Today In Black History • November 3, 1639 Saint Martin de Porres, Dominican lay brother, died. de Porres was born December 9, 1579 in Lima, Peru. At the age of 15, he was admitted into the Dominican Convent of the Rosary as a servant boy. His piety and miraculous cures led his superiors to drop the racial limits on admission to the Order and he was made a full Dominican brother. At the age of 24, de Porres was given the habit of a coadjutor brother and was assigned to the infirmary where many miracles were attributed to him. Although he never left Lima, many people around the world attributed their salvation to him. By the time of his death, he was known as a saint throughout the region. Martin de Porres was beatified in 1837 and canonized May 6, 1962. Many buildings around the world are named in his honor, including Saint Martin de Porres High School in Detroit, Michigan. His biography, “St. Martin de Porres: Apostle of Charity,” was published in 1963. • November 3, 1816 John Jones, businessman and civil rights activist, was born in Greene County, North Carolina. Jones was trained as a tailor and in 1845 moved to Chicago, Illinois and opened a tailoring shop. His business thrived and he invested in real estate. By 1860, Jones was one of the wealthiest African Americans in the nation. Jones was an outspoken civil rights activist and a leader in the fight to repeal Illinois’ Black laws. In 1864, he published a pamphlet, “The Black Laws of Illinois and Why They Should Be Repealed”. Jones also served as vice president of the Colored National Convention and president of the first Black Illinois State Convention. In 1871, Jones was elected the first Black Cook County Commissioner. He was re-elected to a three-year term in 1872. Jones died May 21, 1879. • November 3, 1883 John Baxter Taylor, Jr., the first African American to win an Olympic Gold medal, was born in Washington, D. C. but raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Taylor attended the University of Pennsylvania and graduated from the School of Veterinary Medicine in 1908. While in college, he won the 1907 Amateur Athletic Union 440-yard championship. At the 1908 London Olympic Games, he won a Gold medal as a member of the 1600 meter relay team. Taylor died December 2, 1908. In his obituary, The New York Times called him “the world’ greatest negro runner”. • November 3, 1905 Lois Mailou Jones, artist and educator, was born in Boston, Massachusetts. Jones began painting as a child and had shows of her work while in high school. In 1927, she became one of the first African American graduates of the School of the Museum of Art. After graduating, she was turned down for a job there and told that “she should think of going down south to help her people”. In 1930, Jones joined the art department at Howard University where she earned her bachelor’s degree, magna cum laude, in 1945. She remained there as professor of design and art until her retirement in 1977. Jones’ work reflects a command of widely different styles, from traditional landscape to African themed abstraction. The exhibition “Lois Mailou Jones: a life in vibrant color,” which included 70 paintings, showcased her various styles and experiences in America, France, Haiti, and Africa. Jones received honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters degrees from Suffolk University, Massachusetts College of Art, and Howard University and was elected a Fellow of The Royal Society of Art in London. In 1980, President Jimmy Carter presented her an award for Outstanding Achievement in the Visual Arts. Jones died June 9, 1998. Her works are in museums around the world, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Smithsonian American Art Museum, and the Corcoran Gallery of Art. • November 3, 1915 Harold Baron Jackson, hall of fame radio personality and disc jockey, was born in Charleston, South Carolina but raised in Washington, D. C. Jackson began his broadcasting career as the first African American radio sports announcer, broadcasting Howard University and local Negro league baseball games. In 1939, he became the first African American host at WINX/Washington with “The Bronze Review,” a nightly interview program. Jackson moved to New York City in 1954 and became the first radio personality to broadcast three daily shows on three different stations. In 1971, Jackson was one of the founders of the Inner City Broadcasting Corporation which acquired WLIB, the first African American owned and operated radio station in New York City. Jackson was inducted into the National Association of Broadcaster’s Hall of Fame in 1990, the first minority inducted, and the National Radio Hall of Fame in 1995, the first African American inducted. In 2003, he was presented a Pioneer Award by the Rhythm and Blues Foundation and in 2010 was named a “Giant in Broadcasting” by the Library of American Broadcasting. Jackson died May 23, 2012. • November 3, 1949 Larry Holmes, hall of fame boxer and entrepreneur, was born in Cuthbert, Georgia. Holmes started boxing at the age of 19 and had an amateur record of 19 wins and 3 losses. He had his first professional fight in 1973 and won the World Heavyweight Boxing Championship in 1978. Holmes successfully defended his title 20 times, second only to Joe Lewis who had 25 successful defenses, before he lost the title in 1985. After several comebacks, Holmes fought his last professional fight in 2002 and retired with a record of 69 wins and 6 losses. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2008. Holmes published his autobiography, “Larry Holmes: Against The Odds,” in 1998. He has extensive real estate holdings in Easton, Pennsylvania and co-hosts a local television show, “What The Heck Were They Thinking”. • November 3, 1970 Jeanette Jo Epps, NASA astronaut, was born in Syracuse, New York. Epps earned her Bachelor of Science degree in physics from LeMoyne College in 1992. She earned her Master of Science degree and Ph.D. in aerospace engineering from the University of Maryland in 1994 and 2000, respectively. After completing her education, Epps spent two years at Ford Motor Company where she was part of a team of four that received patent number 7,321,817 for an automobile frontal collision location detection for coordinated activation January 22, 2008. From 2002 to 2009, Epps worked at the United States Central Intelligence Agency. In 2009, she was selected for NASA training which she completed in 2011. • November 3, 1976 Charles Dean Dixon, orchestra conductor, died. Dixon was born January 10, 1915 in New York City. He studied conducting at the Juilliard School and Columbia University. In 1931, when early pursuits of conducting engagements were stifled by racial bias, Dixon formed his own orchestra and choral society. In 1948, Dixon won the Ditson Conductor’s Award and the next year left the United States to conduct orchestras in Israel, Sweden, Australia, and Germany. In 1974, he returned to the U. S. to guest conduct the New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, and the San Francisco Symphony. Dixon was honored by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers with the Award of Merit for encouraging the participation of American youth in music. • November 3, 1978 The Commonwealth of Dominica gained its independence from the United Kingdom. Dominica is an island nation in the Caribbean Sea located between the islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique. It is approximately 290 square miles in size with a population of 73,000. Approximately 87% of the population is Black and 80% are Roman Catholic. The official language is English.
Posted on: Sun, 03 Nov 2013 15:18:04 +0000
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