* Today in Black History - March 31 *
1850 - The Massachusetts Supreme Court rejects the argument of Charles
Sumner in the Boston school integration suit and established the
"separate but equal" precedent.
1853 - At concert singer Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield's New York debut in
Metropolitan Hall, African Americans are not allowed to attend.
Angered and embarrassed at the exclusion of her race, Greenfield
will perform in a separate concert at the Broadway Tabernacle
for five African American congregations.
1871 - Jack Johnson, the first African American to be crowned world
heavyweight boxing champion, is born in Galveston, Texas. His
reign lasted from 1908 to 1915.
1930 - President Hoover nominates Judge John J. Parker of North Carolina
for a seat on the U.S. Supreme Court. The NAACP launches a
national campaign against the appointment. Parker is not
confirmed by the Senate.
1948 - A. Phillip Randolph tells the Senate Armed Services Committee
that unless segregation and discrimination were banned in draft
programs he would urge African American youths to resist
induction by civil disobedience.
1949 - William Grant Still's opera, "Troubled Island" receives its world
premiere at the New York City Opera. In addition to marking
Robert McFerrin's debut as the first African American male to
sing with the company, the opera is the first ever written by an
African American to be produced by a major opera company.
1967 - Jimi Hendrix begins his tradition of burning his guitar in
London, England.
1968 - The provisional government of the Republic of New Africa founded
in Detroit, Michigan.
1973 - Ken Norton defeats Muhammad Ali in a 12 round split decision in
San Diego, California. Norton will break Ali's jaw during the
bout.
1980 - Jesse Owens dies in Tucson, Arizona at the age of 66, and
President Carter adds his voice to the tributes that pour in
from around the world. Jesse won four gold medals in Track at
the Berlin Olympics in 1936.
Larry Holmes wins the vacant world heavyweight title by knocking
out Leroy Jones in the eighth round.
1988 - Toni Morrison wins the Pulitzer Prize for "Beloved," a powerful
novel of a runaway slave who murders her daughter rather than
see her raised in slavery.
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The source for these facts are "Encyclopedia Britannica,
"InfoBeat," "I, Too, Sing America - The African American
Book of Days," and independent research by the
Information Man.
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