THE MUNIRAH CHRONICLE
******* Today in Black History – January 18, 2021 *******
1856 - Dr. Daniel Nathan
Hale Williams is born in Hollidaysburg,
Pennsylvania. He will graduate from Chicago Medical
College in 1883 and begin his practice on Chicago's South
Side. After 8 years of frustration, not being able to use
the facilities at the white hospitals in Chicago, he will
found Provident Hospital in 1891 and open it to patients of
all races. He will make his mark in medical history on
July 10, 1893, when he becomes the first African American
surgeon to perform a successful open heart surgery. He will
join the ancestors on August 4, 1931 after succumbing to a
stroke.
1896 - British troops occupy
Kumasi, West Africa. The Ashanti turned
down an unofficial offer to become a British protectorate in
1891, extending to 1894. The British also wanted to establish
a British resident in Kumasi. The Ashanti King Prempeh
refused
to surrender his sovereignty. Because the British wanted to
keep French and German forces out of Ashanti territory (and
its
gold), the British were anxious to conquer the Ashanti once
and
for all. The Ashanti sent a delegation to London offering
concessions on its gold, cocoa and rubber trade as well as
submission to the crown. The British however had already made
its mind up on a military solution.
1944 - The Metropolitan
Opera House in New York City hosts a jazz
concert for the first time. The performers will include Louis
Armstrong and Lionel Hampton.
1948 - The first courses
begin at the University of Ibadan in Nigeria.
1949 - Congressman William
Dawson is elected chairman of the House
Expenditure Committee. He is the first African American to
head a standing committee of Congress.
1958 - Willie Eldon O'Ree
becomes the first person of African descent to
play in the National Hockey League, when he debuts with the
Boston Bruins in a 3-0 win over Montreal in the Forum.
1961 - Zanzibar's
Afro-Shirazi party wins 1 seat by a single vote and
control Parliament by a single seat.
1962 - Southern University
is closed because of demonstrations
protesting the expulsion of student sit-in activists.
1966 - Robert C. Weaver
takes the oath of office as Secretary of the
Department of Housing and Urban Development. Appointed by
President Lyndon B. Johnson, Weaver becomes the first
African American to serve in a U.S. President's Cabinet.
1972 - Garfield Todd, former
Prime Minister of Southern Rhodesia and
his daughter Judith, supporters of black majority rule in the
country, are arrested.
1973 - The Boston Red Sox
sign Orlando Cepeda. He will become the first
player to sign a contract to exclusively play as a designated
hitter.
1975 - "The
Jeffersons," one of the first TV shows about an African
American family, is seen for the first time. The Jeffersons,
who move to Manhattan's posh East Side, are the former
neighbors of the Bunkers in the sitcom "All in the
Family."
The Jeffersons will be the first show to introduce the
subject of mixed marriages humorously and tastefully in
prime time TV. Sherman Hemsley plays George Jefferson and
Isabelle Sanford the role of Louise, his wife.
1989 - Otis Redding, The
Temptations, and Stevie Wonder are inducted
into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
1990 - The South African
government announces that it is reconsidering a
ban on the African National Congress.
1990 - Washington, DC mayor
Marion Barry is arrested for allegedly
purchasing and using crack cocaine in a Washington, DC hotel
room.
The circumstances surrounding his arrest, trial, and
subsequent
conviction on one count of misdemeanor cocaine possession
will be
hotly debated by African American and white citizens of the
District and elsewhere.
1993 - The Martin Luther
King, Jr. holiday is observed in all 50 states
for the first time.
1995 - South African
President Nelson Mandela's cabinet denies amnesty
sought by 3,500 police officers in apartheid's waning days.
1998 - The Boston Celtics
retire Robert Parrish's jersey #00.
2000 - Jester Hairston, who
appeared on radio and TV's "Amos 'n' Andy," but
who was better known to younger fans as the wise old church
member
Rolly on the sitcom "Amen," joins the ancestors in
Los Angeles,
California at the age of 98.
2002 - The Sierra Leone
Civil War is finally declared over.
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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, I.
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EVERY MONTH SHOULD BE BLACK HISTORY MONTH! CHECK OUT THESE OTHER BLACK HISTORY SITES ON THE WEB
Schomburg Center for Research in
Black Culture - located in Harlem, New York City
Black History - Black History Links from the Information Man
Black History - Afro-American Newspapers
National Civil Rights Museum - located
in Memphis, Tennessee
Charles H. Wright Museum of African American
History - located in Detroit,
Michigan
Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland
African American History & Culture - located in Baltimore, Maryland
National Museum of African American History and
Culture - located in Washington, DC
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Last Updated Monday, January 18, 2021