* Today in Black History - November 23 *
1867 - The Louisiana constitutional convention (forty-nine
white delegates and forty-nine African American
delegates) meets in Mechanics Institute in New
Orleans, Louisiana.
1897 - J.L. Love receives a patent for the pencil sharpener.
1897 - Andrew J. Beard receives a patent for the "jerry
coupler," still is use today to connect railroad
cars.
1905 - Henry Watson Furness, an Indiana physician, is named
minister to Haiti. He will be the last African American
minister to Haiti during this period in history.
1929 - Gloria Wilson is born in Harlem, New York City, New York. She
will become a jazz vocalist better known as Gloria Lynne with
a recording career spanning from 1958 to 2007. At the age of
15, she will win first prize at the Amateur Night contest at
the Apollo Theater. She will share the stage with contemporary
night club vocal ensembles as well as with Ella Fitzgerald.
She will record as part of such groups as the Enchanters and
the Dell-Tones in the 1950s. She will record as a soloist
under her birth name, though most of her work will be released
under her stage name on the Everest and Fontana labels. In
1958, she will be signed to Everest. Although showing much
promise early on, especially after TV appearances, including
the Harry Belafonte Spectacular, her development will suffer
through poor management. Some unscrupulous recording
'executives' will profit while she will be left virtually
penniless - a victim of unpaid royalties - and will only be
saved by the fact that she will be able to work steadily and
earn her money from live performances. During her earlier
years on the road, she will share bills with RnB, jazz,
traditional pop music, and pop singers including Ray Charles,
Billy Eckstine, Johnny Mathis and Ella Fitzgerald. TV specials
will include two with Harry Belafonte. Her final recording will
be "I Wish It Would Snow" featuring Bucky Pizzarelli. The song
will be featured in the 2014 Lifetime movie 'Seasons of Love'
starring Gladys Knight and Taraji P. Henson. She will write
lyrics for "Watermelon Man" with Herbie Hancock, and "All Day
Long" with Kenny Burrell. New York City will proclaim July 25,
1995 as "Gloria Lynne Day". In 1996, she will receive the
International Women of Jazz Award, and she will be honored
with a Pioneer Award by the Rhythm and Blues Foundation in
1997. Other awards and recognition include the National
Treasure Award from the Seasoned Citizens Theatre Company
(2003); induction into the National Black Sports and
Entertainment Hall of Fame; Living Legend Award from the State
of Pennsylvania (2007). On May 6, 2008, she will be presented
with a special award for "Outstanding Achievement In Jazz", at
the New York MAC Awards. On October 22, 2010, she will be
honored at New York's Schomburg Library, for her many
contributions to the music industry and the world by Great
Women In Music. She will join the ancestors on October 15, 2013
after succumbing to a heart attack.
1934 - "Imitation of Life" premieres in New York City. Starring
Claudette Colbert, Louise Beavers, and Fredi Washington,
it is the story of a white woman and an African American
woman who build a pancake business while the latter's
daughter makes a desperate attempt to pass for white.
1939 - Betty Everett is bornj in Greenwood, Mississippi. She will
become a soul singer and pianist, best known for her biggest
hit single, the million-selling "Shoop Shoop Song (It's In
His Kiss)", and her duet "Let It Be Me" with Jerry Butler.
An initial single will fail, but her second Vee-Jay release,
a bluesy version of "You're No Good" (written by Clint Ballard
Jr. and later a #1 hit for Linda Ronstadt), will just miss the
U.S. top 50. Her next single, the catchy "The Shoop Shoop Song
(It's in His Kiss)", will be her biggest solo hit. The song
will climb to #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and make #1 on the
Cashbox R&B chart for three weeks. Her other hits will include
"I Can't Hear You" (covered by numerous artists, including
Dusty Springfield, Helen Reddy, and others), "Getting Mighty
Crowded" (covered by Elvis Costello in 1980), and several duets
with Jerry Butler, including "Let It Be Me", which will make
the US Top 5 in 1964 and will be another Cashbox R&B number 1.
After Vee-Jay folds in 1966, she will record for several other
labels, including ABC, Fantasy, and Uni. After an unsuccessful
year with ABC, a move to Uni will bring another major success
in 1969 with "There'll Come A Time", co-written by producer and
lead singer of The Chi-Lites, Eugene Reco0rd. This will rise to
#2 in the Billboard R&B listing (#26 on the Hot 100) and top
the Cashbox chart. However, most of her later work will not
match the success she had with Vee-Jay, although there will be
other R&B hits such as "It's Been A Long Time" and "I Got To
Tell Somebody", which re-unites her with Calvin Carter in 1970.
The 1975 album Happy Endings will have arrangements by Gene
Page and will include a cover of "God Only Knows" by the
Beach Boys. Her final recording will come out in 1980, again
produced by Carter. Her awards will include the BMI Pop Award
(both for 1964 and 1991) and the BMI R&B Award (for 1964). She
will join the ancestors on August 19, 2001.
1944 - Eugene Washington is born in LaPorte, Texas. He will become a
professional football player, playing wide receiver. He will
play for the Minnesota Vikings (1967-1972) and the Denver
Broncos (1973-1974). He will wear #84 for Minnesota and Denver.
He will be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in
2011.
1960 - John Henton is born in East Cleveland, Ohio. He will become an
actor and comedian. He will be best known for his roles as
Overton Wakefield Jones on the Fox sitcom Living Single, and
as Milsap Morris on the ABC/UPN sitcom The Hughleys. He will
also make guest appearances on other sitcoms One on One, The
Parkers, For Your Love, Hannah Montana and Love That Girl!.
He will never entertain the thought of a career in comedy. In
1982, while working during the day and studying computer
science at night, he will be urged by a co-worker to try his
jokes at a local comedy club’s amateur night. By his second
night, he will win the amateur night contest and begin stand-
up part-time. He will make the move to Los Angeles in 1985
and by 1988, will start his stand-up career full-time. After
taking his comedy on the road for a year and winning the 1991
Johnny Walker National Comedy Search, he will be spotted by
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson comedy executive Jim
McCawley, who will booked him for a performance on the show.
As he finishes his set, he will look to Carson for his
approval and will receive much more. He will be called over
to take a seat on the coveted couch where Carson will ask him
if he had an agent. To his reply of "no", Carson mugged, "Well
you will after tonight." It will be a performance which he
says will give his career a "serious jump-start."
1960 - Robin René Roberts is born in Tuskegee, Alabama. She will become
a television broadcaster. She will be the anchor of ABC's Good
Morning America. She will begin her career in 1983 as a sports
anchor and reporter for WDAM-TV in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. In
1984, she will move to WLOX-TV in Biloxi, Mississippi. In 1986,
she will be sports anchor and reporter for WSMV-TV in Nashville,
Tennessee. She will also be a sports anchor and reporter at
WAGA-TV in Atlanta, Georgia, from 1988 to 1990. She will also be
a radio host for radio station V-103 while in Atlanta. She will
join ESPN as a sportscaster in February 1990, where she will
stay until 2005. On SportsCenter, she will use the catchphrase,
"Go on with your bad self!" She will begin to work for ABC News,
specifically as a featured reporter for Good Morning America in
June 1995. In 2001, she will receive the Mel Greenberg Media
Award, presented by the WBCA. For many years, she will work at
both ESPN and Good Morning America, contributing to both programs.
During that time, she will serve primarily as the news anchor at
GMA. In 2005, she will be promoted to co-anchor of Good Morning
America. In December 2009, she will be joined by George
Stephanopoulos as co-anchor of GMA after Diane Sawyer leaves to
anchor ABC World News. Under their partnership, the Roberts-
Stephanopoulos team will lead Good Morning America back to the
top of the ratings; the program will become the number-one morning
show again in April 2012, beating NBC's Today, which had held the
top spot for the previous 16 years. She will be also known for her
infamous interviews with Chris Brown and Nate Parker. In March
2011, while promoting his album F.A.M.E., Chris Brown will be
interviewed by Roberts. Throughout the interview, she will
frequently ask Brown about his relationship with singer Rihanna.
When Brown trys speaking about his album, she will continue asking
questions about their relationship, despite Brown's obvious signs
of not wanting to bring it up. In November 2016, Nate Parker will
be interviewed by her to promote his film Birth Of a Nation. While
interviewing Parker, she will ask questions about his 1999 charges
of rape. Despite being acquitted, she will ask if Parker wanted to
apologize. In the fall of 2005, she will anchor a series of
emotional reports from the Mississippi Gulf Coast after it is
devastated by Hurricane Katrina; her hometown of Pass Christian was
especially hard hit, with her old high school reduced to rubble. On
February 22, 2009, she will host the Academy Awards preshow for ABC,
and will do so again in 2011. In 2010, she will guest star on Disney
Channel's Hannah Montana, appearing in season 4, episode 10, "Can
You See the Real Me?" On May 30, 2010, she will drive the Pace Car
for the 2010 Indianapolis 500. She will be inducted into the Women's
Basketball Hall of Fame as part of the Hall's class of 2012 for her
contributions to and impact on the game of women's basketball
through her broadcasting work and play. In 2014, she will be named
one of ESPNW's Impact 25. She will interviews President Barack Obama
for Good Morning America in the Cabinet Room of the White House, May
9, 2012. In 2014, she will win the Walter Cronkite Award for
Excellence in Journalism. She will be inducted into the Sports
Broadcasting Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2016. She will be
the 2018 Radio Television Digital News Foundation's Lifetime
Achievement Award recipient. On May 19, 2018, she will co-anchor
the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the American
television star, at St. George's Chapel in Windsor.
1965 - Mike Garrett, a University of Southern California running back
with 4,876 total yards and 3,221 yards rushing, is announced
as the Downtown Athletic Club's Heisman Trophy winner of 1965.
He is the University of Southern California's first Heisman
Trophy winner. He will go on to play eight years in the pros,
first with the Kansas City Chiefs and later with the San Diego
Chargers, and be elected to the National Football Hall of Fame
in 1985.
1980 - One thousand persons from twenty five states gather in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and form the National Black
Independent Party.
1988 - Al Raby, the civil rights leader who convinced Martin
Luther King, Jr. to bring his movement to Chicago,
joins the ancestors succumbing to a heart attack.
1988 - South African President Pieter Botha gives a reprieve
to the Sharpeville Six.
1991 - Evander Holyfield retains the heavyweight boxing title,
by KO over Bert Cooper in the seventh round.
2014 - Marion Barry Jr., the Mississippi sharecropper's son and
civil rights activist who served three terms as mayor
of the District of Columbia, survived a drug arrest and
jail sentence, and then came back to win a fourth term
as the city's chief executive, joins the ancestors in
Washington, DC at the age of 78. The most influential
and savvy local politician of his generation, He
dominated the city's political landscape in the final
quarter of the 20th century, also serving for 15 years
on the D.C. Council, whose Ward 8 seat he held until his
transition.
2019 - Barbary Hillary joins the ancestors in Queens, New York
at the age of 88. She was the first black woman to reach
both the North and South Poles. She reached the North Pole
at the age of 75 and the South Pole at the age of 79.
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