Black History: February 23 W. E. B. Du Bois, activist, author, and educator, was born in Great Barrington, MA, on this date in 1868. William H. Heard, AME minister and educator, was named minister to Liberia on this date in 1895. Haki Madhubuti, activist, author, and founder of the Third World Press, was born on this date in 1942. Constance Baker Motley was elected President of the Manhattan Borough on this date in 1965-the highest elected office held by a Black woman in a major U.S. city at this time. Frank E. Petersen, Jr. became the first Black Brigadier General in the U.S. Marine Corps on this date in 1979. Arthur A. Fletcher, businessman, was named Chairman of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (CCR) by President George Bush on this date in 1990. John William King was found guilty in the dragging death of James Byrd, Jr., a 49-year-old Black pedestrian in Jasper, TX., on this date in 1999. King would later receive the death penalty for his crime. Two other white men (Shawn Berry, 24, and Lawrence Brewer, 31) awaited trial for their participation.
Posted on: Sun, 23 Feb 2014 12:19:19 +0000
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