* Today in Black History - March 14 *
1794 - Eli Whitney patents the cotton gin, making it possible to clean
50 pounds of cotton a day, compared to a pound a day before
the invention. This will make cotton king and increase the
demand for slave labor.
1829 - African American editor John Russworm writes an editorial in
"Freedom's Journal" supporting the colonization of Africa by
African Americans.
1889 - Menelik becomes ruler of Abyssinia (Ethiopia). Menelik II will
be the Ethiopian emperor (1889-1909) during the frantic race
for African protectorates by European countries. He will
transform the country from a collection of semi-independent
states into a united nation. As ruler of the kingdom of Shoa,
in central Ethiopia, he will conquer the Oromo people to the
south and annex their land. During Menelik's reign he
suppressed the Ethiopian slave trade, curbed the feudal
nobility, and founded the city of Addis Ababa.
1917 - The first training camp for "colored" officers is established
by the U.S. Army in Des Moines, Iowa, after a long lobbying
effort by the NAACP, led by Joel E. Spingarn and James Weldon
Johnson. The camp will issue 678 officer commissions to
African Americans, compared to 380,000 African American
enlisted men mobilized in World War l.
1933 - Quincy Delight Jones is born in Chicago, Illinois. A trumpeter
and record producer, he will collaborate with many major
American and French recording artists, including Michael
Jackson on the latter's "Thriller" and "Bad" albums, two of
the most successful records during the 1980's. A musical
innovator, in 1991, Jones will receive two Grammy awards for
producer of the year and album of the year for "Back on the
Block." To date, he has accumulated 25 Grammy awards, Grammy's
Trustees Award in 1989, and the Grammy's Legends Award in 1990.
He also has been Musical Director for Mercury Records, then
Vice President. He will also establish Qwest Records.
1934 - Shirley Scott is born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She will
become an accomplished jazz organist, with a blues orientation
to most of her presentations. She started her career playing
with Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis in 1956 and continued until 1960.
She will record most of her work with her ex-husband, Stanley
Turrentine from 1961 to 1970.
1946 - Wes Unseld is born in Louisville, Kentucky. His early career
plans will include becoming a teacher, but that thought will
be put on hold when he becomes the second overall pick in the
1968 draft by the NBA's Baltimore Bullets. In 1969, Unseld's
debut will be memorable. He becomes only the second NBA player
besides Wilt Chamberlain to be named Rookie of the Year and
MVP in the same season. During a solid 13-year NBA career,
spent entirely with the Bullets organization, Unseld will become
a superb position rebounder and retire as the NBA's seventh
all-time leading rebounder with 13,769 boards, a 14.0 per game
average. Unseld, who will play in five NBA All-Star games,
ranks as the Bullets all-time leader in minutes played (35,832)
and rebounds. He is only one of 20 players in NBA history to
score more than 10,000 points (10,624) and grab more than
10,000 rebounds. The pinnacle of Unseld's career will come in
1978, when he and fellow Hall of Famer Elvin Hayes lead
Washington past Seattle for the NBA championship. For his
efforts, Unseld will be named MVP of the championship series.
1947 - William J. Jefferson is born in Lake Providence, Louisiana. He
will become a Louisiana state senator in 1979 and, in 1990,
the first congressman elected from the state since Charles
Edmund Nash left office in 1876.
1961 - Kirby Puckett is born. He will become a major league baseball
outfielder. He will be selected by the Minnesota Twins in the
first round (third overall) of the January 1982 free-agent
draft and will spend his entire 14-year professional career in
the Twins organization. Not only will he become a 10-time All-
Star, in 1993 he will become the first Twins player ever to win
the All-Star Game MVP Award. He will be the Twins' all-time
leader in hits, runs, doubles and total bases. He will retire
on July 12, 1996, after losing vision in his right eye due to
glaucoma, and will become the Twins' executive vice president
of baseball.
1967 - In the 1st NFL-AFL common draft, the Baltimore Colts pick
Bubba Smith as the first pick.
1985 - Bill Cosby captures four of the People's Choice Awards for "The
Cosby Show." The awards were earned from results of a
nationwide Gallup Poll.
********************************************************
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.
********************************************************
______________________________________________________________
Munirah Chronicle is edited by Brother Mosi Hoj
"The TRUTH shall make you free"
E-mail: <[log in to unmask]>
Archives: <http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/Munirah.html>
______________________________________________________________
To SUBSCRIBE send E-mail to: <[log in to unmask]>
In the E-mail body place: Subscribe Munirah Your FULL Name
______________________________________________________________
Munirah(TM) is a trademark of Information Man. Copyright 1998,
All Rights Reserved by the Information Man in association with
CODE One Communications.
|