*                   Today in Black History - June 15                   *

1864 - Congress passes a bill equalizing pay, arms, equipment and medical
        services of African American troops.

1877 - Henry Ossian Flipper, born a slave in Thomasville, Georgia, in 1856,
        is the first African American cadet to graduate from the United
        States Military Academy at West Point, New York. Flipper, who was
        never spoken to by a white cadet during his four years at West
        Point, was appointed a second lieutenant in the all-African
        American 10th Cavalry, stationed at Fort Sill in Indian Territory.

1921 - Bessie Coleman, a 28-year-old native of Amarillo, Texas, who learned
        French in order to communicate with instructors, receives a pilot's
        certificate from the Federation Aeronautique Internationale in
        France.  She is the first African American woman to become a licensed
        pilot.

1921 - Erroll Garner is born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  He will become
        an accomplished pianist who will play by ear.  Much of his early work
        will be lost because it will not be written down.  His best known
        composition will be "Misty."  He will be an ASCAP Award-winning jazz
        pianist.  Some of his other hits will be "Dreamy," "That's My Kick,"
        "Moment's Delight," and "Solitaire."  He will be honored on a stamp
        by the U.S. Postal Service.

1938 - Billie Lee Williams, baseball player (Rookie of the Year 1961), and
        Chicago Cubs outfielder, is born.

1951 - Joe Louis knocks out Lee Savold in a closed-circuit TV fight seen by
        fight fans in movie theatres in six cities.

1969 - O'Shea Jackson is born in Los Angeles, California.  Known later as
        "Ice Cube," he will be the first member of the seminal Californian
        rap group N.W.A. to leave, and he will quickly establish himself as
        one of hip-hop's best and most controversial artists. From the outset
        of his career, he will court controversy, since his rhymes were
        profane and political.  As a solo artist, his politics and social
        commentary will sharpen substantially, and his first two records,
        "AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted" and "Death Certificate," will be equally
        praised and reviled for their lyrical stance, which happens to be
        considerably more articulate than many of his gangsta peers. As his
        career progresses, Ice Cube's influence begins to decline, particularly
        as he tries to incorporate elements of contemporary groups like Cypress
        Hill into his sound, but his stature never diminished, and he will
        remain one of the biggest rap stars throughout the '90s. He will also
        become an actor and will have his acting debut in John Singleton's
        "Boyz N the Hood."

1971 - The U.S. Supreme Court upholds the constitutionality of closing
        Jackson, Mississippi, swimming pools rather than integrating them.
        The ruling is considered by many to indicate the Court's resistance
        to increased integration.

1971 - Vernon E. Jordan Jr., former executive director of the United Negro
        College Fund, is appointed executive director of the National Urban
        League.

1987 - Michael Spinks defeats Gerry Cooney in round five of their
heavyweight
        boxing match in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

1990 - St. Clair Drake joins the ancestors after succumbing to a heart
attack
        in Palo Alto, California. The noted sociologist and anthropologist was
        the author of numerous books, including the important 'Black
        Metropolis' which he co-authored with Horace Cayton.  In 1969, he
        established and served as Director of the African and Afro-American
        Studies Program at Stanford University, a program often imitated by
        other colleges and universities.

1996 - Ella Jane Fitzgerald joins the ancestors.  Dubbed the 'First Lady of
        Song,' she was the most popular female jazz singer in the United
        States for more than half a century. During her lifetime, she sold
        over 40 million albums and won 13 Grammy awards. Born in Newport News,
        Virginia, Fitzgerald began singing after impressing the audience at
        the Apollo Theater’s Amateur Night in 1934. She could imitate every
        instrument in an orchestra and worked with all the jazz greats, from
        Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and Nat King Cole to Frank Sinatra, Dizzy
        Gillespie, and Benny Goodman. She performed at top venues all over the
        world, and her audiences were as diverse as her vocal range. She
        received the National Medal of Arts, France’s Commander of Arts and
        Letters Award, Kennedy Center Honors, and numerous honorary doctorates
        for her continuing contributions to the arts.

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