* Today in Black History - April 29 *
1854 - Ashmun lnstitute, later Lincoln University, is founded in Oxford,
Pennsylvania. It will be "the first institution founded anywhere
in the world to provide a higher education in the arts and sciences
for youth of African descent." (This applies to the modern era).
1881 - Julian Francis Abele is born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He will
become an architect widely believed to have designed Philadelphia's
Museum of Art and the Free Library, as well as major buildings on
the Duke University campus.
1899 - Edward "Duke" Kennedy Ellington is born in Washington, DC. He will
form his first band in 1919, and move to New York City in 1922. His
five-year tenure at the famed Cotton Club will garner him wide
acclaim. Scoring both his first musical and making his recording
debut in 1924, Ellington will be known as the first conventional
jazz composer, although he will also become renowned for his Sacred
Concerts in the mid-1960's. His most notable works include "Take
the A Train," "Mood Indigo," "Sophisticated Ladies," and "I Got It
Bad and That Ain't Good."
1915 - Donald Mills is born in Piqua, Ohio. With his brothers, Herbert,
Harry and John, the Mills Brothers will begin performing in 1922
in their hometown and over time will sell an estimated 50 million
records. The group will break racial barriers in the era of Jim
Crow and sing before royalty in London. From the early 1930s
onward, the Mills Brothers will be a nationwide hit on radio and
in record sales. In 1931, the song "Tiger Rag" will sell 1
million copies. Some of their other hit songs will include "You
Always Hurt the One You Love," "Glow Worm," "Yellow Bird," and
"Paper Doll." The brothers will also appear in several movies,
including "The Big Broadcast" in 1932, and "Twenty Million
Sweethearts" in 1934. Donald will be the last surviving member of
the group and will tour in his later years with his youngest son,
John, after his brothers retire in 1982. He will accept a Grammy
Award for Life Achievement for the Mills Brothers in 1998. He
will join the ancestors in 1999.
1922 - Parren James Mitchell is born in Baltimore, Maryland. In 1971, he
will become the first African American elected to Congress from the
State of Maryland.
1928 - Carl Gardner is born. He will become a singer and a member of the
1960's rhythm and blues group, The Coasters.
1934 - Otis Rush is born in Philadelphia, Mississippi. He will become a
blues musician and will help to shape Chicago's West Side blues
sound.
1948 - Willi Smith is born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A noted
designer, he will take his first job with Arnold Scaasi in New York
City and form his own fashion label, Willi Wear Ltd., in 1976. He
will be a Coty Award winner in 1983 and will lead his company until
he joins the ancestors in 1987.
1967 - Mrs. Robert W. Clayton is elected president of the YWCA, the first
African American president of the organization.
1983 - Harold Washington is sworn in as the first African American mayor of
Chicago.
1992 - Rioting erupts in Los Angeles after a jury acquits four white
policemen of charges related to the videotaped beating of African
American motorist Rodney King. The National Guard and federal
troops are mobilized to deal with the rebellion, which will last
several days and cost the lives of 58 persons. There are
demonstrations and riots in other American cities.
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