*                       Today in Black History - May 9                  *

1750 - The South Carolina Gazette reports that Caesar, a South Carolina 
        slave, has been granted his freedom and a life time annuity in 
        exchange for his cures for poison and rattlesnake bite. Caesar and 
        the famous James Derham of New Orleans are two of the earliest known

        African American medical practitioners.

1862 - General Hunter of the Union Army issues a proclamation freeing the 
        slaves of Georgia, Florida and South Carolina.  A displeased 
        President Lincoln annuls this act.  Lincoln stated, "General Hunter
        is an honest man...He proclaimed all men free within certain states.
        I repudiated the proclamation."

1919 - James Reese Europe joins the ancestors after being stabbed to death 
        by a crazed band member (his drummer) after a concert at Mechanics 
        Hall in Boston.  Europe was one of the preeminent jazz bandleaders
of 
        the early 20th century, beginning with his association with the team

        of J. Rosamond Johnson and Bob Cole in The Shoo Fly Regiment in
1906.  
        Founder of the Clef Club, Europe joined the 15th, and later, 369th 
        Infantry Regiments. The military band he formed during World War I
was 
        one of the most popular in all of Europe.

1936 - After a eight month occupation, Italy annexes Abyssinia (now
        Ethiopia). Italy's dictator Benito Mussolini announces in front of 
        400,000 people at the Piazza Venezia in Rome that, by controlling
Abyssinia, Eritrea, and Somaliland, Italy now has its own Empire. This 
        is the beginning of a five year occupation, which will end in 1941.

1952 - Canada Lee joins the ancestors in New York at the age of 45. A jockey

        and amateur boxer before turning to acting, Lee achieved wide
acclaim 
        for his portrayal of Bigger Thomas in the 1941 Broadway play "Native

        Son" and for the film, "Cry the Beloved Country."

1960 - Nigeria becomes a member of the British Commonwealth.

1974 - The House Judiciary Committee formally opens its impeachment hearings
        against President Richard M. Nixon with representatives John
Conyers, 
        Jr. (D-Mich.) and Barbara Jordan (D-Tex.) among members of the 
        committee.  Jordan, in particular, distinguishes herself as an 
        eloquent and incisive contributor to the hearings process.

1977 - Mabel Murphy Smythe is confirmed as Ambassador to the Republic of 
        Cameroon.

1987 - Chief Obafemi Awolowo, leader of the banned Action Group and leader 
        of the Yorubas of western Nigeria and first premier of the defunct 
        Western Region, joins the ancestors at the age of 78.

1987 - Eddie Murray, of the Baltimore Orioles, is the first baseball player
        to hit home runs as a switch hitter in 2 consecutive games.

1994 - South Africa's newly elected parliament chooses Nelson Mandela to be 
        the country's first black president.

1995 - Kinshasa, capital of Zaire, is placed under quarantine after an 
        outbreak of the Ebola virus.

______________________________________________________________
           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>
             <http://blackagenda.com/cybercolonies/index.htm>
   _____________________________________________________________
   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 2004,
   All Rights Reserved by the Information Man in association with
   CODE One Communications.