*               Today in Black History - May 16         *

1792 - Denmark abolishes the importation of slaves.

1917 - Harry T. Burleigh, composer, pianist, and singer, is awarded the NAACP's
        Spingarn Medal for excellence in the field of creative music.

1929 - John Conyers, Jr. is born in Detroit, Michigan.  He will be elected to
        the House of Representatives from Michigan's 1st District in 1964,
        where he will advocate home rule and Congressional representation for
        the District of Columbia.  He will be the principal sponsor of the
        1965 Voting Rights Act and the 1983 Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday
        bill, as well as a founder of the Congressional Black Caucus.

1930 - Lillie Mae Jones is born in Flint, Michigan.  She will become an
        uncompromising jazz singer using the stage name,  Betty Carter, who
        will earn the nickname "Betty Bebop" for her bop improvisational
        style.  She will tour with Lionel Hampton and Miles Davis during her
        career.

1966 - Stokely Carmichael is elected chairman of SNCC, the Student Nonviolent
        Coordinating Committee, a group formed during the Freedom Marches and
        dedicated to voter registration in the South.

1966 - Janet Damita Jackson is born in Gary, Indiana.  Sister of the famous
        Jacksons of the Jackson 5 singing group, she will have her own
        successful career, first in acting (Good Times, Diff'rent Strokes,
        Fame), then as a solo recording artist.  Her albums "Control" and
        "Rhythm Nation 1814" will earn her five American Music Awards and a
        Grammy award.

1966 - The National Welfare Rights Organization is organized.

1979 - Asa Philip Randolph, labor leader and civil rights pioneer, dies in
        New York at the age of 90.

1985 - Michael Jordan is named Rookie of the Year in the National Basketball
        Association.  Jordan, of the Chicago Bulls, was the number three
        draft choice.  At the time, Michael was third in the league scoring
        a 28.2 average and fourth in steals with 2.39 per game.

1990 - Sammy Davis Jr., actor, dancer, singer and world class entertainer,
        dies in Beverly Hills, California at the age of 64 from throat
        cancer.  Davis, born in Harlem, was a member of the Hollywood "Rat
        Pack." He also had starring roles in a host of Broadway musicals and
        motion pictures.

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        The source for these facts are "Encyclopedia Britannica,
        "InfoBeat," "I, Too, Sing America - The African American
        Book of Days," "Before the Mayflower", "Black Firsts" and
        independent research by the Information Man.
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