*               Today in Black History - March 4                *

1837  - The "Weekly Advocate" changes its name to the "Colored
        American."  It is the second major African American newspaper.

1869 - The forty-second Congress convenes (1871-73) with five African
        American congressmen: Joseph H. Rainey, Robert Carlos Delarge
        and Robert Brown Elliott,South Carolina; Benjamin S. Turner,
        Alabama; Josiah T. Walls, Florida.  Walls is elected in an
        at-large election and is the first African American congressman
        to represent an entire state.

1889 - The fifty-first Congress convenes.  Three Black congressmen:
        Henry P. Cheatham, North Carolina; Thomas E. Miller, South
        Carolina; and John M. Langston, Virginia.

1897 - Willie Covan is born in Atlanta, Georgia.  He will become one of
        the earliest successful tap dancers, appearing in the original
        production of "Shuffle Along" as well as with the Four Covans.

1901 - The congressional term of George H. White, last of the post
        Reconstruction congressmen, ends.

1922 - Theater legend Bert Williams dies at the age of 46 in New York
        City.  He was considered the foremost African-American
        vaudeville performer, teaming first with George Walker in 1895,
        most notably in "In Dahomey," and later as a soloist with the
        Ziegfeld Follies.

1932 - Miriam Zensi Makeba, "Empress of African Song," is born in
        Prospect Township, South Africa.  Although exiled from her
        homeland, Makeba will become an internationally known singer
        and critic of apartheid.

1934 - Barbara McNair is born in Racine Wisconsin.  She will become a
        singer and actress, and will host her own program (The Barbara
        McNair Show).

1944 - Bobby Womack is born in Cleveland, Ohio.  He will become a Rhythm
        & Blues performer and guitarist.

1954 - The first African American sub-cabinet member is appointed.
        President Eisenhower names J. Earnest Wilkins of Chicago as the
        U.S. Assistant Secretary of Labor.

1968 - Joe Frazier defeats Buster Mathis for the world heavyweight
        boxing championship by knockout in the eleventh round.

        Martin Luther King, Jr. announces plans for Poor People's
        Campaign in Washington. He said he would lead a massive civil
        disobedience campaign in the capital to pressure the government
        to provide jobs and income for all Americans.  He told a press
        conference that an army of poor white, poor African Americans
        and Hispanics would converge on Washington on April 20 and would
        demonstrate until their demands were met.

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        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.
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