1837 - The second major African American newspaper, the "Weekly
Advocate" changes its name to the "Colored American."
1869 - The forty-second Congress convenes (1871-73) with five
African American congressmen: Joseph H. Rainey, Robert Carlos
Delarge, and Robert Brown Elliott from South Carolina;
Benjamin S. Turner, of Alabama; Josiah T. Walls of Florida.
Walls is elected in an at-large election and is the first
African American congressman to represent an entire state.
1889 - The fifty-first Congress convenes. Three Black congressmen:
Henry P. Cheatham of North Carolina; Thomas E. Miller of
South Carolina; and John Mercer Langston of Virginia.
1897 - Willie Covan is born in Atlanta, Georgia. He will become one
of the earliest successful tap dancers, appearing in the
original production of "Shuffle Along" as well as with the
Four Covans.
1901 - The congressional term of George H. White, last of the post
Reconstruction congressmen, ends.
1922 - Theater legend Bert Williams joins the ancestors at the age of
46 in New York City. He was considered the foremost African
American vaudeville performer, teaming first with George
Walker in 1895, most notably in "In Dahomey," and later as a
soloist with the Ziegfeld Follies.
1932 - Miriam Zenzi Makeba, "Empress of African Song," is born in
Prospect Township, South Africa. Although exiled from her
homeland, Makeba will become an internationally known singer
and critic of apartheid. Throughout her life and singing
career, She will use her voice to to draw the attention of
the world to the music of South Africa and to its oppressive
system of racial separation. After appearing in the
semi-documentary antiapartheid film, "Come Back, Africa," she
will attract international attention. This will include
meeting Harry Belafonte, who will become her sponsor and
promoter in the United States. Because her music always
contained a political component - the denunciation of
apartheid, her South African passport will be revoked in 1960.
Her career in the United States will be crippled by her
marriage to Stokely Carmichael (later Kwame Ture'), who was
active in the Black Panther Party. Her career will continue
to flourish in Europe. She will later become a United Nations
delegate from Guinea and will continue to record and perform.
She will return to her homeland, South Africa, in 1990 and in
1991, will make her first performance there in over thirty
years.
1934 - Barbara McNair is born in Racine, Wisconsin. She will become a
singer and actress, and will host her own television program
(The Barbara McNair Show). The glamorous actress will
moonlight as a pop singer between TV and film roles during the
1960s. She will be a classy addition to Berry Gordy's talent
roster when his firm attempts to diversify its appeal. She
will cut a pair of albums for Motown in 1966 and 1969.
1944 - Robert Dwayne "Bobby" Womack is born in Cleveland, Ohio. He
will become a Rhythm and Blues performer, guitarist and
songwriter.
1954 - The first African American sub-cabinet member is appointed.
President Eisenhower names J. Earnest Wilkins of Chicago as
the U.S. Assistant Secretary of Labor.
1968 - Joe Frazier defeats Buster Mathis for the world heavyweight
boxing championship by knockout in the eleventh round.
1968 - Martin Luther King, Jr. announces plans for the Poor People's
Campaign in Washington, DC. He says that he will lead a
massive civil disobedience campaign in the capital to pressure
the government to provide jobs and income for all Americans.
He tells a press conference that an army of poor white, poor
African Americans and Hispanics will converge on Washington on
April 20 and will demonstrate until their demands were met.
1981 - A jury in Salt Lake City convicts Joseph Paul Franklin, an
avowed racist, of violating the civil rights of two black men
who were shot to death.
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