*               Today in Black History - March 13                  *

1779 - Jean Baptiste Pointe du Sable, an explorer of African descent,
        from Santo Domingo (Haiti), builds the first permanent
        settlement at the mouth of the river, just east of the present
        Michigan Avenue Bridge on the north bank, of what is now the
        city of Chicago, Illinois.

1861 - Jefferson Davis signs a bill authorizing the use of slaves as
        soldiers in the Confederate army.

1862 - Congress forbids Union officers and soldiers from aiding in the
        capture and return of fugitive slaves, ending what one
        historian called the "military slave hunt."

1869 - Arkansas legislature passes anti-Ku Klux Klan legislation.

1914 - James Reese Europe explains the significance of his Clef Club
        Symphony Orchestra, consisting of the best African American
        musicians in New York City: "... we colored people have our
        own music that is a part of us.  It's the product of our
        souls; it's been created by the sufferings and miseries of our
        race."

1918 - John Rhoden is born in Birmingham, Alabama.  An art student who
        will study with Richmond Barthe' and at Talledega College,
        Rhoden's sculptures will have strong romantic and classical
        elements.  He will receive commissions for Harlem Hospital and
        Metropolitan Hospital in New York City, exhibit his work at
        the Atlanta University annuals, the Art Institute of Chicago,
        and the Whitney Museum and be represented in museums in the
        United States and Europe.  Among his major works will be
        "Safari," "Eve," and "Quarter Horse."

1930 - Richard Allen "Blue" Mitchell is born in Miami, Florida. The
        trumpeter will make his name as a member of Horace Silver's
        Quintet.  From 1974, he will play as a soloist or as an
        accompanist for Tony Bennett and Lena Horne.

1932 - The "Atlanta World" becomes the first African American daily
        newspaper in modern times, when it begins daily publication.
        It was founded on August 3, 1928, by William A. Scott, III
        and became a bi-weekly in 1930.

1943 - Frank Dixon becomes the first great African American miler in
        track as he wins the Columbian Mile in New York City.  Dixon
        runs the mile in the record time of 4 minutes, 9.6 seconds.

1946 - Colonel Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. becomes the first African
        American to command an United States Air Force base, when he
        assumes command of Lockbourne Air Force Base in Ohio.

1961 - Floyd Patterson knocks out Ingemar Johannson to retain the
        heavyweight boxing championship.

1984 - James L. Usry is elected the first African American mayor of
        Atlantic City, New Jersey.  He will serve as mayor until 1990.
        A former member of the Harlem Globetrotters, he became an
        educator before entering politics.

1999 - Evander Holyfield, the WBA and IBF champion, and Lennox Lewis,
        the WBC champion, keep their respective titles after fighting
        to a controversial draw in New York.

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