*               Today in Black History - March 20               *

1852 - Uncle Tom's Cabin, by white abolitionist Harriet Beecher Stowe,
        is published. The controversial novel will be credited by many,
        including Abraham Lincoln, with sparking the Civil War.  Mr.
        Lincoln will later tell Mrs. Stowe, that she was "the little
        woman who wrote the book that started this great war".

1852 - Martin R. Delany publishes "The Condition, Elevation, Emigration
        and Destiny of the Colored People of the United States," the
        the first major statement of the African American nationalist
        position. Delany says, "The claims of no people, according to
        established policy and usage, are respected by any nation, until
        they are presented in a national capacity."  He adds: "We are a
        nation within a nation; as the Poles in Russia, the Hungarians
        in Austria, the Welsh, Irish, and Scotch in the British
        dominions."

1883 - Jan Matzeliger receives patent #274,207 for his shoe lasting
        machine.  His invention will revolutionize the shoe industry,
        allowing for the first mass production of shoes.

1890 - The Blair Bill, which provides federal support for education and
        allocates funds to reduce illiteracy among the freedmen is
        defeated in the U.S. Senate, 37-31.

1950 - Dr. Ralph Bunche receives the Nobel Peace Prize for his work as
        a mediator in the Palestine crisis.  He is the first African
        American to be so honored.

1957 - Shelton "Spike" Lee is born in Atlanta, Georgia.  He will grow up
        in the Fort Greene section of Brooklyn, New York, the son of an
        accomplished jazz bassist and art teacher, Bill Lee.  He will
        become a motion picture director, producing many of his own
        films.  His films, among them "She's Gotta Have It," "Do the
        Right Thing" and "Jungle Fever" explore the social, political,
        and interpersonal relationships between African Americans and
        whites not seen since the work of director Oscar Micheaux.

1970 - Students strike at the University of Michigan and demand
        increased African American enrollment. The strike ends on April
        2, after the administration agrees to meet their demands.

1973 - Roberto Clemente is elected to Baseball's Hall of Fame, 11 weeks
        after he joins the ancestors.  He becomes the first person of
        African descent to be elected to the Hall of Fame in a special
        election (before the five-year waiting period).  He also is the
        first Hispanic to enter the Hall of Fame.

1987 - "Hollywood Shuffle" premieres.  The film is directed by, produced
        by, and stars Robert Townsend.  Townsend also used his own money
        to bring his comedic vision to the screen.

1990 - Namibia becomes an independent nation, marking the end of 75
        years of South African rule.

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