*                   Today in Black History - April 29               *

1854 - Ashmun lnstitute, later Lincoln University, is founded in Oxford,
        Pennsylvania.  It will be "the first institution founded anywhere
        in the world to provide a higher education in the arts and sciences
        for youth of African descent." (This applies to the modern era).

1881 - Julian Francis Abele is born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He will
        become an architect widely believed to have designed Philadelphia's
        Museum of Art and the Free Library, as well as major buildings on
        the Duke University campus.

1899 - Edward "Duke" Kennedy Ellington is born in Washington, DC.  He will
        form his first band in 1919, and move to New York City in 1922. His
        five-year tenure at the famed Cotton Club will garner him wide
        acclaim.  Scoring both his first musical and making his recording
        debut in 1924, Ellington will be known as the first conventional
        jazz composer, although he will also become renowned for his Sacred
        Concerts in the mid-1960's.  His most notable works include "Take
        the A Train," "Mood Indigo," "Sophisticated Ladies," and "I Got It
        Bad and That Ain't Good." He will join the ancestors in 1974.

1915 - Donald Mills is born in Piqua, Ohio.  With his brothers, Herbert,
        Harry and John, the Mills Brothers will begin performing in 1922
        in their hometown and over time will sell an estimated 50 million
        records. The group will break racial barriers in the era of Jim
        Crow and sing before royalty in London. From the early 1930s
        onward, the Mills Brothers will be a nationwide hit on radio and
        in record sales. In 1931, the song "Tiger Rag" will sell 1
        million copies. Some of their other hit songs will include "You
        Always Hurt the One You Love," "Glow Worm," "Yellow Bird," and
        "Paper Doll." The brothers will also appear in several movies,
        including "The Big Broadcast" in 1932, and "Twenty Million
        Sweethearts" in 1934. Donald will be the last surviving member of
        the group and will tour in his later years with his youngest son,
        John, after his brothers retire in 1982. He will accept a Grammy
        Award for Life Achievement for the Mills Brothers in 1998. He
        will join the ancestors in 1999.

1922 - Parren James Mitchell is born in Baltimore, Maryland. In 1971, he
        will become the first African American elected to Congress from the
        State of Maryland.

1928 - Carl Gardner is born.  He will become a singer and a member of the
        1960's rhythm and blues group, The Coasters.

1934 - Otis Rush is born in Philadelphia, Mississippi.  He will become a
        blues musician and will help to shape Chicago's West Side blues
        sound.

1948 - Willi Smith is born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  A noted designer,
        he will take his first job with Arnold Scaasi in New York City and
        form his own fashion label, Willi Wear Ltd., in 1976.  He will be a
        Coty Award winner in 1983 and will lead his company until he joins
        the ancestors in 1987.

1967 - Mrs. Robert W. Clayton is elected president of the YWCA, the first
        African American president of the organization.

1983 - Harold Washington is sworn in as the first African American mayor of
        Chicago.

1992 - Rioting erupts in Los Angeles after a jury acquits four white
        policemen of charges related to the videotaped beating of African
        American motorist Rodney King.  The National Guard and federal troops
        are mobilized to deal with the rebellion, which will last several
        days and cost the lives of 58 persons.  There are demonstrations and
        riots in other American cities.

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