#BlackHistory Every Day ~Today in Black History
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November 21, 1934 ~ At the age of 17, Ella Fitzgerald makes her singing debut at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem, NY.
Within a year of winning she had been discovered by Chick Webb, to whose band she was legally paroled by the State of New York while still shy of her 18th birthday.
It was with this band that she scored her career-making hit, “A-Tisket A-Tasket” in 1938, but it was as a solo performer that she would become a jazz legend.
#BlackHistory Every Day ~Today in Black History
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November 22, 1993 ~ George Branham III becomes the first African American to win a major bowling championship at the Tournament of Champions, the PBA’s premiere event of the season.
Branham professional bowling career got off to a quick start as he achieved eight consecutive tournament wins between 1985 and 1987 including the Brunswick Memorial World Open in 1986 where he became the first African American to win a major PBA event.
#BlackHistory Every Day ~Today in Black History
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November 23, 1990 ~ The Piano Lesson, a play by August Wilson, wins the Pulitzer Prize for drama.
Set in 1936 Pittsburgh during the aftermath of the Great Depression, The Piano Lesson follows the lives of the Charles family and an heirloom, the family piano, which is decorated with designs carved by an enslaved ancestor. The play focuses on the arguments between a brother and a sister who have different ideas on what to do with the piano.
#BlackHistory Every Day ~Today in Black History
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November 24, 2021 ~ Three men were convicted of murder in the killing of Ahmaud Arbery, a Black man who was running through a Georgia subdivision in February 2020 when the white strangers chased him, trapped him on a quiet street and blasted him with a shotgun.
All three were convicted of felony murder, aggravated assault, false imprisonment, and criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment.
😢
#BlackHistory Every Day ~Today in Black History
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November 25, 1955 ~ In a landmark civil rights case, Sarah Keys v. Carolina Coach Company, the Inter-state Commerce Commission ruled that racial segregation on inter-state trains and passenger buses must end by January 10, 1956. It also ruled that segregation of inter-state travelers in public waiting-rooms is unlawful.
#BlackHistory Every Day ~Today in Black History
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November 26, 1895 ~ National Negro Medical Association founded. Currently named The National Medical Association (NMA), was created by 12 black doctors at the Cotton States and International Exposition in Atlanta, GA.
The organization’s mission was to combat racism and segregation in the medical field, both for medical professionals and their patients. NMA remains active in the fight for medical civil rights today.
#BlackHistory Every Day ~Today in Black History
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November 27, 1841~Liberators of the ship Amistad, Africans of the Mende Tribe, set sail to return to Africa.
Kidnapped, sold, and forced on the Amistad, the captives revolted, killing 2 crew members, including the captain. Lost at sea, they ended up in NY where their fight for freedom led to a U.S. trial and a landmark decision declaring them not guilty of mutiny.
They were freed and set sail back to Africa, arriving home in January 1842.
#BlackHistory Every Day ~Today in Black History
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November 28, 1901 ~ William Hooper Councill wrote a letter to the white people of Alabama.
In the letter, Councill outlines his views regarding the recently passed Alabama Constitution which effectively denied the vote to its African American citizens.
You can read the letter here:
#BlackHistory Every Day ~Today in Black History
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November 29, 1961 ~ Freedom Riders Attacked by White Mob.
Freedom Riders were groups of white and African American civil rights activists who participated in Freedom Rides, bus trips through the American South in 1961 to protest segregated bus terminals.
#BlackHistory Every Day ~Today in Black History
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November 30, 1956 ~ At 21 years, 10 months, 3 weeks, 5 days Floyd Patterson becomes world heavyweight boxing champion. At that time, he was the youngest boxer in history to win the title.
Patterson was also the first heavyweight to regain the title after losing it. As an amateur, he won a gold medal in the middleweight division at the 1952 Summer Olympics. He is recognized as one of the best heavyweights of all time.
#BlackHistory Every Day ~Today in Black History
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December 1, 1987 ~ Carrie Saxon Perry begins her term as the mayor of Hartford, CT, becoming first African American woman mayor of a major U.S. city.
She served three terms before being defeated in 1993, and also served as a member of the Connecticut House of Representatives from 1980 until 1987. Perry was known for her distinctive broad-rimmed hats.
#BlackHistory Every Day ~Today in Black History
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December 2, 1859 ~ John Brown, one of the leading White heroes of Black history, is hanged near Harpers Ferry, Va. He was a tireless crusader against slavery.
Brown’s frustration, with the slow pace of efforts to abolish slavery, led him to attempt to incite a violent slave revolt which began with a raid on the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry in October 1859. His group was eventually cornered and he was hanged on this day in 1859.
#BlackHistory Every Day ~Today in Black History
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December 3, 1970 ~ Jennifer Josephine Hosten of Grenada becomes the the 1st woman of African ancestry to win the Miss World contest.
She was crowned amid the greatest controversy in Miss World Pageant history.
The unrest continued when Ms. Hosten and the black contestant from South Africa were announced as Miss World and 1st runner up. Protesters charged that the results displayed racism against the unsuccessful white contestants.
#BlackHistory Every Day ~Today in Black History
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December 4, 1969 ~ Moneta Sleet Jr. of Ebony magazine awarded a Pulitzer Prize for photography becoming the first African American male to be cited by the Pulitzer committee.
He was awarded in Feature Photography for his photo of Coretta Scott King, Martin Luther King Jr.'s widow, at her husband's funeral.
During his years at Ebony, he also worked by MLK Jr.’s side for 13 years, capturing historical moments of the civil rights movement.
#BlackHistory Every Day ~Today in Black History
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December 5, 1957 ~ New York became the first city to legislate against racial or religious discrimination in housing market with adoption of Fair Housing Practices Law (Local Law 80, the Sharkey-Brown-Isaacs Law).
This law empowered the Commission on Intergroup Relations (COIR) to investigate and hold hearings on allegations of discrimination in private housing.
#BlackHistory Every Day ~Today in Black History
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December 6, 1936 ~ Dr. Richard Francis Jones (Dr. R. Frank Jones)became the first African American Diplomate of the American Board of Urology. He is the sixth African American ever to become a board-certified specialist in the U.S.
At the time, Black physicians were not allowed to join medical specialty societies, which kept them from working in most hospitals. Dr. Jones is also the first African American member of the AUA.
#BlackHistory Every Day ~Today in Black History
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December 7, 1874 ~ Vicksburg Massacre
Peter Crosby, a previously enslaved Black man, was elected as Vicksburg, Mississippi’s sheriff. Soon after he was indicted on bogus criminal charges and forcefully ousted from office by hordes of angry whites.
A group of blacks banded together to assist Mr. Crosby. In retaliation, enraged white mobs brutalized and slaughtered hundreds of Black citizens in a racially-charged terrorist attack.
#BlackHistory Every Day ~Today in Black History
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December 8, 1987 ~ Kurt Lidell Schmoke was inaugurated as the first African American mayor of Baltimore, Maryland.
#BlackHistory Every Day ~Today in Black History
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December 9, 1833 ~ The Philadelphia Female Anti-Slavery Society was founded.
Inspired by the growing anti-slavery movement, an interracial group of 21 women, led by Quaker abolitionist Lucretia Mott, founded the Philadelphia Female Anti-Slavery Society (PFASS).
Mission: "We deem it our duty, as professing Christians to manifest our abhorrence of the flagrant injustice and deep sin of slavery by united and vigorous exertions."
#BlackHistory Every Day ~Today in Black History
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December 10, 1846 ~ Norbert Rillieux invents the “multiple effect pan evaporator” which revolutionizes the sugar industry and makes the work much less hazardous for the workers.
Rillieux was born “quadroon libre” in New Orleans, La. His father was a wealthy French plantation owner and his mother a former slave. He was sent to Paris, France, to be educated in engineering. He also researched Egyptian hieroglyphics.
#BlackHistory Every Day ~Today in Black History
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December 11, 1917~ Racial tensions led to the Houston riot, triggered by mistreatment of Black soldiers. A Black corporal's inquiry into the treatment of a black woman escalated into a fight, and rumors of a White mob prompted 100 Black soldiers to march on downtown Houston killing 15 whites. The riot resulted in 13 Black soldiers being hanged.
The 2020 film, The 24th, is based on the history of the Houston Riot.
#BlackHistory Every Day ~Today in Black History
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December 12, 1975 ~ The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) was founded in Washington, D.C. The organization consists of journalists, students, and media-related professionals who provide programs and services on behalf of black journalists.
NABJ is the largest organization of journalists of color in the nation. The organization has worked for diversity and to increase the number of minorities in newsrooms across the country.
#BlackHistory Every Day ~Today in Black History
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December 13, 1957 ~ Daniel A Chapman becomes Ghana's 1st ambassador to the US
Daniel Ahmling Chapman Nyaho was the first African appointee at the U.N. and served Secretary to the cabinet in the first Convention People's Party government which shared the colony's administration with the colonial government. He also served as Ghana's ambassador to the US and Ghana's permanent representative to the U.N.
#BlackHistory Every Day ~Today in Black History
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December 14, 1959 ~ Motown Record Company, the first large Black-owned music company in America, was founded. With the creation Motown, founder Berry Gordy was able to introduce Black popular music to the country and garnered wide acclaim for his artists in the 1960s.
Motown's artists had the crossover power to break through racial divides of the era. Smokey and the Miracles' "Shop Around" was the label's first hit song.
#BlackHistory Every Day ~Today in Black History
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December 15, 2006 ~ B.B. King received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Pres George W. Bush. The honor is bestowed to those who have contributed to the national interest of the United States, through actions of world peace, culture, and other significant public endeavors.
Other Awards:
*Blues Foundation Hall of Fame (1984)
*Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1987).
*Grammy Award for Lifetime Achievement (1987).
#BlackHistory Every Day ~Today in Black History
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December 16, 1946 ~
Booker T. Washington became the first African American featured on a coin issued by the U.S. Mint. Artist, sculptor, and educator Isaac Scott Hathaway -- the first African American commissioned by the U.S. Mint to design a coin -- created the commemorative half-dollar. Sales of the coin were earmarked to establish and maintain Washington's birthplace as a national monument.
#BlackHistory Every Day ~Today in Black History
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December 17, 1991 ~ Michael Jordan is named Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year.
Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time." He played fifteen seasons in the NBA, winning six NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls. He was integral in popularizing the sport of basketball and the NBA around the world in the 1980s and 1990s] becoming a global cultural icon.
His Accomplishments: MANY 🥰
#BlackHistory Every Day ~Today in Black History
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December 18, 1865 ~ Congress passes the 13th Amendment to the Constitution officially abolishing slavery in America.
The amendment was passed by the Senate on April 8, 1864, by the House of Representatives on January 31, 1865, and ratified by the required 27 of the then 36 states on December 6, 1865, and proclaimed on December 18. It was the first of the three Reconstruction Amendments adopted following the American Civil War.
#BlackCoSo
#BlackHistory Every Day ~Today in Black History
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December 19, 1891 ~ One of the pioneers of Black Catholicism, Father Charles Randolph Uncles, was ordained in Baltimore, Md as the first African-American priest in the United States of America.
Two years later, he co-founded the Society of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart (a.k.a. the Josephites), formed to minister to the African American community.
#BlackHistory Every Day ~Today in Black History
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December 20, 1860 ~ Believing the recent election of Abraham Lincoln would end slavery; South Carolina becomes the 1st state to secede from the Union. Other states hold conventions and by the time Lincoln takes office on March 4, 1861, seven Southern states had seceded to form the Confederacy. This laid the foundation for the Civil War. In 1865, the victory of the North ends slavery but not before more than 600,000 people had been killed.
#BlackHistory Every Day ~Today in Black History
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December 21, 1865 ~ South Carolina on enacted a series of “Black Codes.” The codes displayed a White Southern obsession with three things after losing the Civil War.
1) Controlling Blacks.
2) Preventing sexual relations between Blacks and Whites.
3) Retarding Black economic progress.
Fortunately, many of the codes were never fully enforced because Northern troops occupied the South and voided many of the “Black Codes.”
Oh my! Missed yesterday. Here we go.
#BlackHistory Every Day ~Today in Black History
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December 22, 1997 ~ The Mississippi Supreme Court upheld the conviction of white supremacist Byron De La Beckwith for the 1963 murder of Medgar Evers.
The conviction helped clear the way for other prosecutions of unpunished killings from the civil rights era.
Myrlie Evers and Reena Evers-Everette cheer the jury verdict Credit: AP/Rogelio Solis
#BlackHistory Every Day ~Today in Black History
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December 23, 1863 ~ Robert Blake, powder boy aboard the USS Marbelhead, was the first Black awarded the Naval Medal of Honor "for conspicuous gallantry, extraordinary heroism, and intrepidity at the risk of his own life." The heroic action occurred during a victorious battle off the coast of South Carolina on this day.
#BlackHistory Every Day ~Today in Black History
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December 24, 1832 ~ Charter granted to the Georgia Infirmary, the first black hospital “for the relief and protection of aged and afflicted Africans,” it was established by the Georgia General Assembly and funded by a $10,000 grant from the estate of Thomas F. Williams, a local merchant and minister. Today the institution is known as the Adult Day Center-Georgia Infirmary and is part of St. Joseph’s/Candler healthcare network.
#BlackHistory Every Day ~Today in Black History
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December 25, 1760 ~ Jupiter Hammon becomes first published black poet with his poem, “An Evening Thought”.
Hammon’s life and writings offer an exceptionally nuanced view of slavery and freedom on Long Island before and after the American Revolution. His works are especially significant because most literature and historical documents from the 18th century were not written from an enslaved person’s point of view.
#BlackHistory Every Day ~Today in Black History
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December 26, 1966 ~ The first day of the first Kwanzaa is celebrated in Los Angeles under the direction of Maulana Karenga, the chair of Black Studies at California State University at Long Beach. The seven-day holiday, which has strong African roots, was designed by Dr. Karenga as a celebration of African American family, community, and culture.
#BlackHistory Every Day ~Today in Black History
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December 27, 1956 ~ Segregation is outlawed on public buses in Tallahassee, Fla.
The decision followed a six-month long boycott by the city’s African-American population. Federal Judge Dozier Devane granted temporary injunction restraining city officials from interfering with integration of Tallahassee city buses and said "every segregation act of every state or city is as dead as a doornail.
#BlackHistory Every Day ~Today in Black History
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December 28, 1816 ~ The American Colonization Society (ACS) is organized to relocate Black people to Africa. Its founders held diverse, and sometimes conflicting, motivations. Some, including abolitionists, viewed it as a path to ending slavery and providing a haven for freedom. Others, including slaveholders, saw it as a way to remove free Black people from the USA, fearing their presence might incite unrest among enslaved populations.
#BlackHistory Every Day ~Today in Black History
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December 29, 1992 ~ Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” is certified Gold, Platinum and Triple Platinum with sales of more than 3 million units.
Success from the song not only garnered attention from the music world, but it was also featured on the The Bodyguard soundtrack, an award-winning film starring Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner. The album became the best-selling soundtrack of all time, selling 12 million units worldwide.
#BlackHistory Every Day ~Today in Black History
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December 30, 1892 ~ Physician, Dr Miles V Lynk, publishes the first Black medical journal, Medical and Surgical Observer. The journal was published monthly from 1892 to 1894.
He also was the cofounder in 1895 of the National Medical Association, the organization for black physicians. In 1893 he married Beebe Stephan, who would later become one of the first black women in the nation to teach chemistry and medical Latin.
#BlackHistory Every Day ~Today in Black History
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December 31, 1862 ~ 1st Watch Night Service.
Lincoln issued an executive order in Sept 1862, declaring that enslaved people in the rebellious Confederate states were legally free. This decree, the Emancipation Proclamation, would not take effect until the midnight of the new year.
This tradition not only commemorates freedom from slavery but also celebrates the importance of faith, community and perseverance.
https://apnews.com/article/watch-night-emancipation-black-americans-freedom-9d169e7bc6be54a764a190d6b73cf760