* Today in Black History - June 8 *
1886 - The first Civil Rights Act is passed.
1892 - Homer Adolph Plessy, an African American shoemaker from New Orleans,
Louisiana, is arrested for sitting in a "whites only" railroad
car. Judge John Ferguson will find him guilty of the crime of
refusing to leave the white railroad car. Plessy will appeal to
the Supreme Courts of both Louisiana and the United States, and
both will uphold Ferguson's decision and the "separate but equal"
doctrine (Plessy vs. Ferguson).
1924 - George Kirby is born in Chicago, Illinois. He will become a
comedian and, impressionist and delight audiences for more than 40
years. Kirby will begin his career in Chicago and will go to Las
Vegas in 1952 as part of the Count Basie show, one of the first
African American acts to play Vegas. He will be best known for
impressions of stars such as Jerry Lewis, John Wayne and Walter
Brennan, and for his dead-on takes of women, notably Pearl Bailey,
Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan. He will join the ancestors on
September 20, 1995.
1928 - Edward Joseph Perkins is born in Sterlington, Louisiana. He will
become the first African American ambassador to South Africa (1986-
1989). A veteran foreign service professional, he will serve as
U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Liberia (1985 - 1986), Director
of the Office of West African Affairs in the Bureau of African
Affairs at the U.S. Department of State (1983 - 1985), Deputy Chief
of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Monrovia, Liberia (1981-1983),
Counselor for Political Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Accra, Ghana
(1978 - 1981), and ambassador to the United Nations.
1939 - Bernie Casey is born in Wyco, West Virginia. He will be the first-
round draft pick for the San Francisco 49ers and play wide
receiver. Before retiring from the NFL, he will also play for the
Los Angeles Rams and be named an NFL All-Pro wide receiver. After
the NFL, he will have his acting debut in "Guns of the Magnificent
Seven," and have more than 40 roles to his credit, including Mr.
Walter in "Once Upon A Time...When We Were Colored," Commander
Hudson in the TV series "Star Trek," "Deep Space Nine" and
Commander Harris in "Under Siege." He will have his directorial
debut with the film, "The Dinner (1997). He also will become an
accomplished artist with paintings part of permanent collections at
the California Museum of African American Art and the Ankrum
Gallery in Los Angeles. His works will also appear in The Hirshorn
Museum in Washington, DC, the Lowe Gallery in Atlanta and the John
Bolles Gallery in San Francisco. He will earn a doctoral degree in
humanities from the Savannah College of Art and Design and serve as
chairman of its board of trustees.
1943 - Willie Davenport is born in Troy, Alabama. He will become a star in
track and field events, whose career will span five Olympic Games
from 1964 to 1980, during which he won a gold and bronze medal. He
will be one of only eight U.S. Olympic athletes to have competed in
both the summer and winter games. Davenport will win the gold
medal in the 110-meter hurdles in the 1968 Mexico City Olympics,
and the bronze in the same event in Montreal, Quebec in 1976. After
four Olympic appearances in the hurdles, Davenport will compete as
the first African American member of the U.S. four-man bobsled team
in 1980. Davenport will coach the 1993 and 1994 U.S. Army Track
Team to victory in the Armed Forces Track & Field Championships.
He will be the head coach of the United States Army Track & Field
Team for the 1996 Olympics.
1953 - The Supreme Court rules that District of Columbia restaurants cannot
refuse to serve African Africans.
1958 - Keenen Ivory Wayans is born in New York City. He will become a
comedian, actor, writer, director, and producer. He will become
best known for his television show, "In Living Color."
1963 - Three bullets are fired into the Clarksdale, Mississippi home of Dr.
Aaron Henry, Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party candidate for
governor.
1968 - James Earl Ray, the alleged assassin of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,
is captured at London's Heathrow airport.
1969 - Bill Cosby wins an Emmy for a variety special. It is his fourth
Emmy award.
1978 - Through the voice of its president, Spencer W. Kimball, the Mormon
Church reverses a 148-year-long policy of spiritual discrimination
against African American leadership within the denomination
(Official Declaration # 2).
1982 - Leroy "Satchel" Paige, a pitcher in the Negro Leagues and the first
African American pitcher in the American League, joins the
ancestors in Kansas City, Missouri at the age of 75. Paige is
heralded as one of the greatest early African American baseball
players in a career that spanned more than 40 years and was
enshrined in baseball's Hall of Fame in 1971.
1998 - Military dictator of Nigeria, Sani Abacha joins the ancestors at the
age of 54.
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