MUNIRAH CHRONICLE
******* Today in Black History – June 27, 2017 *******
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1833
- The operator of an academy for African American females
in Canterbury, Connecticut, Prudence
Crandall - a white
woman, is arrested for providing this
service.
1872
- Paul Laurence Dunbar, short story writer, is born in
Dayton, Ohio. He will be so talented and
versatile that he
will succeed in two worlds. He will be
so adept at
writing verse in Black English that he
will become known
as the "poet of his people,"
while also cultivating a white
audience that appreciated the brilliance
and value of his
work. "Majors and Minors"
(1895), Dunbar's second
collection of verse, will be a
remarkable work containing
some of his best poems in both Black and
standard English.
When the country's reigning literary
critic, William Dean
Howells reviews "Majors and
Minors" favorably, Dunbar
becomes famous. And Howells'
introduction in "Lyric of
Lowly Life" (1896) will help make
Dunbar the most popular
African American writer in America at
the time. Dunbar will
join the ancestors after succumbing to
tuberculosis on
February 9, 1906. The U.S. Postal
Service will issue a
commemorative stamp in his honor on May
1, 1975.
1890
- George Dixon, a Canadian, becomes the first person of
African descent to win a world boxing
championship. He
defeats Nunc Wallace to win the
bantamweight title. He will
also become the first person of African
descent to win an
American title in any sport, when he
knocks out Cal McCarthy
in 1891.
1914
- The United States signs a treaty of commerce with Ethiopia.
1919
- Archibald H. Grimke', noted lawyer and civil rights advocate
who had served as U.S. Consul in Santo
Domingo, Dominican
Republic and president of the American
Negro Academy among
his accomplishments, receives the
NAACP's Spingarn Medal.
An original member of the
"Committee of Forty" that helped
establish the NAACP, Grimke' is honored
for his "years of
distinguished service to his race and
country."
1941
- Richard Wright is awarded the Spingarn Medal. He is cited
for the power of his books "Uncle
Tom's Children" and
"Native Son" in depicting
"the effects of proscription,
segregation and denial of opportunities
on the American
Negro."
1960
- British Somaliland becomes part of Somalia.
1967
- A racially motivated disturbance occurs in Buffalo, New York.
200 persons are arrested. The disturbance will last four
days.
1970
- The Jackson Five: Marlon, Tito, Jackie, Jermaine and
Michael,
jump to number one on the music charts
with "The Love You
Save". The song will stay at the
top of the charts for a
two week run.
It will be the third of four number-one hits
in a row for the group. The other three
are: "I Want You
Back", "ABC" and
"I'll Be There". In 15 years,
from 1969
to 1984, The Jackson Five/Jacksons will
have 23 hits, score
two platinum singles ("Enjoy
Yourself" and "Shake Your Body
[Down To The
Ground]") and one gold record ("State of
Shock").
1972
- Patricia Roberts Harris, the first African American U.S.
Ambassador, is named permanent chairman
of the Democratic
National Convention. The Mattoon,
Illinois native will
later break new ground as Secretary of
Health and Human
Services and Secretary of Housing and
Urban Development.
1977
- Djibouti gains independence from France. Djibouti is located
in East Africa, bordered by Eritrea,
Ethiopia, Somalia, and
the Gulf of Aden.
1978
- Henry Rono of Kenya sets a world record for 3,000
meters,
running in 7 minutes 32 and 1/10
seconds.
1979
- The U.S. Supreme Court rules, in Weber v. Kaiser Aluminum
and Chemical Corporation, that employers
and unions can
establish voluntary programs, including
the use of quotas,
to aid minorities in employment.
1988
- Mike Tyson knocks out Michael Spinks in 91 seconds of the
first round, in Atlantic City, New
Jersey.
1989
- The Baltimore Orioles beat the Toronto Blue Jays 16-6. Each
team is coached by an African American,
Frank Robinson of
the Orioles and Cito
Gaston of the Blue Jays. Robinson,
who will direct his team to an 87-75
season, will be named
manager of the year by both the
Associated Press and the
United Press International.
1991
- Justice Thurgood Marshall, 82, the first African American on
the U.S. Supreme Court, announces his
retirement after 24
years service,
citing "advancing age and medical condition."
As chief counsel for the NAACP, Marshall
had played a major
role in the legal fight that led to the
Brown v. Board of
Education decision, overturning legal
segregation. In his
final dissent on the court on June 27,
Marshall says that
the court's conservative majority was
recklessly overturning
decisions protecting the right of
African Americans and
minorities.
1994
- U.S. Coast Guard cutters intercept 1,330 Haitian boat people
on the high seas in one of the busiest
days since refugees
began leaving Haiti following a 1991
military coup.
2014
- Bobby Womack, the legendary soul singer whose career spanned
seven decades, joins the ancestors at
age 70. He was in the
first rank of songwriters, penning
classics such as "It's All
Over Now," which became the Rolling
Stones' first Number One
single in the UK. He was a top-notch
guitarist, backing up
everyone from Ray Charles to Aretha
Franklin. And when he sang
on his own records, he could compel you
to get on your feet
("Looking for a Love"),
reinvent standards as Rhythm & Blues
anthems ("Fly Me to the Moon")
or express yearning like nobody
else ("Across 110th Street").
In 2009, he was inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by his old
friend and collaborator
Ron Wood, who described him as "a
great inspiration to my band
and all of the musicians that I
know." In his acceptance speech,
he remembered playing guitar for Sam
Cooke, cited Cooke's civil
rights anthem "A Change Is Gonna Come," and astonished by how
society had changed, addressed his dead
friend: "Sam, we have
our first black president."
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The source for these facts are "Encyclopedia Britannica,
"Before the
Mayflower", "Black Firsts" and independent
research by Mr. Rene’ A. Perry, Sr.
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Last Updated Tuesday, June 27, 2017