* Today in Black History - March 15 * Once a year we go through the charade of February being Black History Month. Black History Month needs to be a 12-MONTH THING. When we all learn about our history, about how much weve accomplished while being handicapped with RACISM, it can only inspire us to greater heights, knowing were on the giant shoulders of our ANCESTORS. So Heres My Contribution... As It Is, It Shall Be....DAILY...... ************************************************* 1809 - Joseph J. Roberts is born free in Norfolk, Virginia. He will leave Virginia with his family for the West African coast in 1829, part of the colonization effort of the American Colonization Society. He will become the first President of Liberia in 1848. He will join the ancestors in 1876. 1842 - Robert C. DeLarge is born in Aiken, South Carolina. He will defeat a white opponent by 986 votes out of 32,000 cast to earn a seat as a South Carolina representative to the United States Congress in 1870. He will serve in the House of Representatives from March 4, 1871 until January 24, 1873 when the seat will be declared vacant as the result of an election challenge initiated by Christopher C. Bowen. After leaving Congress he will serve as a local magistrate until he joins the ancestors in Charleston, South Carolina on February 14, 1874. 1897 - The Fifty-fifth Congress (1897-99) convenes. Only one African American congressman is in attendance: George H. White, of North Carolina. 1912 - Sam Hopkins is born in Centerville, Texas. He will become a blues guitarist, better known as Lightnin Hopkins, and be considered one of the last blues singers in the grand tradition of Blind Lemon Jefferson, with whom he played as a child. He will join the ancestors on January 30, 1982 after succumbing to cancer. 1933 - The NAACP begins a coordinated attack on segregation and discrimination, filing a suit against the University of North Carolina on behalf of Thomas Hocutt. The case is lost on a technicality after the president of an African American college refuses to certify the records of the plaintiff. 1933 - The Los Angeles Sentinel is founded by Leon H. Washington. 1933 - The NAACPs Spingarn Medal is presented to YMCA secretary Max Yergan for his achievements as a missionary in South Africa, representing the gift of cooperation...American Negroes may send back to their Motherland. 1933 - Cecil Percival Taylor is born in New York City. He will become a international jazz pianist concert artist and composer. He will also teach African American music and lead the Black Music Ensemble at the University of Wisconsin, Antioch College, and Glassboro State (in New Jersey). He is considered to be one of the most controversial figures in jazz. For many observers, his work ranks as some of the most profound art ever produced. 1938 - Emilio Cruz is born in New York City. He will become a painter who will study in his teens with the influential African American artist Bob Thompson, study European masters in Italy, Paris, London, and Amsterdam and become noted in the United States for both his figurative and abstract paintings. His work will be exhibited or collected by the Museum of Modern Art, National Museum of American Art, the Studio Museum of Harlem, and prestigious private galleries. He will join the ancestors on December 10, 2004 in New York City after succumbing to pancreatic cancer. 1944 - Sylvester Sly Stone Stewart is born in Dallas, Texas. He will become a popular disc jockey in the San Francisco Bay area. This popularity will fuel his career as a musician and singer. He will achieve fame with his group: Sly & The Family Stone and record the hits Dance to the Music, Everyday People, Hot Fun in the Summertime, Thank You, and Family Affair. 1946 - Bobby Lee Bonds is born in Riverside, California. He will become a major league baseball player and hit a grand slam in his first Major League game on June 25,1968 against the Los Angeles Dodgers. He will be a 3-time All-Star (1971 and 1973 in the National League and 1975 in the American League). He will amass a total 332 home runs, 1,024 RBIs, 461 stolen bases and a .268 batting average for 8 teams. He will hold the Major League record for most HRs as a lead-off batter in a game in a season with 11 in 1973. He will be named by The Sporting News as the National League Player of the Year in 1973, hitting .283 with 39 homers, 96 RBI and 43 stolen bases. He will join the ancestors on August 23, 2003 after succumbing to complications of lung cancer and a brain tumor. 1946 - Howard E. Scott is born in San Pedro, California. He will become a Rhythm and Blues singer, guitarist, and be best known for his performances as part of the Rhythm & Blues group War. Scott will contribute lyrics, music, and co-produced some of War’s greatest hits, such as Cisco Kid, Slipping into Darkness and Why Can’t We Be Friends?. He will also be the frontman and leader of the group. 1958 - Cincinnati Royals basketball star Maurice Stokes collapses during a playoff game suffering with encephalitis. It will be determined that this was the result of an earlier injury, when his head hit the floor, knocking him unconscious, in the last game of the regular season. He will go into a coma and become permanently disabled. 1959 - Saxophonist and major influence on the Cool School of jazz, Lester Prez Young joins the ancestors at the age of 49 in New York City. 1962 - Terence Trent DArby is born in New York City. He will become a popular Rhythm and Blues singer, music producer, songwriter, and composer. He will be best known for his recording Wishing Well. 1962 - Wilt Chamberlain becomes the first and only player in NBA history to score more than 4,000 points in a season (4,029). He will average 50.4 points per game. 1968 - LIFE magazine calls Jimi Hendrix the most spectacular guitarist in the world. 1968 - Bob Beamon sets an indoor long jump record as he leaps 27 feet, 2-3/4 inches. 1969 - St. Clair Drake is named director of the African and Afro American Studies program at Stanford University. Drakes accomplishments in the position will form a model for such programs across the country. 1970 - The musical, Purlie opens a run of 680 continuous performances on Broadway in New York City. 1980 - Scores of people are injured in Klan-related incidents in Georgia, Tennessee, California, Indiana and North Carolina. 1985 - Larry Holmes beats David Bey in Las Vegas, Nevada. This was probably good for Bey, since no one had ever heard of him before the fight. Holmes defends his International Boxing Federation heavyweight boxing title with the win. 1991 - Four Los Angeles police officers-Sergeant Stacey Koon and Officers Laurence Powell, Timothy Wind and Theodore Briseno- are charged with felony assault and related charges arising from the Rodney King beating.
Posted on: Sat, 15 Mar 2014 14:52:54 +0000
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