#BlackHistory Every Day ~Today in Black History
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April 1, 1868 ~ Hampton University in Hampton, Virginia is founded as Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute during Reconstruction. The school is now one of the leading Black educational institutions in America.
#BlackHistory Every Day ~Today in Black History
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April 2, 1984 ~ Georgetown coach John Thompson becomes first black coach to win NCAA basketball tournament.
#BlackHistory Every Day ~Today in Black History
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April 3, 1968 ~ Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his final speech, “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop,” one day before he was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee.
In addition, on this day in 1963, Dr. King led a drive against discrimination in Birmingham, Alabama. The scene turned violent when the city’s police force, led by Commissioner Eugene “Bull” Connor, unleashed high-powered hoses and dogs against demonstrators.
#BlackHistory Every Day ~Today in Black History
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April 4, 1968 ~ Rev. Martin Luther King. Jr. Assassinated at a hotel in Memphis, TN.
#BlackHistory Every Day ~Today in Black History
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April 5, 1984 ~ Hall of Fame basketball player, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar scores the 31,420th point of his career, breaking the NBA’s all-time scoring record, which had been held by Wilt Chamberlain. Abdul-Jabbar's record remained unbroken for 38 years.
On February 7, 2023, star LeBron James of the LA Lakers surpassed Abdul-Jabbar’s record, scoring a career 38,390 points following a game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
#BlackHistory Every Day ~Today in Black History
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April 6, 1909 ~ Famed African American explorer Matthew Henson was hired by explorer Robert Edwin as his valet for expeditions. For more than two decades, they explored the Arctic, and on April 6, 1909, Peary, Henson and the rest of their team made history, becoming the first people to reach the North Pole — or at least they claimed to have. Henson died in New York City in 1955.
#BlackHistory Every Day ~Today in Black History
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April 7, 2022 ~ Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson was confirmed as the 116th Supreme Court Justice securing her place as the first Black woman on the high court.
#BlackHistory Every Day ~Today in Black History
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April 8, 1974 ~ Hank Aaron Breaks Babe Ruth’s Home Run Record
#BlackHistory Every Day ~Today in Black History
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April 9, 1968 ~ Thousands of mourners followed the body of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in a procession around the streets of Atlanta to pay their final respects to the civil rights leader on April 9, 1968.
A public service was held at Morehouse College and a private service was held for the family and close friends of Dr. King at the Ebenezer Baptist Church. First lady Jacqueline Kennedy was one of many notable figures in attendance.
#BlackHistory Every Day ~Today in Black History
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April 10, 1972 ~ Sammy Davis Jr. became the first African-American to host the Academy Awards ceremony.
Another Black History moment was made that night when Isaac Hayes won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for "Theme From Shaft." The singer-songwriter and actor became the first African-American to win that award (or any Academy Award in a non-acting category.)
#BlackHistory Every Day ~Today in Black History
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April 11, 1966 ~ Emmett Ashford makes history as first Black umpire in American League. The milestone came two decades after Jackie Robinson broke the barrier against Black players in the National and American Leagues.
#BlackHistory Every Day ~Today in Black History
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April 12, 1861 ~ Battle of Fort Sumter:
The Confederates attack Fort Sumter in the Charleston, S.C., harbor setting off the Civil War. Thinking the recent election of Abraham Lincoln would lead to the ending of slavery, the Southerners struck first in a bid to form a separate, White-controlled, slave-owning nation.
The Civil War cost the lives of more than 620,000 Americans, and freed 3.9 million enslaved people from bondage.
#CivilWar
#BlackHistory Every Day ~Today in Black History
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April 13, 1997 ~ 21-year-old Tiger Woods wins the prestigious Masters Tournament by a record 12 strokes in Augusta, GA. It was his first victory in one of golf’s four major championships and the greatest performance by a professional golfer in more than a century. It also made him the youngest golfer by two years to win the Masters and the first person of Asian or African heritage to win a major.
#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.
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.
#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.
#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.
#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.
#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. 💖
#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.
#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.
#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.
Black excellence. 💐
#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.