* Today in Black History - February 23 *
1763 - A major slave rebellion occurs in the Dutch South American
colony of Berbice (part of present-day Guyana). Slaves,
led by Cuffy, Atta, Accara, and others, fire a rebellion at
Plantation Magalenenburg because of the harsh and inhumane
treatment of the slave population. Cuffy, proclaims himself
Governor of Berbice and orders the Dutch Governor, Hoogenheim,
to leave with the white inhabitants. The slaves will control
the territory for months. Major resistance will continue
beyond October, 4th. There will be a split at the leadership
level of the rebellion. The final collapse of the revolution
will occur just before the trial of the last resisters on
March 16, 1764.
1868 - William Edward Burghardt (W.E.B.) Du Bois is born in Great
Barrington, Massachusetts. He will become one of the
greatest men of letters of his time, serving as an editor,
teacher, political theorist, and novelist. His
accomplishments will include founding and editing the NAACP
"Crisis Magazine," writing the influential "Souls of Black
Folk," being one of the founding fathers of the NAACP, and
the first African American to become a member of the National
Institute of Arts and Letters.
1942 - Don Lee is born in Little Rock, Arkansas. He will become a major
African American literary critic, author of nonfiction and
poetry, and founder of the influential Third World Press known
as Haki Madhubuti. The Chicago State University professor, poet,
and publisher will score a hit for his Third World Press with his
own "Groundwork: Selected and New Poems 1966-1996." "Groundwork"
and the second volume of Gwendolyn Brooks' autobiography-along
with continuing sales of Madhubuti's 1995 "Million Man March/Day
of Absence", will increase the number of successful titles at
Third World Press to 25 by 1997.
1964 - Roberto Martin Antonio "Bobby" Bonilla is born in New York City.
He will become a major league baseball player in 1981 and will
play for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago White Sox, New York
Mets, and the Baltimore Orioles, before ending up with the
Florida Marlins in 1996.
1968 - Wilt Chamberlain becomes the first NBA player to score 25,000
points.
1970 - Guyana becomes a republic. The Republic of Guyana changes its name
to the Cooperative Republic of Guyana. February 23 is chosen to
celebrate the start of the Berbice Slave Revolt of 1763, which was
led by Cuffy, a slave who became a national hero. One of the first
actions of the new republic will be to nationalize foreign-owned
companies.
1977 - "Roots," an adaptation of Alex Haley's best-selling novel, is
viewed by more Americans than any other program since the invention
of television. Approximately 130 million people watched at least
part of the series. The final episode was watched by a reported
80 million viewers. Alex Haley spent twelve years researching and
writing the book. While the show attracted many African American
viewers, ratings companies reported that millions of whites as well
as African Americans watched the show.
1979 - Colonel Frank E. Peterson, Jr. becomes the first African American
promoted to the rank of general in the Marine Corps. He also was
the first African American pilot to win Marine Corps wings. He
will retire in 1988 as commanding general of the Marine Development
Education Command in Quantico, Virginia.
1990 - Comer J. Cottrell, President of Pro-Line Corporation, pays $1.5
million for the Bishop College campus, traditionally an African
American college, in a bankruptcy auction. Cottrell's actions
result in the relocation of Paul Quinn College in Waco, another
African American campus, to the Dallas site.
1999 - Hughie Lee-Smith, a painter and former teacher at the Art Students
League in New York, joins the ancestors after succumbing to cancer
at the age of 83 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Lee-Smith was known
for his paintings that frequently included symbolic figurative
scenes. His works often included settings suggestive of theater
stages or bleak urban or seaside landscapes. In 1953, he won a
prize for his work from the Detroit Institute of Arts. While
serving in the Navy he did a mural titled, "History of the Negro
in the U.S. Navy." He taught at the Art Students League for 15
years, beginning in 1958. In 1963, he became the second African
American member elected to the National Academy of Design in New
York City. He became a full member four years later. His
paintings are in many public collections, including the
Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Detroit Institute of Arts, the
National Gallery of Art in Washington and the Schomburg Center
for Research in Black Culture in New York City.
1999 - A jury in Jasper, Texas convicts white supremacist John William
King of murder in the gruesome dragging death of an African
American man, James Byrd Jr. King will be sentenced to death two
days later.
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