*              Today in Black History - December 21           * 

 

1872 - Robert Scott Duncanson joins the ancestors in Detroit, 

            Michigan. He suffers a severe mental breakdown and ends 

            his life in the Michigan State Retreat.  Duncanson 

            avoided painting in an ethnic style, favoring still 

            lifes and landscapes including "Mount Healthy," "Ohio," 

            "Blue Hole," "Little Miami River," and "Falls of 

            Minnehaha.  The Detroit Tribune, on December 26, 1872, 

            refers to Duncanson as "an artist of rare 

            accomplishments". 

 

1911 - Joshua "Josh" Gibson is born in Buena Vista, Georgia.  He 

            will become a professional baseball player in the Negro 

            Leagues. Gibson will begin playing in the Negro leagues 

            in 1930, at age 18. A catcher, he will play mostly for 

            teams in and around Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, including 

            the Homestead Grays and the Pittsburgh Crawfords. He will 

            also play winter baseball in Puerto Rico and the Dominican

            Republic. He will join the ancestors suddenly in early 

            1947, the year that Jackie Robinson will become the first 

            African American player in the major leagues. In 

            recognition of his accomplishments, Gibson will be 

            inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972. He will 

            be referred to as the "Negro Babe Ruth" hitting 800+ Home 

            Runs.  Some say that Babe Ruth should have been referred 

            to as the "white Josh Gibson."

 

1921 - P.B.S. Pinchback, a major Reconstruction politician, joins 

            at the ancestors at the age of 84.

 

1959 - Delorez Florence Griffith is born in Los Angeles, 

            California. As Florence Griffith Joyner, she will bring 

            glamour to women's track and field.  A world-classrunner, 

            "FloJo" will win three gold medals (in the 100-meter, 200-

            meter and 400-meter races) at the 1988 Summer Olympic 

            Games in Seoul and a silver medal in the 1600-meter relay.

            She will join the ancestors on September 21, 1998. 

 

1959 - Citizens of Deerfield, Illinois block the building of 

            interracial housing. 

 

1969 - Diana Ross makes her final television appearance as a 

            member of the Supremes on "The Ed Sullivan Show."

 

1976 - Patricia R. Harris is named Secretary of Housing and Urban 

            Development.

 

1986 - While seeking a tow for his disabled car in Howard Beach

            (Queens), New York, Michael Griffith is struck by an 

            automobile and killed as he attempts to escape from a mob 

            of whites who were beating him.  The incident will spark 

            a controversy that will further divide factions in New 

            York City, already troubled by racially motivated violence.

 

1988 - Jesse Jackson, in a speech in Chicago, urges the use of the 

            term "African American": "Every ethnic group in this 

            country has reference to some land base, some historical 

            cultural base. African Americans have hit that level of 

            maturity."


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