KRLemmons African American History

April 26 African American Historical Events

* Today in Black History – April 26 *

1798 – James Pierson Beckwourth is born in Fredericksburg,
Virginia. He will become a legendary American Western
mountain man, trapper, warrior, Indian chief, and
trailblazer. He will maintain a lifelong friendship with
the Crow Indian nation. He will work as an Army scout
during the third Seminole War and will be a rider for the
Pony Express. In 1850, he will discover a pass through the
Sierra Nevada mountains that will enable settlers to more
easily reach California. The Beckwourth Pass is still in
use today by the Union Pacific Railroad and the U.S.
Interstate Highway System. He will join the ancestors on
October 29, 1866.

1886 – William Levi Dawson is born in Albany, Georgia. A graduate
of Fisk University, he will move to Chicago, serve in the
365th Infantry in World War I, become an attorney and
initially be involved in Republican politics upon his
return to the city after the war. Elected to his first
term in the United States Congress in 1942, he will serve
27 years in the House, where he will become the first
African American representative to chair a committee of
Congress, the Committee on Expenditures in Executive
Departments, in 1949. He will join the ancestors on
November 9, 1970.

1886 – Gertrude Pritchett is born in Columbus, Georgia. She will
become a blues singer and vaudeville performer. She will
marry William “Pa” Rainey and will become the “Ma” half of
“Rainey and Rainey: The Assassinators of the Blues.”
Between 1923 and 1928, she will record 93 songs, many of
which were her own compositions. She will perform
nationwide and will have a loyal fan base, even after her
recording contract with Paramount is terminated. She will
have a great impact on performers who will follow her and
will be immortalized by being included in August Wilson’s
play, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” and the poem of Sterling
Brown, “Ma Rainey.” She will join the ancestors on
December 22, 1939 and will be inducted into the Rock and
Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.

1964 – The African nations of Tanganyika and Zanzibar merge to form
Tanzania. The name is derived from the first syllable of
each country’s name.

1968 – Students seize the administration building at Ohio State.

1984 – Jazz musician great William “Count” Basie, joins the
ancestors in Hollywood, Florida at the age of 77. NOTE:
Many sources will have 1904 for Count Basie’s birth year.
Our source for his birth and death is the Kennedy Center
Archives documenting “The Honors” bestowed on him in 1981.

1991 – Maryann Bishop Coffey is named the first woman and the first
African American co-chair of the National Conference of
Christians and Jews.

1992 – “Jelly’s Last Jam” opens at Virginia theater on Broadway.
Gregory Hines will portray the great jazz composer Jelly
Roll Morton and will receive a Tony award as best actor in
a musical in that role.

1994 – Voting begins in South Africa’s first all-race elections.

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

KRLemmons African American History

April 26 African American Historical Events

* Today in Black History – April 26 *

1798 – James Pierson Beckwourth is born in Fredericksburg,
Virginia. He will become a legendary American Western
mountain man, trapper, warrior, Indian chief, and
trailblazer. He will maintain a lifelong friendship with
the Crow Indian nation. He will work as an Army scout
during the third Seminole War and will be a rider for the
Pony Express. In 1850, he will discover a pass through the
Sierra Nevada mountains that will enable settlers to more
easily reach California. The Beckwourth Pass is still in
use today by the Union Pacific Railroad and the U.S.
Interstate Highway System. He will join the ancestors in
1866.

1886 – William Levi Dawson is born in Albany, Georgia. A graduate
of Fisk University, he will move to Chicago, serve in the
365th Infantry in World War I, become an attorney and
initially be involved in Republican politics upon his
return to the city after the war. Elected to his first
term in the United States Congress in 1942, he will serve
27 years in the House, where he will become the first
African American representative to chair a committee of
Congress, the Committee on Expenditures in Executive
Departments, in 1949.

1886 – Gertrude Pritchett is born in Columbus, Georgia. She will
become a blues singer and vaudeville performer. She will
marry William “Pa” Rainey and will become the “Ma” half of
“Rainey and Rainey: The Assassinators of the Blues.”
Between 1923 and 1928, she will record 93 songs, many of
which were her own compositions. She will perform
nationwide and will have a loyal fan base, even after her
recording contract with Paramount is terminated. She will
have a great impact on performers who will follow her and
will be immortalized by being included in August Wilson’s
play, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” and the poem of Sterling
Brown, “Ma Rainey.” She will join the ancestors on
December 22, 1939 and will be inducted into the Rock and
Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.

1964 – The African nations of Tanganyika and Zanzibar merge to form
Tanzania. The name is derived from the first syllable of
each country’s name.

1968 – Students seize the administration building at Ohio State.

1984 – Jazz musician great William “Count” Basie, joins the
ancestors in Hollywood, Florida at the age of 77. NOTE:
Many sources will have 1904 for Count Basie’s birth year.
Our source for his birth and death is the Kennedy Center
Archives documenting “The Honors” bestowed on him in 1981.

1991 – Maryann Bishop Coffey is named the first woman and the first
African American co-chair of the National Conference of
Christians and Jews.

1992 – “Jelly’s Last Jam” opens at Virginia theater on Broadway.
Gregory Hines will portray the great jazz composer Jelly
Roll Morton and will receive a Tony award as best actor in
a musical in that role.

1994 – Voting begins in South Africa’s first all-race elections.

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

KRLemmons African American History

November 14 African American Historical Events

Today in Black History – November 14 *

1900 – In Washington, DC, a small group meets to form the
Washington Society of Colored Dentists. It is the
first society of African American dentists in the
United States.

1915 – Booker T. Washington, educator, orator, and founder of
Tuskegee Institute, joins the ancestors on the
college’s campus at the age of 59. He was one the
most famous African American educators and leaders of
the 19th century, whose message of acquiring practical
skills and emphasizing self-help over political rights
was popular among whites and segments of the African
American community. His 1901 autobiography, “Up From
Slavery”, which details his rise to success despite
numerous obstacles, became a best-seller and further
enhanced his public image as a self-made man. As
popular as he was in some quarters, Washington was
aggressively opposed by critics such as W.E.B. Du Bois
and William Monroe Trotter.

1920 – The New York Times and Tribune call Charles Gilpin’s
portrayal of Brutus Jones in “The Emperor Jones”, a
performance of heroic stature. Gilpin had premiered in
the play earlier in the month with the New York-based
Provincetown Players, which will influence his being
named one of the ten most important contributors to the
American theater of 1920 and the 1921 recipient of the
NAACP’s Spingarn Medal.

1934 – Ellis Marsalis is born in New Orleans, Louisiana. After
high school, Marsalis will enroll at Dillard University
(New Orleans) and graduate with a Bachelor of Arts
degree in music education. Marsalis will eventually
become New Orleans’ leading Jazz educator. He will
become a lecturer at Xavier University and an adjunct
teacher at Loyola University. Marsalis will enroll in
the graduate program at Loyola University and will
graduate with a Masters of Music Education. Marsalis’
teaching career will flower at the New Orleans Center
for Creative Arts (NOCCA). Many of his former students
will be professional musicians locally as well as
internationally. Three of his six sons, Branford,
Wynton and Delfeayo as well as trumpeter Terence
Blanchard, saxophonist Donald Harrison and pianist
Harry Connick, Jr. will attain worldwide acclaim with
recording contracts on major labels.

1934 – William Levi Dawson’s Symphony No. 1, Negro Folk
Symphony, is the first symphony on black folk themes by
an African American composer to be performed by a major
orchestra.

1960 – Four African American girls are escorted by U.S. Marshals
and parents to two New Orleans schools being
desegregated.

1966 – Cassius Clay (later Muhammad Ali) defeats Cleveland
Williams by TKO in the third round in front of Boxing’s
largest indoor crowd, assembled in the Houston Astrodome.
He retains his world heavyweight title.

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

KRLemmons African American History

April 26 African American Historical Events

Today in Black History – April 26 *

1798 – James Pierson Beckwourth is born in Fredericksburg,
Virginia. He will become a legendary American Western
mountain man, trapper, warrior, Indian chief, and
trailblazer. He will maintain a lifelong friendship with
the Crow Indian nation. He will work as an Army scout
during the third Seminole War and will be a rider for the
Pony Express. In 1850, he will discover a pass through the
Sierra Nevada mountains that will enable settlers to more
easily reach California. The Beckwourth Pass is still in
use today by the Union Pacific Railroad and the U.S.
Interstate Highway System. He will join the ancestors in
1866.

1886 – William Levi Dawson is born in Albany, Georgia. A graduate
of Fisk University, he will move to Chicago, serve in the
365th Infantry in World War I, become an attorney and
initially be involved in Republican politics upon his
return to the city after the war. Elected to his first
term in the United States Congress in 1942, he will serve
27 years in the House, where he will become the first
African American representative to chair a committee of
Congress, the Committee on Expenditures in Executive
Departments, in 1949.

1886 – Gertrude Pritchett is born in Columbus, Georgia. She will
become a blues singer and vaudeville performer. She will
marry William “Pa” Rainey and will become the “Ma” half of
“Rainey and Rainey: The Assassinators of the Blues.”
Between 1923 and 1928, she will record 93 songs, many of
which were her own compositions. She will perform
nationwide and will have a loyal fan base, even after her
recording contract with Paramount is terminated. She will
have a great impact on performers who will follow her and
will be immortalized by being included in August Wilson’s
play, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” and the poem of Sterling
Brown, “Ma Rainey.” She will join the ancestors on
December 22, 1939 and will be inducted into the Rock and
Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.

1964 – The African nations of Tanganyika and Zanzibar merge to form
Tanzania. The name is derived from the first syllable of
each country’s name.

1968 – Students seize the administration building at Ohio State.

1984 – Jazz musician great William “Count” Basie, joins the
ancestors in Hollywood, Florida at the age of 77. NOTE:
Many sources will have 1904 for Count Basie’s birth year.
Our source for his birth and death is the Kennedy Center
Archives documenting “The Honors” bestowed on him in 1981.

1991 – Maryann Bishop Coffey is named the first woman and the first
African American co-chair of the National Conference of
Christians and Jews.

1992 – “Jelly’s Last Jam” opens at Virginia theater on Broadway.
Gregory Hines will portray the great jazz composer Jelly
Roll Morton and will receive a Tony award as best actor in
a musical in that role.

1994 – Voting begins in South Africa’s first all-race elections.

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

KRLemmons African American History

November 14 African American Historical Events

Today in Black History – November 14           *

1900 – In Washington, DC, a small group meets to form the
Washington Society of Colored Dentists. It is the
first society of African American dentists in the
United States.

1915 – Booker T. Washington, educator, orator, and founder of
Tuskegee Institute, joins the ancestors on the
college’s campus at the age of 59.  He was one the
most famous African American educators and leaders of
the 19th century, whose message of acquiring practical
skills and emphasizing self-help over political rights
was popular among whites and segments of the African
American community.  His 1901 autobiography, “Up From
Slavery”, which details his rise to success despite
numerous obstacles, became a best-seller and further
enhanced his public image as a self-made man.  As
popular as he was in some quarters, Washington was
aggressively opposed by critics such as W.E.B. Du Bois
and William Monroe Trotter.

1920 – The New York Times and Tribune call Charles Gilpin’s
portrayal of Brutus Jones in “The Emperor Jones”, a
performance of heroic stature.  Gilpin had premiered in
the play earlier in the month with the New York-based
Provincetown Players, which will influence his being
named one of the ten most important contributors to the
American theater of 1920 and the 1921 recipient of the
NAACP’s Spingarn Medal.

1934 – Ellis Marsalis is born in New Orleans, Louisiana.  After
high school, Marsalis will enroll at Dillard University
(New Orleans) and graduate with a Bachelor of Arts
degree in music education. Marsalis will eventually
become New Orleans’ leading Jazz educator. He will
become a lecturer at Xavier University and an adjunct
teacher at Loyola University. Marsalis will enroll in
the graduate program at Loyola University and will
graduate with a Masters of Music Education.  Marsalis’
teaching career will flower at the New Orleans Center
for Creative Arts (NOCCA). Many of his former students
will be professional musicians locally as well as
internationally. Three of his six sons, Branford,
Wynton  and Delfeayo as well as trumpeter Terence
Blanchard, saxophonist Donald Harrison and pianist
Harry Connick, Jr. will attain worldwide acclaim with
recording contracts on major labels.

1934 – William Levi Dawson’s Symphony No. 1, Negro Folk
Symphony, is the first symphony on black folk themes by
an African American composer to be performed by a major
orchestra.

1960 – Four African American girls are escorted by U.S. Marshals
and parents to two New Orleans schools being
desegregated.

1966 – Cassius Clay (later Muhammad Ali) defeats Cleveland
Williams by TKO in the third round in front of Boxing’s
largest indoor crowd, assembled in the Houston Astrodome.
He retains his world heavyweight title.

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