917 – The Supreme Court (Buchanan vs Warley) rules that a
Louisville, Kentucky, ordinance mandating blacks and
whites live in separate areas is unconstitutional.

1926 – Negro History Week is initiated by Carter G. Woodson.

1931 – Ike Turner is born in Clarksdale, Mississippi. He will
become a singer, songwriter/pianist and will join forces
in 1960 with his wife, Tina Turner.

1935 – The Maryland Court of Appeals orders the University of
Maryland to admit African American student, Donald
Murray.

1956 – Art Tatum, joins the ancestors at age 46 in Los Angeles,
California. Despite impaired vision, he received formal
training in music and developed a unique improvisational
style. He was an accomplished jazz pianist who impressed
even classicist Vladimir Horowitz. Perhaps the most
gifted technician of all jazzmen, Tatum had other assets
as well, among them an harmonic sense so acute as to make
him an almost infallible improviser. This aspect of his
style, as well as his great rhythmic freedom, influenced
the young players who became the founders of a new style
called bebop.

1956 – The Nat King Cole Show premiers. The 15-minute show
starring the popular singer will run until June 1957 and
reappear in July in a half-hour format. The first network
variety series hosted by an African American star, it was
canceled due to lack of support by advertisers.

1968 – Eight African American males and the first African American
female, Shirley Chisholm, are elected to the U.S. Congress.
Including previously elected Massachusetts senator Edward
Brooke, it is the largest number of African American
representatives to serve in Congress since the 44th
Congress of 1875-1877.

1970 – The National Guard is mobilized in Henderson, North
Carolina, as a result of racially motivated civil
disturbances.

1974 – George Brown of Colorado and Mervyn Dymally of California
are the first African American lieutenant governors elected
in the 20th century, while Walter Washington becomes the
first African American to be elected mayor of the District
of Columbia, and Harold Ford is elected to Congress from
Tennessee, the first African American from the state.

1974 – The Spingarn Medal is awarded to Damon J. Keith “in tribute
to his steadfast defense of constitutional principles as
revealed in a series of memorable decisions he handed down
as a United States District Court judge.”

1989 – The first memorial to the civil rights movement in the
United States is dedicated at a ceremony in Montgomery,
Alabama. The memorial was commissioned by the Southern
Poverty Law Center, a legal and educational organization
located in Montgomery.

1994 – George Foreman, 45, becomes boxing’s oldest heavyweight
champion by knocking out Michael Moorer in the 10th round
of their WBA fight in Las Vegas, Nevada.

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

October 27 African American Historical Events

Today in Black History – October 27 *

1891 – Charles H. Garvin is born in Jacksonville, Florida. He
will become the first African American physician
commissioned in World War I.

1891 – Philip B. Downing, invents the street letter box and is
awarded patent # 462,093.

1924 – Ruby Dee is born in Cleveland, Ohio. She will become one
of the foremost actresses in America, beginning her
career on Broadway in the early 1940’s. She will marry
actor Ossie Davis and have a strong personal career with
such notable stage roles as “A Raisin in the Sun”,
“Purlie Victorious”, and “The Taming of the Shrew” as
well as work in numerous television series and movies
including “Raisin”, “Do the Right Thing”, and “Jungle
Fever.”

1951 – Jayne Kennedy is born in Washington, DC. She will become
an actress, writer and producer. Her movie credits will
include “Fighting Mad,” “Body and Soul,” “Mysterious
Island of Beautiful Women,” “Cover Girls,” “The Muthers,”
and “Group Marriage.”

1954 – Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. becomes the first African American
general in the history of the United States Air Force.
He is designated by President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

1960 – Martin Luther King Jr. is released on bond from the
Georgia State Prison in Reidsville. Political observers
say the John F. Kennedy call for King’s release increased
the number of African American voters who ensured his
election.

1971 – The Republic of the Congo becomes the Republic of Zaire.

1978 – President Carter signs the Hawkins-Humphrey full
employment bill.

1979 – St Vincent & the Grenadines becomes independent of Great
Britain.

1981 – Andrew Young, former United Nations Ambassador, is elected
mayor of Atlanta, Georgia.

2003 – Walter Washington, ex-mayor of Washington, DC, joins the
ancestors at age 88. He was the first elected mayor of
the nation’s capital in modern times and the first
African American to head the government of a major U.S.
city.

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

September 28 African American Historical Events

* Today in Black History – September 28 *

1829 – “Walker’s Appeal (To the Coloured Citizens of the World),”
a racial antislavery pamphlet, is published in Boston,
Massachusetts, by David Walker.

1833 – Lemuel Haynes, Revolutionary War veteran and first African
American to be ordained by the Congregational Church,
joins the ancestors at the age of 80.

1912 – W.C. Handy’s ground-breaking “Memphis Blues” is published
in Memphis, Tennessee. The composition was originally
entitled “Mr. Crump” and was written for the 1909
political campaign of Edward H. “Boss” Crump.

1938 – Benjamin Earl “Ben E.” King is born in Henderson, North
Carolina. He will become a rhythm and blues singer and
will be best known for his song, “Stand By Me.”

1941 – Charles Robert “Charley” Taylor is born in Grand Prairie,
Texas. He will become a NFL wide receiver/running back with
the Washington Redskins. He will be inducted into the Pro
Football Hall of Fame in 1984.

1945 – Todd Duncan debuts with the New York City Opera as Tonio
in Il Pagliacci. He is the first African American to
sing a leading role with a major American company, almost
ten years before Marian Anderson sings with the
Metropolitan Opera.

1961 – Ossie Davis’s “Purlie Victorious” opens on Broadway. The
play stars Davis, Ruby Dee, Godfrey Cambridge, Alan Alda,
and Beah Richards.

1961 – Atlanta’s segregated restaurants and other public
facilities are peacefully integrated, part of a plan
adopted by city officials earlier in the year.

1967 – Walter Washington takes office as the first mayor of the
District of Columbia.

1972 – The Secretary of the Army repeals the dishonorable
discharges of 167 soldiers involved in the Brownsville
(Texas) Raid. The soldiers, members of the 25th Infantry
who were involved in a riot with the city’s police and
merchants, were dishonorably discharged by President
Theodore Roosevelt without a trial.

1976 – Muhammad Ali retains the heavyweight boxing championship
in a close 15-round decision over Ken Norton at Yankee
Stadium.

1979 – Larry Holmes retains the heavyweight boxing championship
by knocking out Ernie Shavers in 11 rounds.

1981 – Joseph Paul Franklin, avowed racist, is sentenced to life
in prison for killing 2 African American joggers in Salt
Lake City, Utah.

1987 – The National Museum of African Art, now a part of the
Smithsonian Institution, opens on the National Mall in
Washington, DC. Founded by Warren M. Robbins in 1964 as
a private educational institution, it is the only museum
in the United States devoted exclusively to the
collection, study, and exhibition of the art of sub-
Saharan Africa.

1990 – Marvin Gaye gets a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame.

1991 – Miles Davis, jazz musician, joins the ancestors at the age
of 65 from pneumonia.

2003 – Althea Gibson, pioneering tennis player, joins the
ancestors at the age of 76 after succumbing to
respiratory failure. She was the first African American
woman to win the Wimbledon championship and was also a
professional golfer._

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

September 21 African American Historical Events

Today in Black History – September 21 *

1814 – African American troops are cited for bravery in the
Battle of New Orleans.

1872 – John Henry Conyers of South Carolina becomes first
African American student at U.S. Naval Academy
(Annapolis). He will later resign.

1905 – The Atlanta Life Insurance Company is founded by Alonzo
F. Herndon.

1909 – Kwame Nkrumah is born in Nkroful, Ghana. A leader in
African colonial liberation, Nkrumah will be the first
prime minister of Ghana (1958-1966), but will be forced
into exile following a coup.

1932 – Melvin Van Peebles, playwright and director(Watermelon
Man), is born.

1948 – Artis Gilmore, who will become a professional basketball
all-star, is born.

1967 – Walter Washington is nominated by President Lyndon B.
Johnson as the first mayor of the newly reorganized
municipal government of Washington, DC. In 1974, he
will be elected to the post, another first for an
African American.

1970 – The Oakland Athletics’s Vida Blue pitches a no-hitter
against the Minneapolis Twins, 6-0.

1971 – Alfonso Ribeiro, actor/pianist (Alfonso-“Silver Spoons”,
“Fresh Prince of Bel Air”), is born.

1981 – Belize gains independence from Great Britain.

1985 – Michael Spinks becomes the first light heavyweight to
defeat the reigning heavyweight champion when he defeats
Larry Holmes.

1989 – Army General Colin Powell receives Senate confirmation as
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the highest
military position in the United States, thereby becoming
the military’s highest-ranking African American.

1990 – Pittsburgh Pirate Barry Bonds is the second person to hit
30 home runs and steal 50 bases in the same season.

2009 – The Rev. John “Bootsie” Wilson, a former lead singer and
last surviving member of the soul group The Silhouettes,
joins the ancestors.

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

October 27 African American Historical Events

Today in Black History – October 27           *

1891 – Charles H. Garvin is born in Jacksonville, Florida.  He
will become the first African American physician
commissioned in World War I.

1891 – Philip B. Downing, invents the street letter box and is
awarded patent # 462,093.

1924 – Ruby Dee is born in Cleveland, Ohio. She will become one
of the foremost actresses in America, beginning her
career on Broadway in the early 1940’s. She will marry
actor Ossie Davis and have a strong personal career with
such notable stage roles as “A Raisin in the Sun”,
“Purlie Victorious”, and “The Taming of the Shrew” as
well as work in numerous television series and movies
including “Raisin”, “Do the Right Thing”, and “Jungle
Fever.”

1951 – Jayne Kennedy is born in Washington, DC.  She will become
an actress, writer and producer.  Her movie credits will
include “Fighting Mad,” “Body and Soul,” “Mysterious
Island of Beautiful Women,” “Cover Girls,” “The Muthers,”
and “Group Marriage.”

1954 – Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. becomes the first African American
general in the history of the United States Air Force.
He is designated by President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

1960 – Martin Luther King Jr. is released on bond from the
Georgia State Prison in Reidsville.  Political observers
say the John F. Kennedy call for King’s release increased
the number of African American voters who ensured his
election.

1971 – The Republic of the Congo becomes the Republic of Zaire.

1978 – President Carter signs the Hawkins-Humphrey full
employment bill.

1979 – St Vincent & the Grenadines becomes independent of Great
Britain.

1981 – Andrew Young, former United Nations Ambassador, is elected
mayor of Atlanta, Georgia.

2003 – Walter Washington, ex-mayor of Washington, DC, joins the
ancestors at age 88.  He was the first elected mayor of
the nation’s capital in modern times and the first
African American to head the government of a major U.S.
city.

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

September 28 African American Historical Events

Today in Black History – September 28             *

1829 – “Walker’s Appeal (To the Coloured Citizens of the World),”
a racial antislavery pamphlet, is published in Boston,
Massachusetts, by David Walker.

1833 – Lemuel Haynes, Revolutionary War veteran and first African
American to be ordained by the Congregational Church,
joins the ancestors at the age of 80.

1912 – W.C. Handy’s ground-breaking “Memphis Blues” is published
in Memphis, Tennessee. The composition was originally
entitled “Mr. Crump” and was written for the 1909
political campaign of Edward H. “Boss” Crump.

1938 – Benjamin Earl “Ben E.” King is born in Henderson, North
Carolina.  He will become a rhythm and blues singer and
will be best known for his song, “Stand By Me.”

1941 – Charles Robert “Charley” Taylor is born in Grand Prairie,
Texas.  He will become a NFL wide receiver/running back with
the Washington Redskins. He will be inducted into the Pro
Football Hall of Fame in 1984.

1945 – Todd Duncan debuts with the New York City Opera as Tonio
in Il Pagliacci.  He is the first African American to
sing a leading role with a major American company, almost
ten years before Marian Anderson sings with the
Metropolitan Opera.

1961 – Ossie Davis’s “Purlie Victorious” opens on Broadway.  The
play stars Davis, Ruby Dee, Godfrey Cambridge, Alan Alda,
and Beah Richards.

1961 – Atlanta’s segregated restaurants and other public
facilities are peacefully integrated, part of a plan
adopted by city officials earlier in the year.

1967 – Walter Washington takes office as the first mayor of the
District of Columbia.

1972 – The Secretary of the Army repeals the dishonorable
discharges of 167 soldiers involved in the Brownsville
(Texas) Raid. The soldiers, members of the 25th Infantry
who were involved in a riot with the city’s police and
merchants, were dishonorably discharged by President
Theodore Roosevelt without a trial.

1976 – Muhammad Ali retains the heavyweight boxing championship
in a close 15-round decision over Ken Norton at Yankee
Stadium.

1979 – Larry Holmes retains the heavyweight boxing championship
by knocking out Ernie Shavers in 11 rounds.

1981 – Joseph Paul Franklin, avowed racist, is sentenced to life
in prison for killing 2 African American joggers in Salt
Lake City, Utah.

1987 – The National Museum of African Art, now a part of the
Smithsonian Institution, opens on the National Mall in
Washington, DC. Founded by Warren M. Robbins in 1964 as
a private educational institution, it is the only museum
in the United States devoted exclusively to the
collection, study, and exhibition of the art of sub-
Saharan Africa.

1990 – Marvin Gaye gets a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame.

1991 – Miles Davis, jazz musician, joins the ancestors at the age
of 65 from pneumonia.

2003 – Althea Gibson, pioneering tennis player, joins the
ancestors at the age of 76 after succumbing to
respiratory failure. She was the first African American
woman to win the Wimbledon championship and was also a
professional golfer.

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

September 21 African American Historical Events

Today in Black History – September 21         *

1814 – African American troops are cited for bravery in the
Battle of New Orleans.

1872 – John Henry Conyers of South Carolina becomes first
African American student at U.S. Naval Academy
(Annapolis).  He will later resign.

1905 – The Atlanta Life Insurance Company is founded by Alonzo
F. Herndon.

1909 – Kwame Nkrumah is born in Nkroful, Ghana.  A leader in
African colonial liberation, Nkrumah will be the first
prime minister of Ghana (1958-1966), but will be forced
into exile following a coup.

1932 – Melvin Van Peebles, playwright and director(Watermelon
Man), is born.

1948 – Artis Gilmore, who will become a professional basketball
all-star, is born.

1967 – Walter Washington is nominated by President Lyndon B.
Johnson as the first mayor of the newly reorganized
municipal government of Washington, DC. In 1974, he
will be elected to the post, another first for an
African American.

1970 – The Oakland Athletics’s Vida Blue pitches a no-hitter
against the Minneapolis Twins, 6-0.

1971 – Alfonso Ribeiro, actor/pianist (Alfonso-“Silver Spoons”,
“Fresh Prince of Bel Air”), is born.

1981 – Belize gains independence from Great Britain.

1985 – Michael Spinks becomes the first light heavyweight to
defeat the reigning heavyweight champion when he defeats
Larry Holmes.

1989 – Army General Colin Powell receives Senate confirmation as
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the highest
military position in the United States, thereby becoming
the military’s highest-ranking African American.

1990 – Pittsburgh Pirate Barry Bonds is the second person to hit
30 home runs and steal 50 bases in the same season.

2009 – The Rev. John “Bootsie” Wilson, a former lead singer and
last surviving member of the soul group, The Silhouettes,
joins the ancestors at the age of 69.

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