* Today in Black History - May 26 *
1799 - Aleksandr Sergeevich Pushkin is born in Moscow, Russia. His great
grandfather on his mother's side was an African. He will be
first published in the journal, "The Messenger of Europe" in 1814.
Pushkin today is regarded as the Father of Russian Literature.
1899 - Aaron Douglas is born in Topeka, Kansas. He will become a world-
renowned painter and muralist whose work will embrace the African
ancestral arts and express pride in the African American image at
a time when doing so was highly unpopular. His most famous works
will be "Aspects of Negro Life," "Let My People Go," "Judgment
Day" and "Building More Stately Mansions."
1907 - Elizabeth Keckley, seamstress and confidante to Mary Todd Lincoln,
joins the ancestors after succumbing to a paralytic stroke in
Washington, DC. Keckley was the author of "Behind the Scenes or
Thirty Years a Slave," and "Four Years in the White House"
(1868), one of the first insider accounts of a White House
Presidency.
1926 - Miles (Dewey) Davis is born in Alton, Illinois. For over four
decades, he will be one of the most innovative and influential
jazz trumpeters, known for his hard bop and jazz and fusion
accomplishments. Most noted for the albums "Sketches of Spain,"
"Miles Smiles," and "Kind of Blue," he will also win three Grammy
awards for his albums "We Want Miles," "Decoy," and "Tutu" and be
awarded the French Legion d'Honneur in 1991. He will join the
ancestors on September 28, 1991, but his music, style, and
collaborators all continue to influence not only jazz music, but
popular culture as well.
1943 - President Edwin Barclay of Liberia, becomes the first African
president to pay an official visit to an American president,
arriving at the White House.
1949 - Philip Michael Thomas is born in Columbus Ohio. He will become an
actor and will be best known for his role in the TV series, "Miami
Vice." He also will have roles in the movies "Homeboy," "Stigma,"
"Streetfight," "Black Fist," "Miami Vice-The Movie," "Miami Vice 2
- The Prodigal Son," "A Fight For Jenny," "Death Drug," "A Little
Piece Of Sunshine," "Sparkle," and "The Wizard of Speed and Time."
1949 - Pam Grier is born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. She will be
raised on military bases in England and Germany. During her teen
years the family will settle in Denver, Colorado, where at the
age of 18, Grier entered the Miss Colorado Universe pageant.
Named first runner-up, she attracted the attention of Hollywood
agent David Baumgarten, who signed her to a contract. She will
move to Hollywood and after struggling for a few years will
become the reigning queen of the 1970s blaxploitation genre. She
will be best known for her 1974 role as "Foxy Brown." She will
make a comback in 1988 in the Steven Segal movie "Above the Law,"
and will star in a variety of major films through year 2000.
1961 - The Freedom Ride Coordinating Committee is established in Atlanta,
Georgia.
1968 - Ruth A. Lucas is promoted to Colonel in the U.S. Air Force, the
first African American woman to achieve this rank.
1968 - Arthur Ashe wins the National Men's Singles in the U.S. Lawn
Tennis Association Open Tournament, becoming the first African
American male to win a major tennis title.
1969 - The National Black Economic Development Conference adopts a
manifesto in a Detroit meeting, calling for $500 Million in
reparations from white churches.
______________________________________________________________
Munirah Chronicle is edited by Rene' A. Perry
"The TRUTH shall make you free"
E-mail: <[log in to unmask]>
Archives: http://listserv.icors.org/archives/Munirah.html
http://blackagenda.com/cybercolonies/index.htm
_____________________________________________________________
To SUBSCRIBE send E-mail to: <[log in to unmask]>
In the E-mail body place: Subscribe Munirah Your FULL Name
______________________________________________________________
Munirah(TM) is a trademark of Information Man. Copyright 1997 - 2007,
All Rights Reserved by the Information Man in association with
The Black Agenda.
|