* 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 is born in Slabfork, West Virginia. He
will join the US Navy at seventeen and serve for nine
years. Afterwards, he will move to Los Angeles in 1967.
While in Los Angeles, he will work in a Ford assembly
plant during the day and perform in the jook joints
at night. When he debuts on the music scene with "Aint
No Sunshine" he refuses to give up his job at Ford
because of his belief that the music business is a
fickle industry and that he is still a novice compared
to other working acts like the Temptations or Sammy
Davis, Jr.. His first success will be with Sussex Records
in 1971 with his debut hit single "Ain't No Sunshine,"
on the album "Just As I Am." His second album "Still Bill"
will also do well on the charts. It will include the well-
known single "Lean on Me." His live album, "Bill Withers,
Live at Carnegie Hall", released in 1972 will be one of
the best live albums to be released during the 1970s. He
will release albums from 1971 to 1985. Other popular songs
he will sing are "Use Me," "Lovely Day," and "Just the Two
of Us." To this day, his most popular songs, including
"Lovely Day," "Lean On Me" & "Ain't No Sunshine," have
been used in countless television advertisements, thereby
increasing his popularity as a well-respected artist. He
will remain one of the most significant and respected
singer/songwriters of the 20th Century. Some of his songs,
particularly "Lean on Me" and "Use Me" have been performed
often in churches because of their lyrics about spiritual
topics or people uniting.
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.
2003 - Barry White, Rhythm & Blues balladeer, joins the ancestors
at the age of 58 after succumbing to complications of
high blood pressure, kidney disease and a mild stroke.
His hits included "Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe"
and "I've Got So Much to Give."
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