KRLemmons African American History

January 14 African American Historical Events

* Today in Black History – January 14 *

1868 – The South Carolina constitutional convention, the first
official assembly in the western hemisphere with an African
American majority, meets in the Charleston Clubhouse with
seventy-six African American delegates and forty-eight white
delegates. Two-thirds of the African American delegates are
former slaves. A New York Herald reporter writes: “Here in
Charleston is being enacted the most incredible, hopeful, and
yet unbelievable experiment in all the history of mankind.”

1868 – The North Carolina constitutional convention meets in Raleigh,
with fifteen African American and one hundred eighteen whites
in attendance.

1873 – P.B.S. Pinchback is elected to the U.S. Senate. Since he had
previously been elected to Congress, he went to Washington
with the unique distinction of being both a senator-elect and
a congressman-elect.

1874 – I.D. Shadd is elected Speaker of the Lower House of the
Mississippi legislature.

1916 – Author John Oliver Killens is born in Macon, Georgia. Among
his books will be the novels “Youngblood,” and “And Then We
Heard the Thunder,” biographies of Denmark Vesey, John Henry,
and Aleksandr Pushkin, and the script for “Odds Against
Tomorrow,” a 1959 movie starring Harry Belafonte. He will join
the ancestors on October 27, 1987.

1930 – Biologist and pioneer of cell division, Ernest E Just, is named
Vice-President of the American Zoological Society.

1940 – Horace Julian Bond is born in Nashville, Tennessee. He will be
one of several hundred students from across the South who will
found the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC).
He will become SNCC’s communications director. He will spend
over twenty years of service in the Georgia General Assembly,
after having his first elective seats denied him in the
mid-sixties. Bond will be known also for his narration of many
civil rights oriented programs, most notably, the critically
acclaimed 1987 and 1990 PBS series, “Eyes on the Prize.” He
will become Chairman of the NAACP in February, 1998.

1948 – Carl Weathers is born in New Orleans, Louisiana. He will
become an actor and is best known for his portrayal of
fictional boxer Apollo Creed in the “Rocky” movies.

1970 – Diana Ross and the Supremes perform their last concert
together, at the Frontier Hotel in Las Vegas.

1975 – William T. Coleman is named Secretary of Transportation by
President Gerald R. Ford. He is the second African American
to hold a Cabinet-level position.

1979 – After much pressure from civil rights leaders and others,
President Jimmy Carter proposes Martin Luther King Jr.’s
birthday become a federal holiday.

1981 – James Frank, president of Lincoln University in Jefferson City,
Missouri, is installed as the first African American president
of the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

1987 – The National Urban League’s report “State of Black America”
blasts President Reagan’s policies, stating, “Black Americans
enter 1987 besieged by the resurgence of raw racism,
persistent economic depression and the continue erosion of
past gains.”

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

KRLemmons African American History

September 1 African American Historical Events

* Today in Black History – September 1 *

1867 – Robert T. Freeman becomes the first African American
to graduate from Harvard Dental School.

1875 – White Democrats attacked Republicans at Yazoo City,
Mississippi. One white and three African-Americans were
killed.

1912 – Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, English-born composer of Hiawatha’s
Wedding Feast and professor of music at Trinity College of
Music in London, joins the ancestors in Croyden, England.
Coleridge-Taylor was the most important Black composer of
his day and toured the United States three times, where he
played with Will Marion Cook, Clarence Cameron White, and
collaborated with Paul Laurence Dunbar in setting several
of his poems to music.

1925 – Rosa Cuthbert (later Guy) is born in Trinidad. She will leave
Trinidad with her parents for America in 1932. During World
War II she will join the American Negro Theatre. She will
study theatre and writing at the University of New York. Most
of her books are about the dependability of family members
that care and love each other. She will be one of the founders
of The Harlem Writers guild (1950). Her works will include: “Bird
at My Window” (1966), “Children of Longing” (1971), “The Friends”
(1973), “Ruby” (1976), “Edith Jackson” (1978), “The Disappearance”
(1979), “Mirror of Her Own” (1981), “A Measure of Time (1983),
and New Guys Around the Block (1983), Paris, Pee Wee and Big Dog (1984), My Love, My Love, or the Peasant Girl (1985), And I Heard a Bird Sing (1987). She will become the author of
“The Friends,” “Ruby,” and “Edith Jackson.”

1937 – Ron O’Neal is born in Utica, New York. He will become an
actor and will star in movies during the 1970’s and be
best known for his role in “Superfly.”

1948 – William T. Coleman is appointed by Justice Frankfurter as a
clerk to the U.S. Supreme Court, the first African
American to hold the position. A Harvard Law School
graduate and Army Air Corps veteran, Coleman will again
enter public service, first as president of the NAACP
Legal Defense and Education Fund and, in 1975, as
Secretary of Transportation under President Gerald Ford.

1970 – Dr. Hugh S. Scott of Washington, DC, becomes the first
African American superintendent of schools in a major US.
city.

1971 – The Pittsburgh Pirates field an all African American team
in a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies.

1973 – George Foreman knocks out Jose Roman in the first round to
retain his heavyweight title.

1975 – General Daniel (“Chappie”) James Jr. is promoted to the
rank of four-star general and named commander-in-chief of
the North American Air Defense Command. He is the first
African American to achieve this rank.

1977 – Ethel Waters, singer and actress, joins the ancestors in
Chatsworth, California at the age of 80. She was the
first African American entertainer to move from vaudeville
to ‘white’ entertainment. She starred in many movies such
as “Something Special” (1971), “Carib Gold” (1955), “The
Member of the Wedding” (1952), “Pinky” (1949), “Cabin in
the Sky” (1943), “Cairo” (1942), “Tales of Manhattan”
(1942), “Black Musical Featurettes, V. 1″ (1929), Short
Subjects V. 1” (1929), and “On With the Show” (1929).
She also was in the first network show to feature an
African American actress as the star (The Beulah Show-
1950).

1979 – Hazel W. Johnson becomes the first African American woman
to attain general officer rank in American military
history. Under her tenure as Chief, the Army Nurse Corps
continued to improve standards of education and training.
The Army Nurse Corps Standards of Nursing Practice were
published as an official Department of the Army Pamphlet
(DA PAM 40-5). She received the Distinguished Service
Medal, Legion Of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal, and
the Army Commendation Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster among
her awards and honors.

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

KRLemmons African American History

January 14 African American Historical Events

Today in Black History – January 14 *

1868 – The South Carolina constitutional convention, the first
official assembly in the western hemisphere with an African
American majority, meets in the Charleston Clubhouse with
seventy-six African American delegates and forty-eight white
delegates. Two-thirds of the African American delegates are
former slaves. A New York Herald reporter writes: “Here in
Charleston is being enacted the most incredible, hopeful, and
yet unbelievable experiment in all the history of mankind.”

1868 – The North Carolina constitutional convention meets in Raleigh,
with fifteen African American and one hundred eighteen whites
in attendance.

1873 – P.B.S. Pinchback is elected to the U.S. Senate. Since he had
previously been elected to Congress, he went to Washington
with the unique distinction of being both a senator-elect and
a congressman-elect.

1874 – I.D. Shadd is elected Speaker of the Lower House of the
Mississippi legislature.

1916 – Author John Oliver Killens is born in Macon, Georgia. Among
his books will be the novels “Youngblood,” and “And Then We
Heard the Thunder,” biographies of Denmark Vesey, John Henry,
and Aleksandr Pushkin, and the script for “Odds Against
Tomorrow,” a 1959 movie starring Harry Belafonte. He will join
the ancestors on October 27, 1987.

1930 – Biologist and pioneer of cell division, Ernest E Just, is named
Vice-President of the American Zoological Society.

1940 – Horace Julian Bond is born in Nashville, Tennessee. He will be
one of several hundred students from across the South who will
found the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC).
He will become SNCC’s communications director. He will spend
over twenty years of service in the Georgia General Assembly,
after having his first elective seats denied him in the
mid-sixties. Bond will be known also for his narration of many
civil rights oriented programs, most notably, the critically
acclaimed 1987 and 1990 PBS series, “Eyes on the Prize.” He
will become Chairman of the NAACP in February, 1998.

1948 – Carl Weathers is born in New Orleans, Louisiana. He will
become an actor and is best known for his portrayal of
fictional boxer Apollo Creed in the “Rocky” movies.

1970 – Diana Ross and the Supremes perform their last concert
together, at the Frontier Hotel in Las Vegas.

1975 – William T. Coleman is named Secretary of Transportation by
President Gerald R. Ford. He is the second African American
to hold a Cabinet-level position.

1979 – After much pressure from civil rights leaders and others,
President Jimmy Carter proposes Martin Luther King Jr.’s
birthday become a federal holiday.

1981 – James Frank, president of Lincoln University in Jefferson City,
Missouri, is installed as the first African American president
of the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

1987 – The National Urban League’s report “State of Black America”
blasts President Reagan’s policies, stating, “Black Americans
enter 1987 besieged by the resurgence of raw racism,
persistent economic depression and the continue erosion of
past gains.”

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

KRLemmons African American History

September 1 African American Historical Events

Today in Black History – September 1 *

1867 – Robert T. Freeman becomes the first African American
to graduate from Harvard Dental School.

1875 – White Democrats attacked Republicans at Yazoo City,
Mississippi. One white and three African-Americans were
killed.

1912 – Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, English-born composer of Hiawatha’s
Wedding Feast and professor of music at Trinity College of
Music in London, joins the ancestors in Croyden, England.
Coleridge-Taylor was the most important Black composer of
his day and toured the United States three times, where he
played with Will Marion Cook, Clarence Cameron White, and
collaborated with Paul Laurence Dunbar in setting several
of his poems to music.

1925 – Rosa Cuthbert (later Guy) is born in Trinidad. She will leave
Trinidad with her parents for America in 1932. During World
War II she will join the American Negro Theatre. She will
study theatre and writing at the University of New York. Most
of her books are about the dependability of family members
that care and love each other. She will be one of the founders
of The Harlem Writers guild (1950). Her works will include: “Bird
at My Window” (1966), “Children of Longing” (1971), “The Friends”
(1973), “Ruby” (1976), “Edith Jackson” (1978), “The Disappearance”
(1979), “Mirror of Her Own” (1981), “A Measure of Time (1983),
and New Guys Around the Block (1983), Paris, Pee Wee and Big Dog (1984), My Love, My Love, or the Peasant Girl (1985), And I Heard a Bird Sing (1987). She will become the author of “The Friends,” “Ruby,” and “Edith Jackson.”

1937 – Ron O’Neal is born in Utica, New York. He will become an
actor and will star in movies during the 1970’s and be
best known for his role in “Superfly.”

1948 – William T. Coleman is appointed by Justice Frankfurter as a
clerk to the U.S. Supreme Court, the first African
American to hold the position. A Harvard Law School
graduate and Army Air Corps veteran, Coleman will again
enter public service, first as president of the NAACP
Legal Defense and Education Fund and, in 1975, as
Secretary of Transportation under President Gerald Ford.

1970 – Dr. Hugh S. Scott of Washington, DC, becomes the first
African American superintendent of schools in a major US.
city.

1971 – The Pittsburgh Pirates field an all African American team
in a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies.

1973 – George Foreman knocks out Jose Roman in the first round to
retain his heavyweight title.

1975 – General Daniel (“Chappie”) James Jr. is promoted to the
rank of four-star general and named commander-in-chief of
the North American Air Defense Command. He is the first
African American to achieve this rank.

1977 – Ethel Waters, singer and actress, joins the ancestors in
Chatsworth, California at the age of 80. She was the
first African American entertainer to move from vaudeville
to ‘white’ entertainment. She starred in many movies such
as “Something Special” (1971), “Carib Gold” (1955), “The
Member of the Wedding” (1952), “Pinky” (1949), “Cabin in
the Sky” (1943), “Cairo” (1942), “Tales of Manhattan”
(1942), “Black Musical Featurettes, V. 1″ (1929), Short
Subjects V. 1” (1929), and “On With the Show” (1929).
She also was in the first network show to feature an
African American actress as the star (The Beulah Show-
1950).

1979 – Hazel W. Johnson becomes the first African American woman
to attain general officer rank in American military
history. Under her tenure as Chief, the Army Nurse Corps
continued to improve standards of education and training.
The Army Nurse Corps Standards of Nursing Practice were
published as an official Department of the Army Pamphlet
(DA PAM 40-5). She received the Distinguished Service
Medal, Legion Of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal, and
the Army Commendation Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster among
her awards and honors.

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

KRLemmons African American History

January 14 African American Historical Events

* Today in Black History – January 14 *

1868 – The South Carolina constitutional convention, the first
official assembly in the western hemisphere with an African
American majority, meets in the Charleston Clubhouse with
seventy-six African American delegates and forty-eight white
delegates. Two-thirds of the African American delegates are
former slaves. A New York Herald reporter writes: “Here in
Charleston is being enacted the most incredible, hopeful, and
yet unbelievable experiment in all the history of mankind.”

1868 – The North Carolina constitutional convention meets in Raleigh,
with fifteen African American and one hundred eighteen whites
in attendance.

1873 – P.B.S. Pinchback is elected to the U.S. Senate. Since he had
previously been elected to Congress, he went to Washington
with the unique distinction of being both a senator-elect and
a congressman-elect.

1874 – I.D. Shadd is elected Speaker of the Lower House of the
Mississippi legislature.

1916 – Author John Oliver Killens is born in Macon, Georgia. Among
his books will be the novels “Youngblood,” and “And Then We
Heard the Thunder,” biographies of Denmark Vesey, John Henry,
and Aleksandr Pushkin, and the script for “Odds Against
Tomorrow,” a 1959 movie starring Harry Belafonte. He will join
the ancestors on October 27, 1987.

1930 – Biologist and pioneer of cell division, Ernest E Just, is named
Vice-President of the American Zoological Society.

1940 – Horace Julian Bond is born in Nashville, Tennessee. He will be
one of several hundred students from across the South who will
found the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC).
He will become SNCC’s communications director. He will spend
over twenty years of service in the Georgia General Assembly,
after having his first elective seats denied him in the
mid-sixties. Bond will be known also for his narration of many
civil rights oriented programs, most notably, the critically
acclaimed 1987 and 1990 PBS series, “Eyes on the Prize.” He
will become Chairman of the NAACP in February, 1998.

1948 – Carl Weathers is born in New Orleans, Louisiana. He will
become an actor and is best known for his portrayal of
fictional boxer Apollo Creed in the “Rocky” movies.

1970 – Diana Ross and the Supremes perform their last concert
together, at the Frontier Hotel in Las Vegas.

1975 – William T. Coleman is named Secretary of Transportation by
President Gerald R. Ford. He is the second African American
to hold a Cabinet-level position.

1979 – After much pressure from civil rights leaders and others,
President Jimmy Carter proposes Martin Luther King Jr.’s
birthday become a federal holiday.

1981 – James Frank, president of Lincoln University in Jefferson City,
Missouri, is installed as the first African American president
of the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

1987 – The National Urban League’s report “State of Black America”
blasts President Reagan’s policies, stating, “Black Americans
enter 1987 besieged by the resurgence of raw racism,
persistent economic depression and the continue erosion of
past gains.”

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