* Today in Black History - August 2 *
1847 - William A. Leidesdorff, born in the Danish West Indies to a
Danish father and a Black native mother, opens the first
commercial steamship service on San Francisco Bay.
1920 - Marcus Garvey presents his "Back To Africa" program in New
York City.
1924 - James Baldwin is born in New York City. He will become one
of the most prolific and influential African American authors
of fiction ("Go Tell it on the Mountain", "Another Country",
"Giovanni's Room"), drama ("Blues for Mr. Charlie", "Amen
Corner"), and essay collections ("Notes of a Native Son",
"The Fire Next Time").
1945 - Jewell Jackson (later McCabe) is born in Washington, DC. She
will become president of the Coalition of 100 Black Women,
whose mission is to develop a forum for African American
women leaders.
1946 - Bob Beamon, long jumper (will win Olympic gold in 1968 for a
long jump of 29' 2" (8.9m)), is born.
1951 - While manning his machine gun during a surprise attack on his
platoon on this day, private first class William Henry
Thompson of Company M, Twenty-fourth Infantry Regiment,
becomes the first African American to earn the Medal of Honor
in the Korean conflict.
1964 - A race riot begins in Jersey City, New Jersey.
1966 - The Charles R. Drew Postgraduate Medical School, later Charles
R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, is chartered in
Los Angeles, California. It is the only African American-
focused medical school west of the Mississippi.
1967 - "In the Heat of the Night", starring Sidney Portier and Rod
Steiger, premieres.
1967 - Claude A Barnett, who founded the Associated Negro Press, dies
at the age of 78.
1980 - Thomas "Hit Man" Hearns wins the WBA Welterweight title. This
is one of five weight classes in which he has won a boxing
title, making him the first African American to win boxing
titles in five different weight classes.
1982 - Jackie Robinson, the first African American to break the color
barrier in major league baseball, is honored by a commemorative
stamp issued by the Postal Service, the fifth in its Black
Heritage USA series.
1986 - Jackie Joyner-Kersee (United States) sets record for the
heptathlon (7161 pts).
*********************************************************
The source for these facts are "Encyclopedia Britannica,
"InfoBeat," "I, Too, Sing America - The African American
Book of Days," "Before the Mayflower", "Black Firsts" and
independent research by the Information Man.
*********************************************************
______________________________________________________________
Munirah Chronicle is edited by Brother Mosi Hoj
"The TRUTH shall make you free"
E-mail: <[log in to unmask]>
Archives: <http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/Munirah.html>
______________________________________________________________
To SUBSCRIBE send E-mail to: <[log in to unmask]>
In the E-mail body place: Subscribe Munirah Your FULL Name
______________________________________________________________
Munirah(TM) is a trademark of Information Man. Copyright 1998,
All Rights Reserved by the Information Man in association with
CODE One Communications.
|