* Today in Black History - July 4 *
1776 - The Declaration of Independence is adopted. A section written by
Thomas Jefferson denouncing slavery is deleted.
1779 - Colonel Arent Schuyler De Puyster notes the presence of "Jean
Baptiste Point DuSable, a handsome Negro, well-educated and settled
at Eschikagou." It is the first recorded mention of "DuSable, who
settled the area that will become known as Chicago.
1827 - New York State abolishes slavery.
1845 - Wildfire Lewis is born in Greenwich, New York. After living with
Chippewa relatives, she will enroll in Oberlin College's preparatory
and college program. Changing her name to Mary Edmonia Lewis, she
will travel to Boston and abroad where she will become one of the
most outstanding sculptors of her day. Among her most famous works
will be "Forever Free," "Hagar in Her Despair in the Wilderness" and
"Death of Cleopatra."
1875 - White Democrats kill several African Americans in terrorist attacks
in Vicksburg, Mississippi.
1881 - Tuskegee Institute opens in Tuskegee, Alabama, with Booker T.
Washington as its first president.
1892 - Arthur George Gaston is born in a log cabin, built by his
grandparents, former slaves, in Marengo County, Alabama, near
Demopolis. He will drop out of school after the tenth grade and
will become one of the most successful proponents of Booker T.
Washington's brand of capitalism. A Washington disciple as a child,
Gaston became a self-made millionaire and one of the richest
African American men in America in the 1950s. His many businesses
thrived on the social separateness legislated by the Jim Crow laws
in segregated Alabama. Gaston will make it his personal mission
to urge African Americans to seek "green power," a term he
remembered Washington using. His quiet role in the civil right
movement was also noted, saying once that African Americans needed
a Martin Luther King, Jr. of economics to fire them up the way King
had about integration. Gaston made the following statement that
summed up his position on economic empowerment for people of color -
- "It doesn't do any good to arrive at first-class citizenship, if
you arrive broke." He will live to the age of 103.
1910 - Jack Johnson KOs James Jeffries in 15 rounds, ending Jeffries' come-
back try.
1938 - Bill Withers, rhythm & blues singer ("Lean on Me"), is born in West
Virginia.
1959 - The Cayman Islands, separated from Jamaica, are made a British Crown
Colony.
1963 - Marian Anderson and Ralph Bunche receive the first Medals of Freedom
from President John F. Kennedy, the creator of the award.
1970 - 100 persons are injured in racially motivated disturbances in Asbury
Park, New Jersey.
1990 - "2 Live Crew" release "Banned in the USA"; the lyrics quote "The
Star Spangled Banner" & "The Gettysburg Address."
1991 - The National Civil Rights Museum officially opens at the Lorraine
Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, the site of the assassination of civil
rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr.
1994 - Rwandan Tutsi rebels seize control of most of their country's
capital, Kigali, and continue advancing on areas held by the Hutu-
led government.
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