MUNIRAH CHRONICLE
******* Today in Black History – May 20, 2018 *******
1746 - Francois-Dominique Toussaint L'Ouverture is born into
slavery in Haiti.
He will lead the revolution in his
country against
French and English forces to free the
slaves. Although he
will nominally rule in the name of
France, he will in
actuality become political and
military dictator
of the country. His success in freeing
the slaves in Haiti
caused his name to become the biggest
influence in the
slave cabins of the Americas. His name
will be whispered
in Brazil, in the Caribbean, and the
United States. He
will join the ancestors on April 7, 1803.
1868 - The Republican National Convention, meeting in Chicago,
nominates U.S.
Grant for the presidency. The convention
marks the national
debut of African American politicians.
P.B.S. Pinchback of
Louisiana and James J. Harris were
delegates to the
convention. Harris will be named to the
committee which
informed Grant of his nomination. African
Americans also
serve for the first time as presidential
electors. Robert
Meacham will be a presidential elector
in Florida. The
South Carolina electoral ticket will
include three
African American Republican leaders, B.F.
Randolph, Stephen
A. Swails, and Alonzo J. Ransier.
1951 - The New York branch of the NAACP honors Josephine Baker
for
her work to combat
racism. Baker, the American chanteuse
who was acclaimed
in Europe, had led a personal crusade to
force integration
of clubs where she appeared in Miami and
Las Vegas. She also
campaigned against segregated railroad
facilities in
Chicago and buses in Oakland.
1961 - A mob attacks freedom riders in Montgomery, Alabama.
Attorney General
Robert F. Kennedy dispatches four hundred
U.S. marshals to
Montgomery to keep order in the freedom
rider controversy.
1964 - Buster Mathis defeats Joe Frazier to qualify for the U.S.
Olympic team.
1971 - A Pentagon report states that African Americans
constituted
11 per cent of U.S.
soldiers in Southeast Asia. The
report also states
that 12.5 per cent of all soldiers
killed in Vietnam
since 1961 were African American.
1985 - Larry Holmes retains the heavyweight boxing title of the
International
Boxing Federation in Reno, Nevada -- by
defeating Carl
Wilson in 15 rounds. The fight marks the
first heavyweight
title fight in Reno since Jack Johnson
and Jim Jeffries
fought there in 1910.
2003 - Howard Sims, tap dancer, joins the ancestors at age 86.
He
was known as
"Sandman" and taught Gregory Hines, Ben Vereen
and others.
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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 Sunday, May 20, 2018