*                Today in Black History - December 12           *

 

1870 - Joseph Hayne Rainey is the first African American to serve

            in Congress representing South Carolina.  He is sworn in 

            to fill an unexpired term.

 

1872 - U.S. Attorney General George Williams sends a telegram to 

            "Acting Governor Pinchback," saying that the African 

            American politician "was recognized by the President as 

            the lawful executive of Louisiana."

 

1899 - Boston native, dentist, and avid golfer, George F. Grant 

            receives a patent for a wooden golf tee.  Prior to the 

            use of the tee, wet sand was used to make a small mound 

            to place the ball. Grant's invention will revolutionize 

            the manner in which golfers swing at the ball.

 

1912 - Henry Armstrong is born in St. Louis, Missouri.  In 1938 

            he will become the first boxer to hold three titles after 

            winning the lightweight boxing championship. 

 

1913 - James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens is born in Oakville, Alabama.

            He will become a world-class athlete in college, setting 

            world records in many events.  He will go on to win 4 gold 

            medals in the 1936 Berlin Olympics, spoiling Hitler's 

            plans to showcase Aryan sports supremacy.

 

1918 - Famed jazz singer Joe Williams is born in Cordele, Georgia.

            Williams will sing for seven years in Count Basie's band, 

            where he will record  such hits as "Every Day I have the 

            Blues."

 

1929 - Vincent Smith is born in New York City.  Smith will exhibit 

            his works on four continents and be represented in the 

            collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the National 

            Museum of American Art, and the National Museum of Afro-

            American Artists in Boston.

 

1938 - The U.S. Supreme Court rules in Missouri that a state must 

            provide equal educational facilities for African Americans

            within its boundaries.  Lloyd Gaines, the plaintiff in the 

            case, disappears after the decision and is never seen 

            again.

 

1941 - Dionne Warwick is born in East Orange, New Jersey.  Warwick 

            will sing in a gospel trio with her sister Dee Dee and 

            cousin Cissy Houston, and begin her solo career in 1960 

            singing the songs of Burt Bacharach and Hal David.  She 

            will become a three-time Grammy winner.

 

1943 - Grover Washington, Jr. is born in Buffalo, New York.  He 

            will become a renown jazz artist and famous for his 

            recording of "Mr. Magic." He will join the ancestors on

            December 17, 1999.

 

1961 - Martin Luther King Jr., along with over seven hundred 

            demonstrators is arrested in Albany, Ga., after five mass 

            marches on city hall to protest segregation.  The arrests 

            trigger the militant Albany movement.

 

1963 - Kenya achieves its independence from Great Britain with 

            Jomo Kenyatta as its first prime minister.

 

1963 - Medgar Wiley Evers is awarded the Spingarn Medal 

            posthumously for his civil rights leadership.

 

1965 - Johnny Lee, an actor best known for his portrayal of 

            "Calhoun" on "The Amos 'n' Andy Show," joins the ancestors 

            at the age of 67.

 

1965 - Gale Sayers, of the Chicago Bears, scores 6 touchdowns and 

            ties the NFL record.

 

1968 - Arthur Ashe becomes the first African American to be ranked 

            Number One in tennis.

 

1975 - The National Association of Black Journalists is formed in

            Washington, DC.  Among its founding members are Max 

            Robinson, who will become the first African American anchor 

            of a national network news program, and Acel Moore, a 

            future Pulitzer Prize winner.

 

1979 - Rhodesia becomes the independent nation of Zimbabwe.

 

1986 - Bone Crusher Smith knocks out WBA champion Tim Witherspoon 

            in Madison Square Garden in New York City.


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