*                   Today in Black History - June 15                   *
 
1864 - Congress passes a bill equalizing pay, arms, equipment and medical
        services of African American troops.

1877 - Henry Ossian Flipper, born a slave in Thomasville, Georgia, in 1856, 
        is the first African American cadet to graduate from the United 
        States Military Academy at West Point, New York. Flipper, who was 
        never spoken to by a white cadet during his four years at West 
        Point, was appointed a second lieutenant in the all-African 
        American 10th Cavalry, stationed at Fort Sill in Indian Territory. 

1921 - Bessie Coleman, a 28-year-old native of Amarillo, Texas, who learned
        French in order to communicate with instructors, receives a pilot's
        certificate from the Federation Aeronautique Internationale in 
        France.  She is the first African American woman to become a
licensed 
        pilot.

1921 - Erroll Garner is born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  He will become
        an accomplished pianist who will play by ear.  Much of his early
work 
        will be lost because it will not be written down.  His best known 
        composition will be "Misty."  He will be an ASCAP Award-winning jazz

        pianist.  Some of his other hits will be "Dreamy," "That's My Kick,"
        "Moment's Delight," and "Solitaire."  He will be honored on a stamp 
        by the U.S. Postal Service.

1938 - Billie Lee Williams, baseball player (Rookie of the Year 1961), and
        Chicago Cubs outfielder, is born.

1951 - Joe Louis knocks out Lee Savold in a closed-circuit TV fight seen by 
        fight fans in movie theatres in six cities.

1969 - O'Shea Jackson is born in Los Angeles, California.  Known later as
        "Ice Cube," he will be the first member of the seminal Californian 
        rap group N.W.A. to leave, and he will quickly establish himself as 
        one of hip-hop's best and most controversial artists. From the
outset 
        of his career, he will court controversy, since his rhymes were 
        profane and political.  As a solo artist, his politics and social
        commentary will sharpen substantially, and his first two records, 
        "AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted" and "Death Certificate," will be equally 
        praised and reviled for their lyrical stance, which happens to be 
        considerably more articulate than many of his gangsta peers. As his 
        career progresses, Ice Cube's influence begins to decline, 
        particularly as he tries to incorporate elements of contemporary 
        groups like Cypress Hill into his sound, but his stature never 
        diminished, and he will remain one of the biggest rap stars
throughout 
        the '90s. He will also become an actor and will have his acting
debut 
        in John Singleton's "Boyz N the Hood."

1971 - The U.S. Supreme Court upholds the constitutionality of closing 
        Jackson, Mississippi, swimming pools rather than integrating them.  
        The ruling is considered by many to indicate the Court's resistance 
        to increased integration.

1971 - Vernon E. Jordan Jr., former executive director of the United Negro 
        College Fund, is appointed executive director of the National Urban 
        League.

1987 - Michael Spinks defeats Gerry Cooney in round five of their 
        heavyweight boxing match in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

1990 - St. Clair Drake joins the ancestors after succumbing to a heart 
        attack in Palo Alto, California. The noted sociologist and 
        anthropologist was the author of numerous books, including the 
        important 'Black Metropolis' which he co-authored with Horace
Cayton.  
        In 1969, he established and served as Director of the African and 
        Afro-American Studies Program at Stanford University, a program
often 
        imitated by other colleges and universities.

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