*** Today in Black History - February 6 ***

1820 - The first organized emigration back to Africa begins when
86 free African Americans leave New York Harbor aboard the
Mayflower of Liberia. They are bound for the British colony
of Sierra Leone, which welcomes free African Americans as well
as fugitive slaves.

1867 - The Anglo-American merchant George Peabody, founds the $ 2
million Peabody Education Fund. It is the first philanthropy
established in the wake of the Civil War to promote free public
education in 12 Civil War devastated southern states for whites
and African Americans. The Peabody Fund will provide funding
for construction, endowments, scholarships, teacher and
industrial education for newly freed slaves.

1898 - Melvin B. Tolson, author and educator, is born in Moberly,
Missouri. Educated at Fisk, Lincoln, and Columbia
universities, his first volume of poetry, "Rendezvous with
America," will be published in 1944. He will be best known
for "Libretto for the Republic of Liberia," published in
1953.

1931 - The Harlem Experimental Theatre Group performs its first play
at St. Philips Parish House. The group's advisory board
includes famed actress Rose McClendon, author Jesse Fauset,
and Grace Nail.

1933 - Walter E. Fauntroy is born in Washington, DC. He will become a
civil rights leader and minister. He will later become the
United States congressman for the District of Columbia from
1971 to 1991.

1945 - Robert Nesta Marley is born in St. Ann, Jamaica to Captain
Norval and Cedella Marley. He will become a successful singer
along with his group, The Wailers. Bob Marley and The Wailers
were among the earliest to sing Reggae, a blend of Jamaican
dance music and American Rhythm & Blues with a heavy dose of
Rastafarianism, the Jamaican religion that blends Christian and
African teachings. He will join the ancestors in 1981 at the
age of 36, succumbing to cancer. As a result of his
accomplishments, he will be awarded Jamaica's Order Of Merit,
the nation's third highest honor, (April, 1981) in recognition
of his outstanding contribution to the country's culture. He
will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991.

1950 - Natalie Cole is born to Nat "King" and Maria Cole. She will
follow in her famous father's footsteps and become a recording
star. She will become a Grammy Award-winning singer, and Best
New Artist in 1975.

1961 - The "jail-in" movement starts in Rock Hill, South Carolina,
when arrested students demand to be jailed rather than pay fines.

1993 - Arthur Ashe, tennis champion, joins the ancestors at the age of
49. He succumbs from complications of AIDS, contracted from a
transfusion during a earlier heart surgery.Get more from the Web.  FREE MSN Explorer download : http://explorer.msn.com

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