#BlackHistory Every Day ~Today in Black History
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April 14, 1955 ~ Elston Howard became the first Black man to play for the New York Yankees baseball team. Howard broke through the color barrier a decade after Jackie Robinson accomplished a similar feat by joining the Brooklyn Dodgers across town. Howard also became the first African-American player to be named the American League's MVP. He played with New York until 1967 when he went to the Boston Red Sox.

https://www.bet.com/article/dl3sjw/this-day-in-black-history-april-14-1955

#BlackHistory Every Day ~Today in Black History
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April 15, 1947 ~ After more than 50 years of segregation, Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in Major League Basebal by becoming the first African-American to play in the MLB when he stepped on Ebbets Field in Brooklyn as a Brooklyn Dodger.

#MLB #Sports

Always a Chicago Bull IMHO. i couldn't even post the pic of him in the Wizards uniform, just didn't look right 🤔

#BlackHistory Every Day ~Today in Black History
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April 16, 2003 ~ Michael Jordan played his last NBA game with the Washington Wizards, who lost to the Philadelphia 76ers, 107-87.

#Sports #Basketball

#BlackHistory Every Day ~Today in Black History
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April 17, 2015 ~ American jazz composer and saxophonist John Coltrane is awarded a posthumous Special Citation by the Pulitzer Prize board.

Coltrane organized at least fifty recording sessions as a leader during his career, and appeared on many other albums, notably with trumpeter Miles Davis and pianist Thelonious Monk.

#Music

#BlackHistory Every Day ~ Yesterday in Black History
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April 18, 1977 ~ Alex Haley, author of “Roots,” is awarded the Pulitzer Prize. Roots was published in 1976 and was a major literary hit out of the gate. Upon its debut it sat at #5 on the New York Times Bestsellers list. While historical fiction or “faction” as Alex Haley called it, it was listed as non-fiction on the NYT list. Within a few weeks of its debut, Roots sat at #1.

#BlackHistory Every Day ~ Today in Black History
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April 19, 1978 ~ Max Robinson becomes the first African American anchor of a major network television news program when he begins co-anchor­ing ABC nightly news from Chicago.

This is actually yesterday. Trying to catch up from my fantastic Class Reunion Weekend.

#BlackHistory Every Day ~ Today in Black History
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April 20, 1971~ The United States Supreme Court rules unanimously that the busing of students from schools of predominantly one race to schools populated most by students of another race was a constitutionally accepted method for integrating the nation’s public schools.

#Education

#BlackHistory Every Day ~ Today in Black History
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April 21, 1974 ~ Lee Elder becomes the first African American professional golfer to qualify for the Masters Tournament.

#Golf #Sports

#BlackHistory Every Day ~ Today in Black History
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April 22, 1978 ~ Bob Marley performed his famous “One Love” concert at the National Stadium in Kingston, Jamaica. The concert was held during a political civil war in Jamaica. 💖

#OneLove #Music

#BlackHistory Every Day ~ Today in Black History
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April 23, 1872 ~ Charlotte E. Ray becomes the first Black female lawyer in US history. Born in New York City to a journalist father and a politically active mother, Ray was a brilliant student who was teaching at Howard University in D.C., by the time she was 19. By age 22 she had her law degree and was admitted to the D.C. bar. However, sexual and racial discrimination forced her to abandon her law practice and return to NY to teach.

#BlackHistory Every Day ~ Today in Black History
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April 24, 1972 ~ Robert Wedgeworth became the first African American director of the American Library Association.

Wedgeworth also founded Proliteracy Worldwide, the largest non-governmental literacy training agency in the world. He also edited the World Encyclopedia of Library and Information Services and served as a co-author of the book Starvation of Young Black Minds: The Effects of the Book Boycotts in South Africa.

#BlackHistory Every Day ~ Today in Black History
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April 25, 1943 ~ Tuskegee Institute President Frederick Patterson writes his famous letter urging the presidents of the nation’s predominantly Black colleges and universities to “pool their small re­sources and make an appeal to the national conscience” in order to produce more scholarship funds for the edu­cation of Black students. One year later the United Negro College Fund is incorporated with 27 member colleges.

#BlackHistory Every Day ~ Today in Black History
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April 26, 2021 ~ D.C. National Guard Maj. Gen. William J. Walker, sworn in as the 38th sergeant-at-arms for the US House of Representatives and the first-ever Black to hold the position.
In January 2023 when Kevin McCarthy became Speaker, Walker was directed to resign in order for McCarthy to make his own permanent choice for SAA.

#Politics #History #Congress

#BlackHistory Every Day ~ Today in Black History
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April 28, 1971 ~ Samuel L. Gravely, Jr. became the first African American admiral in the U.S. Navy. He was the first African American in the U.S. Navy to serve aboard a fighting ship as an officer, the first to command a Navy ship, the first fleet commander, and the first to become a flag officer, retiring as a vice admiral. His decorations include the Bronze Star, Legion of Merit, Navy Commendation Medal, and Meritorious Service Medal.

#BlackHistory Every Day ~ Today in Black History
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April 29, 1945 ~ The memoir by Richard Wright about his upbringing in Roxie, Mississippi, “Black Boy,” became the top-selling book in the U.S.

He was the first Black author to see his work sold through the Book-of-a-Month Club. His works played a role in changing white Americans’ views on race.

#Writers

#BlackHistory Every Day ~ Today in Black History
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April 30, 1863 ~ SARAH J. SMITH TOMPKINS GARNET becomes the first African American female principal in the New York City public school system.
Sarah Smith led a long and distinguished career in the New York public schools. She began as a teacher’s assistant in 1845 when she was fourteen years old and retired as a principal in 1900.

@nursefrombirth well okay but

@nursefrombirth
Still the greatest that ever was in my book. None of the current players could hold a candle. That's because he had to play in an era where the NBA actually allowed you to play defense. And me as a Knicks fan, I'd watch him drive the lane while Charles Oakley and Anthony Mason were in his way. Most NBA stars today would turn tail and run with that unit facing them down.

@nursefrombirth Roots made a lot of white folks think for the first time about the lives and societies these people had before they were kidnapped.

@nursefrombirth

Black excellence. 💐

@nursefrombirth 😡

@nursefrombirth I'm going to take a brief break from not criticizing the person who I want to defeat Trump in the election, because if I don't remind people that Joe Biden fought against school busing I will explode.

None of our politicians are perfect. Let's remember that these are not hero figures, they're people who run for office.

At the same time, Biden's not getting rid of school busing today, and Trump will get rid of lots of stuff.

@AskTheDevil

People grow and change, that's what life is all about. The problem is "REFUSING to CHANGE"

@nursefrombirth I would have to say, I would be surprised if he had not evolved since then. It was a long time ago in human terms. Many people here weren't even born yet.

@nursefrombirth
As a child, my neighborhood, was predominantly white. In grade school, two sisters who I became friends with bussed to my school and they were two of a handful of black students. It was the 80s. Thankfully, my parents were pretty accepting, and we became friends and had sleepovers, etc. 1/2

@nursefrombirth
2/2
As a child, I had NO understanding of the whole political/racial brouhaha, none. Nobody explained it to me. I just thought it was really odd that we had no black neighbors. 😟 💔 I've learned a lot since then, though, I can tell you that.

And!!! Now I have plenty of black neighbors where I live -- which -- well, that makes me happy.

@nursefrombirth

3/sorry oops still talking. 😂

But I just wanted to say I remember that.

It happened, I was there, and if people tell you black and white people just naturally want to live apart and that "separate but equal" is somehow OK, tney're wrong.

I will not forget my friends and their mother who fought so hard to get her girls a better education than was available to them in their neighborhood they went through a lot. I remember, and it happened.