* Today in Black History - March 23 *
1784 - Tom Molineaux, who will become America's most celebrated
early boxing success, is born into slavery in Virginia.
He will emigrate to London after winning money to purchase
his freedom in a fight. He will challenge champion Tom
Cribb in a fight attended by 10,000 spectators in 1810,
which he will apparently win but is ruled against, by a
partisan referee. After a subsequent loss to Cribb in
1811, he will sink into alcoholism and will join the
ancestors penniless in Galway, Ireland, in 1818 at the age
of 34.
1938 - Maynard Holbrook Jackson, Jr. is born in Dallas, Texas. He will
be elected the first African American mayor of Atlanta,
Georgia for two terms, 1974 to 1982, and be re-elected in 1989
for an unprecedented third term. During his first term as the
mayor, much progress will be made in improving race relations
in and around Atlanta. As mayor, he will lead the beginnings
and much of the progress on several huge public-works projects
in Atlanta and its region. He will help arrange for the
rebuilding of the then-William B. Hartsfield Atlanta
International Airport's huge terminal (now Domestic Terminal)
to modern standards, and this airport will be renamed the
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in his honor,
shortly after his transition. Also named after him will be the
new international terminal at Hartsfield-Jackson Airport called
the Maynard Holbrook Jackson, Jr. International Terminal, which
will open in May 2012. He will also fight against the construction
of freeways through intown neighborhoods. He will be mayor when
the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) obtains
a large amount of Federal funding for a rapid-transit rail-line
system when its construction began. He will also be in office when
MARTA begins its first rail transit service in Atlanta and in
DeKalb County in 1979, and during its continual expansion thereafter.
He will also be mayor when Atlanta is selected as the host city for
the 1996 Summer Olympic Games, when the decision is made in September
1990. As mayor, he will accept the Olympic flag at the 1992 closing
ceremonies in Barcelona, Spain. Many planned public works projects,
such as improvements to freeways and parks, and the completion of
Freedom Parkway, will be expedited from 1990 to 1996 in preparation
for the Olympic Games that will begin in August 1996. His first term
as mayor will also coincide with the Atlanta Child Murders case
between 1979 and 1981. He will play a prominent role in resolving,
both in supporting the Atlanta Police and other police forces in the
area, but also by endeavoring to calm the huge amount of public
tension that arises because of these serial killings. The murderer,
Wayne Williams, will be caught in 1981, tried, convicted, and
sentenced to serve two consecutive life sentences in prison. In 1974,
he will receive the Samuel S. Beard Award for Greatest Public Service
by an Individual 35 Years or Under, an award given out annually by
Jefferson Awards He will join the ancestors on June 23, 2003, after
succumbing to a cardiac arrest in Washington, DC.
1953 - Yvette Marie Stevens is born in Great Lakes, Illinois. She will become
better known as Chaka Khan, lead singer of the rock group Rufus
(winner of a 1974 Grammy) and a three-time Grammy-winning soloist. Her
career will span over four decades, beginning in the 1970s as the
frontwoman and focal point of the funk band Rufus. Widely known as the
Queen of Funk, she will win ten Grammys and sell an estimated 70
million records worldwide. She will be ranked at number 17 in VH1's
original list of the 100 Greatest Women of Rock & Roll. In 2015, she
will be nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for
the second time. She will be previously nominated as member of Rufus in
2011. She will be the first Rhythm & Blues artist to feature a rapper
with "I Feel for You" in 1984. In the course of her solo career, she
will achieve three gold singles, three gold albums and one platinum
album with "I Feel for You." With Rufus, she will achieve four gold
singles, four gold albums, and two platinum albums.
1955 - Moses Malone is born in Petersburg, Virginia. He will begin
his career in professional basketball in 1974 when he
becomes the first player in ABA basketball history to make
the move directly from high school ball to playing in a
professional league. He will join the now-defunct American
Basketball Association's Utah Stars. His career will peak
during his seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers. Matched
with Julius Erving, Maurice Cheeks, Bobby Jones and Andrew
Toney in the 1982-83 season, the 76ers will lead the league
with a 65-17 regular-season record and win the championship.
He will win both NBA MVP and NBA Finals MVP that year. His
other achievements will include NBA MVP (1979, '82), All-NBA
first team (1979, '82, '85), All-NBA second team (1980, '81,
'84, '87), NBA All-Defensive first team (1983) and NBA
All-Defensive second team (1979). He will also hold career
records for the most consecutive games without a
disqualification (1,212), most free throws made (8,531),
most offensive rebounds (6,731) and most turnovers (3,804).
He will achieve the milestone of playing his 45,000th
minute, on Dec. 14, 1994, against the Boston Celtics. He
will be recognized not only for greatness as an all-around
player, but also for his longevity, as he will play for two
ABA teams and eight NBA teams over 22 years.
1968 - Rev. Walter Fauntroy, a former aide of Martin Luther King
Jr., becomes the first non-voting congressional delegate
from the District of Columbia since the Reconstruction
period.
1985 - Patricia Roberts Harris, Cabinet Member, ambassador and
first African American woman to head a law school, joins
the ancestors in Washington, DC.
1985 - "We Are The World", by USA for Africa, a group of 46 pop
stars, enters the music charts for the first time at number
21.
1998 - President Bill Clinton hails "the new face of Africa" as he
opens a historic six-nation tour in Ghana.
______________________________________________________________
Munirah Chronicle is edited by Mr. Rene' A. Perry
"The TRUTH shall make you free"
E-mail: <[log in to unmask]>
Archives: http://listserv.icors.org/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 1997 - 2016,
All Rights Reserved by the Information Man in association with
The Black Agenda.
|
