Tuesday, April 06, 2010

Today in Black History 04/05/2010

*                 Today in Black History - April 5                *

1839 - Robert Smalls is born into slavery in Beaufort, South
    Carolina. He will become a Civil War hero by sailing an
    armed Confederate steamer out of Charleston Harbor and
    presenting it to the Union Navy.  He will later become a
    three-term congressman from his state.

1856 - Booker Taliaferro Washington is born a slave near Hale's
    Ford, Virginia.  He will become a world reknown educator,
    founder of Tuskegee Institute.  He will become one of the
    most famous African American educators and leaders of the
    19th century. His message of acquiring practical skills and
    emphasizing self-help over political rights will be popular
    among whites and segments of the African American community.
    His 1901 autobiography, "Up From Slavery", which details his
    rise to success despite numerous obstacles, will become a
    best-seller and further enhances his public image as a
    self-made man. As popular as he will be in some circles,
    Washington will be aggressively opposed by critics such as
    W.E.B. Du Bois and William Monroe Trotter. He will join the
    ancestors on November 14, 1915.  He will become the first
    African American to be honored on a U.S. postage stamp.

1879 - Charles W. Follis is born in Cloverdale, Virginia.  He is the
    first African American to play professional football. He
    will play halfback for the Blues of Shelby, Ohio in 1904. 
    The Blues were part of the American Professional Football
    League, a forerunner of the National Football League.

1915 - Jess Willard defeats Jack Johnson for the heavyweight boxing
    crown in twenty three rounds.

1934 - Stanley Turrentine is born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  He
    will become a jazz saxophonist and in 1953, will replace the
    famed John Coltrane in the popular big band of Earl Bostic.
    After a three-year army stint, which affords him his only
    formal musical training, Turrentine comes to prominence on
    the New York Jazz scene as a member of Max Roach's group
    in 1959.  Over the years, Turrentine's recordings will
    combine musical energies with friends such as Ron Carter,
    Roland Hanna, Ray Charles, Freddie Hubbard, Jon Hendricks,
    George Benson, Cedar Walton, Herbie Hancock, Kenny Burrell,
    Milt Jackson, Joe Sample, Shirley Scott, Jimmy Smith, Grady
    Tate, and many others.  He will be nominated for the Grammy
    Award four times.

1937 - Colin Powell is born in New York City. He will become a
    highly decorated Army officer, receiving the Bronze Star and
    Purple Heart during the Vietnam War, and will be later
    promoted to four-star general in 1988. He will become the
    first African American to serve as the Chairman of the Joint
    Chiefs of Staff for the U.S. Armed Forces.

1956 - Booker T. Washington becomes the only African American
    honored twice on a U.S. postage stamp. To commemorate the
    centennial of his birth, the U.S. Postal Service issues a
    stamp depicting the cabin where he was born.

1967 - Philadelphia '76er Wilt Chamberlain sets a NBA record of 41
    rebounds in a single game.

1976 - FBI documents, released in response to a freedom of
    information suit, reveal that the government mounted an
    intensive campaign against civil rights organizations in the
    sixties.  In a letter dated August 25, 1967, the FBI said
    the government operation, called COINTELPRO, was designed
    "to expose, disrupt, misdirect, discredit or otherwise
    neutralize the activities of Black nationalists, hate-type
    groups, their leadership, spokesmen, membership and
    supporters, and to counter their propensity for violence and
    civil disorders." A later telegram specifically named the
    Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and the Southern
    Christian Leadership Conference as organizations having
    "radical and violence prone leaders, members and followers."

1977 - Gertrude Downing receives a patent for the corner cleaner
     attachment.

1984 - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar breaks Wilt Chamberlain's all-time career
    scoring record of 31,419 points (31,421).

1990 - Seven African American journalists are inducted into the
    newly created Hall of Fame of the National Association of
    Black Journalists in Washington, DC.  Dubbed "pioneers of
    mainstream journalism," the inductees include Dorothy Butler
    Gilliam of the Washington Post, Malvin R. Goode of ABC
    News, Mal H. Johnson of Cox Broadcasting, Gordon Parks of
    Life Magazine, Ted Poston of the New York Post, Norma
    Quarles of Cable News Network, and Carl T. Rowan of King
    Features Syndicate.  Twelve Pulitzer Prize winners are also
    honored at the awards ceremonies.

2000 - Ending a two-year investigation, an independent counsel clears
    Labor Secretary Alexis Herman of allegations that she had
    solicited $ 250,000 in illegal campaign contributions.

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