* Today in Black History - April 23 *
1856 - Granville T. Woods, who will become an inventor of steam
boilers, furnaces, incubators and auto air brakes and holder
of over 50 patents, is born in Columbus, Ohio.
1872 - Charlotte E. Ray becomes the first African American woman
lawyer in ceremonies held in Washington, DC admitting her to
practice before the bar. She had received her law degree from
Howard University on February 27.
1894 - Jimmy Noone is born in New Orleans, Louisiana. He will become
a jazz clarinetist and a major influence on the swing music
of the 1930's and 1940's. He will be a band leader and be best
known as the leader of "Jimmy Noone's Apex Club Orchestra."
Two of the people most influenced by Jimmy Noone's style will
be Benny Goodman and Jimmy Dorsey. He will join the ancestors
after suffering a fatal heart attack, while performing with
"Kid" Ory on April 19, 1944.
1895 - Jorge Mateus Vicente Lima is born in Alagoas, Brazil. He will
become a poet, novelist, essayist, painter, doctor, and
politician. He will become best known as a writer, manipulating
Brazilian subjects, at the same time analyzing Afro-Brazilian
culture and heritage. He will become a fixture in the Brazilian
experience during the 1920's. Even though he became a physician,
he will exhibit his talents as a writer in writings from his youth.
His most famous writing will be a poem, "Essa Nega Fulo" (That
Black Girl Fulo), written in 1928. The poem will explore the
dynamics between a slave master, the slave and her mistress. He
will join the ancestors in 1953 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
1898 - Alfredo da Rocha Viana Jr. is born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He
will become a composer and bandleader best known as "Pixinguinha."
By the time he was a teenager, he will be respected for his talent
as a flutist. After traveling with his first band to France in
1922, he will open the door of Brazilian music to the world. He
will be credited with assisting to invent the "samba." He is
generally referred to as the King of Samba and the Father of
Musica Popular Brasileira. He will join the ancestors on February
17, 1973 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
1913 - The National Urban League is incorporated in New York City. The
organization is founded in 1910 when the Committee on Urban
Conditions Among Negroes met in New York to discuss means to
assist rural African Americans in the transition to urban
life. Founders include Mrs. Ruth Standish Baldwin and Dr.
George Edmund Haynes, who becomes the league's first executive
director.
1941 - New Yorkers are treated to a performance of Cafi Society at
Carnegie Hall by a group of jazz artists that includes Albert
"Jug" Ammons, Hazel Scott, and Art Tatum. It also marks the
first performance of Helena (later Lena) Horne, who sings
"Summertime," among other songs.
1944 - The NAACP Youth Council and Committee for Unity in Motion
Pictures selects its first Motion Picture Award recipients.
Given to honor actors whose roles advance the image of African
Americans in motion pictures, awards go to Rex Ingram for
"Sahara," Lena Horne for "As Thousands Cheer," Leigh Whipper
for "The Oxbow Incident" and "Mission to Moscow," Hazel Scott
for her debut in "Something to Shout About" and Dooley Wilson
for his role as Sam in "Casablanca," among others. The awards
will be the fore-runner to the NAACP's Image Awards.
1948 - Charles Richard Johnson in born in Evanston, Illinois. He will
become an novelist, essayist and screenwriter. He will begin
his career after graduating from the State University of New
York at Stonybrook with a Ph.D. in philosophy. He will be
mentored by W.E.B. Du Bois, Ralph Ellison, Jean Toomer, Richard
Wright and John Gardner. He will be known for his works, "Middle
Passage," "Oxherding Tale," "The Sorcerer's Apprentice," and
"Being and Race: Black Writing Since 1970." He will win the
1990 National Book Award for "Middle Passage."
1954 - Hammerin' Hank Aaron, of the Milwaukee Braves, hits the first
of what will be 755 career home runs, in a game against the St.
Louis Cardinals. The score will be 7-5 in favor of the Braves.
1955 - U.S. Supreme Court refuses to review a lower court decision
which would ban segregation in intrastate bus travel.
1964 - James Baldwin's play, "Blues for Mr. Charlie" opens on
Broadway. Starring Al Freeman, Jr., Diana Sands, and others,
the play reveals the plight of African Americans in the South.
1971 - Columbia University operations are virtually ended for the year
by African American and white students who seize five
buildings on campus.
1971 - William Tubman, president of Liberia, joins the ancestors at the
age of 76. He had been president of Liberia since 1944.
1998 - James Earl Ray, who confessed to assassinating the Rev. Martin
Luther King Jr. in 1968 and then insisted he was framed, died
at a Nashville hospital at age 70.
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