MUNIRAH CHRONICLE

 

 

*******  Today in Black History – May 16, 2008  *******    

 

 

1792 - Denmark abolishes the importation of slaves.

 

1857 - Juan Morel Campos is born in Ponce, Puerto Rico.   He will

      become a musician and composer who will be one of the first

      to integrate Afro-Caribbean styles and folk rhythms into the

      classical European musical model. He will be considered the

      father of the "danza."

 

1917 - Harry T. Burleigh, composer, pianist, and singer, is awarded the

      NAACP's Spingarn Medal for excellence in the field of creative

      music.

 

1929 - John Conyers, Jr. is born in Detroit, Michigan.  He will be

      elected to the House of Representatives from Michigan's 1st

      District in 1964, where he will advocate home rule and

      Congressional representation for the District of Columbia.  He

      will be the principal sponsor of the 1965 Voting Rights Act and

      the 1983 Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday bill, as well as a

      founder of the Congressional Black Caucus.

 

1930 - Lillie Mae Jones is born in Flint, Michigan.  She will become an

      uncompromising jazz singer using the stage name, Betty Carter,

      who will earn the nickname "Betty Bebop" for her bop

      improvisational style. She will tour with Lionel Hampton and

      Miles Davis during her career. In 1997, she will receive the

      National Medal of Arts award from President Bill Clinton.  She

      will join the ancestors on September 26, 1998.

 

1966 - Stokely Carmichael (later named Kwame Ture) is elected chairman

      of SNCC, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, a group

      formed during the Freedom Marches and dedicated to voter

      registration in the South.

 

1966 - Janet Damita Jackson is born in Gary, Indiana.  Sister of the

      famous Jacksons of the Jackson 5 singing group, she will have

      her own successful career, first in acting ("Good Times,"

      "Diff'rent Strokes," and "Fame"), then as a solo recording

      artist.  Her albums "Control" and "Rhythm Nation 1814" will earn

      her five American Music Awards and a Grammy award.

 

1966 - The National Welfare Rights Organization is organized.

 

1977 - Modibo Keita joins the ancestors in Bamako, Mali. He been the

      first president of Mali, from 1960 to 1968.

 

1979 - Asa Philip Randolph, labor leader and civil rights pioneer, joins

      the ancestors in New York at the age of 90.

 

1985 - Michael Jordan is named Rookie of the Year in the National

      Basketball Association.  Jordan, of the Chicago Bulls, was the

      number three draft choice.  At the time, Michael was third in the

      league scoring a 28.2 average and fourth in steals with 2.39 per

      game.

 

1990 - Sammy Davis Jr., actor, dancer, singer and world class entertainer,

      joins the ancestors in Beverly Hills, California at the age of 64

      from throat cancer.  Davis, born in Harlem, was a member of the

      Hollywood "Rat Pack." He also had starring roles in a host of

      Broadway musicals and motion pictures and had been an entertainer

      for over sixty years.

 

1997 - In Zaire, President Mobutu Sese Seko ends 32 years of autocratic

      rule, ceding control of the country to rebel forces.

 

 

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The source for these facts are "Encyclopedia Britannica,

"InfoBeat," "I, Too, Sing America - The African American <

Book of Days," "Before the Mayflower", "Black Firsts" and 

independent research by the Information Man.

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EVERY MONTH SHOULD BE BLACK HISTORY MONTH! CHECK OUT THESE OTHER BLACK HISTORY SITES ON THE WEB

Black History - Permanent Site at the Christian Science Monitor

Black History - Black History Links from the Informationn Man

Black History - Social Studies School Service

Black History - Afro-American Newspapers

National Civil Rights Museum - located in Memphis, Tennessee

Number of Visitors since 11/1/97

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Last Updated Friday, May 16, 2008