* Today in Black History - December 12 *
1870 - Joseph Hayne Rainey is the first African American to serve
in Congress representing South Carolina. He is sworn in
to fill an unexpired term.
1872 - U.S. Attorney General George Williams sends a telegram to
"Acting Governor Pinchback," saying that the African
American politician "was recognized by the President as
the lawful executive of Louisiana."
1892 - Minnie Evans, visual artist and painter, is born in Long Creek,
Pender County, North Carolina. She will begin drawing on Good
Friday 1935, where she finished two drawings using pen and ink
"dominated by concentric and semi-circles against a background
of unidentifiable linear motifs". She will hear a voice in her
head saying ‘Why don't you draw or die?' After this, she did
not resume drawing until 1940. She will start using pencil and
wax on paper for her beginning works and she will later work
with oil paints and mixed media collages. Her subject matter
will be either biblical scenes or scenes from nature. Her
influences will include African, Caribbean, East India, Chinese,
and Western cultures. Since she will hold the position as
gatekeeper at the Arlie Gardens, she will often use the gardens
as her inspiration in her work to depict nature scenes. She will
first start selling her work at the Arlie Gardens by hanging her
pieces on the front gate of the gardens. Those who would come
and visit the Arlie Gardens will begin purchasing her work. Soon
she will become known throughout the south and visitors would
come to the gardens just to see her work. In 1961, she will have
her first formal exhibition of drawings and oils at the Artists
Gallery in Wilmington, NC. In 1962, she will meet Nina Howell
Starr, who will publicize her work for the next 25 years. Starr,
also an artist herself (photographer), will become aware of her
work in 1961 and will want to meet the artist in person. From
1962-1973, Starr will record interviews with her about her work.
At first, she will be hesitant to trust Starr with her work, but
they will gain a mutual respect for each other. Starr will help
to launch her career by storing and selling her art in New York
City. She will also guide her in the art world by making her sign
and date her pieces. In 1966, Starr will arrange for her first New
York exhibit at The Church of Epiphany and Clements Episcopal
Church. In August 1969, another exhibition of her work will take
place at the Art Image Gallery of New York and in 1975, will curate
a major Evans exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art.
With failing health, another exhibition of her work will be curated
in 1980 at the St. John's Museum. She will have many other
exhibitions in New York as well. She will join the ancestors on
December 16, 1987 at age 95, leaving more than 400 artworks to the
St. Johns Museum of Art (now the Cameron Art Museum) in Wilmington.
After Eher transition, artist Virginia Wright-Frierson will design
and build the Minnie Evans Bottle Chapel at Airlie Gardens in her
memory. "Minnie Evans" day will be proclaimed on May 14, 1994 in
Greenville, NC. One of her more famous works will be "Lion of Judah."
She will be inducted into the Wilmington, NC "Walk of Fame."
1899 - Boston native, dentist, and avid golfer, George F. Grant
receives a patent for a wooden golf tee. Prior to the
use of the tee, wet sand was used to make a small mound
to place the ball. Grant's invention will revolutionize
the manner in which golfers swing at the ball.
1912 - Henry Melody Jackson, Jr. is born in Columbus, Mississippi.
He will move with his family to St. Louis, Missouri and
become a boxer known as Henry Armstrong. In 1938 he will
become the first boxer to hold three titles at the same
time after winning the lightweight boxing championship.
He will be inducted into the St. Louis Walk of Fame as well
as the International Boxing Hall of Fame. His boxing record
at the time of his retirement in 1945 will be 150 wins, 101
wins by knockout, 21 losses, and 10 draws. After retiring
from boxing, he will become a Baptist minister and will
teach young upcoming fighters how to box. He will join
the ancestors on October 22, 1988 in Los Angeles, California.
1918 - Joseph Goreed "Joe Williams" is born in Cordele, Georgia.
He will begin singing professionally as a soloist in 1937. He
will sometimes sing with big bands: from 1937 he will perform
with Jimmie Noone's Apex Club Orchestra, and also tour with Les
Hite in the Midwest. In 1941, he will tour with Coleman Hawkins
to Memphis, Tennessee. In 1943, he will perform in Boston with
the Lionel Hampton Orchestra. He will tour with Hampton for
several years but will never achieve breakthrough success. He
will sing with Red Saunders at the Club DeLisa in Chicago in
1945, and in 1946 in New York with Andy Kirk. In the late 1940s
he will be in bad health and will and performed very little. By
October 1950, he will again perform at the Club DeLisa with Red
Saunders, where Count Basie will hear him. From 1954 to 1961, he
will be the singer for the Count Basie Orchestra. He will rise
to national prominence with Basie, who will nickname him "The
Number One Son". "Every Day I Have the Blues", recorded in 1955,
will be one of his many hit recordings. After leaving the Basie
band, he will have a successful career as a soloist at festivals,
in clubs and on television. He and Basie will remain on good terms
and he will regularly appear with the Basie orchestra. He will
tour and make recordings with many other musicians, including
Harry "Sweets" Edison in 1961–62, Junior Mance between 1962 and
1964, George Shearing in 1971, and Cannonball Adderley between
1973 and 1975. He will go on a long tour from Egypt to India with
Clark Terry in 1977, and will tour Europe and the United States
with Thad Jones and the Basie Orchestra in 1985. He will also work
with his own combos, which between 1970 and 1990 will usually
include the pianist Norman Simmons, and often had Henry Johnson on
guitar. He will sing with the Basie orchestra in two films,
"Jamboree" in 1957 and "Cinderfella" in 1960. He will sometimes
work as an actor, and in 1985 will take the rôle of "Grandpa Al"
Hanks in Bill Cosby's popular Cosby Show. He will appear several
times on Sesame Street in the 1980s and early 1990s. In later life,
he will often work in hotels and clubs in Las Vegas, but will also
sing at festivals and work on cruise ships. He will tour again with
the Basie Orchestra, this time under the direction of Frank Foster,
who will succeed Thad Jones as leader of the band. He will sing with
the former Ellington Orchestra drummer Louie Bellson in Duke
Ellington's jazz suite "Black, Brown and Beige." In about 1993 or
1994, he will tour again with George Shearing. He will work regularly
until he joins the ancestors in Las Vegas on March 29, 1999, at the
age of 80. In 1988, with his wife Jillean and friends, he will set up
the not-for-profit Joe Williams Every Day Foundation to offer
scholarships to talented young musicians. His 1955 recording of "Every
Day I Have the Blues" with Basie will be added to the Grammy Hall of
Fame for recordings of particular historical or qualitative importance
in 1992. He will be added to the Jazz Wall of Fame of the American
Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers in 2001.
1929 - Vincent Dacosta Smith is born in New York City. In a career that will
span half a century, he will document in brilliant color some of the
most compelling events in twentieth-century America. From the be-bop-
fueled improvisation of 1940s Harlem jazz clubs, to the visceral tug
of civil rights workers confronting deep-seated hate with soul-clearing
hope, to the creative militancy of the Black Arts Movement, he will be
there, brush in hand, bearing witness. "A figurative painter with an
often subtle, social thrust, he will place his subjects in a stylized
way against geometric, textured and intricately colored backgrounds," as
noted by the New York Times. He will exhibit his works on four continents
and be represented in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the
National Museum of American Art, and the National Museum of Afro-American
Artists in Boston. He will join the ancestors on December 27, 2003.
1938 - The U.S. Supreme Court rules in Missouri that a state must provide
equal educational facilities for African Americans within its
boundaries. Lloyd Gaines, the plaintiff in the case, will disappear
after the decision and is never seen again.
1941 - Marie Dionne Warrick (later Warwick) is born in East Orange, New
Jersey. She will sing in a gospel trio with her sister Dee Dee and
cousin Cissy Houston, and begin her solo career in 1960 singing the
songs of Burt Bacharach and Hal David. She will become a three-time
Grammy winner. She will rank among the 40 biggest hit makers of the
entire rock era, based on the Billboard Hot 100 Pop Singles Charts.
She is second only to Aretha Franklin as the most-charted female
vocalist of all time, with 69 of Warwick's singles making the
Billboard Hot 100 between 1962 and 1998.
1943 - Grover Washington, Jr. is born in Buffalo, New York. He will become
a jazz artist. His big break will come at the expense of another
artist. Alto sax man Hank Crawford will be unable to make a recording
date with Creed Taylor's Kudu Records, and he will take his place,
even though he was a backup. This will lead to his first solo album,
"Inner City Blues." He will be talented and displayed heart and soul
with soprano, alto, tenor, and baritone saxophones. Refreshing for
his time, he will make headway into the jazz mainstream. While his
first three albums will establish him as a force in jazz and soul
music, it will be his fourth album in 1974, "Mister Magic," that will
prove a major commercial success. The album will climb to number 10
in Billboard's Top 40 album chart and the title track will reach No.
16 on the R&B singles chart (#54, pop). All these albums will include
guitarist Eric Gale as a near-permanent member in his arsenal. His
follow-up on Kudu in 1975, "Feels So Good" will also make No. 10 on
the album chart. A string of acclaimed records will bring him through
the 1970s, culminating in the signature piece for everything he would
do from then on. "Winelight" (1980) will be the album that will define
everything he is about, having signed for Elektra Records, part of the
major Warner Music group. The album will be smooth, fused with Rhythn
& Blues and easy listening feel. His love of basketball, especially the
Philadelphia 76ers, will lead him to dedicate the second track, "Let It
Flow", to Julius Erving (Dr. J). The highlight of the album will be his
collaboration with soul artist Bill Withers, "Just the Two of Us," a
huge hit on radio during the spring and summer of 1981, peaking at No.
2 on the Hot 100. The album will go platinum in 1981, and also win
Grammy Awards in 1982 for Best Rhythm & Blues Song ("Just The Two of
Us"), and Best Jazz Fusion Performance ("Winelight"). "Winelight" will
also be nominated for Record of the Year and Song of the Year. In the
post-Winelight era, he will be credited for giving rise to a new batch
of talent that would make its mark in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He
will be known for bringing Kenny G to the forefront, as well as artists
such as Walter Beasley, Steve Cole, Pamela Williams, Najee, and George
Howard. His song "Mr. Magic" is noted as being influential on Go-go music
starting in the mid-1970s. He will join the ancestors on December 17,
1999.
1961 - Martin Luther King Jr., along with over seven hundred demonstrators is
arrested in Albany, Ga., after five mass marches on city hall to protest
segregation. The arrests trigger the militant Albany movement.
1963 - Kenya achieves its independence from Great Britain with Jomo Kenyatta as
its first prime minister.
1963 - Medgar Wiley Evers is awarded the Spingarn Medal posthumously for his civil
rights leadership.
1965 - Johnny Lee, an actor best known for his portrayal of "Calhoun" on "The Amos
'n' Andy Show," joins the ancestors at the age of 67.
1965 - Gale Sayers, of the Chicago Bears, scores 6 touchdowns and ties the NFL
record.
1968 - Arthur Ashe becomes the first African American to be ranked Number One in
tennis.
1975 - The National Association of Black Journalists is formed in Washington, DC.
Among its founding members are Max Robinson, who will become the first
African American anchor of a national network news program, and Acel Moore,
a future Pulitzer Prize winner.
1979 - Rhodesia becomes the independent nation of Zimbabwe.
1986 - Bone Crusher Smith knocks out WBA champion Tim Witherspoon in Madison Square
Garden in New York City.
2007 - Ike Turner, whose role as one of rock's critical architects was overshadowed
by his ogre-like image as the man who brutally abused former wife and rock
icon Tina Turner, joins the ancestors at his home in suburban San Diego at
the age of 76.
2015 - Alabama running back Derrick Henry wins the Heisman Trophy. A junior, he rushed
for nearly 2,000 yards and becomes the second Alabama player to win the award.
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