Week of January 23-29
January 23
1821—Minister Lott Cary leaves the United States with a group of freed slaves to establish a colony on the West African coast. In so doing, the group lays the foundation for the establishment of the nation of Liberia. Cary became acting governor of the settlement in August 1828, but died accidentally in November 1828. Nevertheless the colony survived even though it had to fight off attacks from native Africans and slave traders. Liberia became an independent republic in 1847. In 2006, it elected its first female president.
1891—Pioneering Black surgeon, Dr. Daniel Hale Williams, helped found Provident Hospital in Chicago, Ill. The hospital became one of the main teaching and training facilities for Black doctors and nurses who had frequently been denied entrance to White-owned medical facilities. It was also at Provident in 1893 that Williams achieved international fame by becoming the first American surgeon to perform open heart surgery.
1964—The 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is ratified. It abolished the poll tax, which had been used in many Southern states to prevent Blacks from voting. Interestingly, the Republican-controlled legislature in Georgia in 2006 passed a voter identification law that many Blacks complained was no more than a poll tax in disguise.
1976—Paul Robeson, perhaps the greatest combination of actor, singer, athlete and political activist ever produced by Black America, died on this day in Philadelphia, Pa. During his life Robeson not only achieved a brilliant career on stage and in early movies but was also an ardent fighter for Black rights and socialist causes. As a result he was the target of a massive government campaign of disruption and character assassination.
1977—The highly acclaimed television mini-series “Roots” begins airing on ABC. “Roots” received 37 Emmy Award nominations and won nine. It received unprecedented Nielsen ratings for the finale, which still holds a record as the third-highest-rated U.S. television program. The series introduced LeVar Burton in the role of Kunta Kinte and was based on a novel by Alex Haley who also wrote the “Autobiography of Malcolm X.”
January 24
1874—Arthur Schomburg is born Arturo Alfonso Schomburg in Puerto Rico. After moving to New York City in April 1891, he became known over time as the “Sherlock Holmes” of Black history because of his relentless digging for Black historical truths and accomplishments. Reportedly, his drive to discover Black history was sparked by a fifth grade teacher who told him “Black people have no history, no heroes, no great moments.”
1885—Martin R. Delaney (1812-1885) dies on this day in Xenia, Ohio. Delaney was perhaps the leading Black nationalist of the 1800s. After fighting in the Civil War to end slavery and becoming the first Black field officer in the U.S. Army, Delaney became disillusioned with America. He began to advocate Black separatism and/or a return to Africa. He was a journalist and a physician who wrote several books including one detailing how ancient Egypt and Ethiopia were the first great civilizations long before ancient Greece. Although relatively unknown today, Delaney was also brilliant. Abraham Lincoln once told his Edwin Stanton, secretary of war, about Delaney, saying, “Do not fail to meet this most extraordinary and intelligent Black man.”
1993—The first Black U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall died on this day. Unlike current justice Clarence Thomas, Marshall was a true progressive and fighter for Black rights, having spent years with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund waging ongoing battles with the legal establishment to protect and expand rights and opportunities for African-Americans.
January 26
1893—“Queen Bess,” Bessie Coleman, the nation’s first Black female aviator, was born in the small town of Atlanta, Texas. Coleman was also the first African-American (male or female) to earn an international pilot’s license. Because of the racism and sexism in America, she had to travel to France to earn the license. She traveled the U.S. encouraging other Blacks to become pilots. Queen Bess died in plane accident in 1926.
1944—Political activist Angela Davis is born in Birmingham, Ala. She was a brilliant scholar and philosopher who made the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list because of her suspected involvement in the violent Aug. 7, 1970 courthouse attempt to free jailed Black revolutionary inmate George Jackson. She was also associated with the Black Panther Party. However, shortly after the 1968 assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., she joined the Communist Party. She later became a tenured professor at the University of California Santa Cruz although then governor and later U.S. President Ronald Reagan had vowed to block her from teaching.
January 27
1953—One of Black America’s most gifted novelists, Ralph Ellison, wins the prestigious National Book Award with his powerful novel “The Invisible Man.” The novel helped him achieve international fame. The main character constantly escapes one disaster after another. The disasters are brought on by a combination virulent racism and the character’s own naiveté. Ellison was born in Oklahoma City, Okla.
1961—Opera diva Leontyne Price makes her debut at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City.
1972—Mahalia Jackson, generally considered the greatest gospel singer that ever lived, dies of heart failure on this day near Chicago, Ill. She was born in New Orleans, La. She settled in Chicago where she briefly studied beauty culture under the nation’s first Black millionaire, Madame C.J. Walker. Among her greatest and most frequently requested songs were “Did It Rain,” “Joshua Fought the Battle of Jericho, “ “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands,” and “When the Saints Go Marching In.”
January 28
1938—Crystal Byrd Fauset becomes the first Black woman elected to a state legislature when she wins a seat in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.
1944—Matthew Henson receives a medal from the U.S. Congress for being co-discoverer of the North Pole along with Robert Peary. The medal, however, came 35 years after the historic feat because Peary, a White man and Henson’s boss, received all the credit for decades. However, records show that Henson, leading a party of four Inuits (Eskimos) actually reached the North Pole 45 minutes before Peary.
1989—After 62 years and numerous protests, the Colgate-Palmolive Company ends the sale of “Darkie Toothpaste.” The toothpaste, which was only sold in Asia, was renamed “Darlie” and the Sambo-style character on the tube was dropped.
January 29
1837—The great Russian literary genius Alexander Pushkin dies on this day as a result of a duel. He is generally considered Russia’s greatest poet. Unlike many famous Europeans of color, Pushkin was proud of his Black heritage, which is traced to his great grandfather on his mother’s side—Ibrahim Petrovich Gannibal who was most probably an Ethiopian who became part of Russian royalty. Pushkin’s poetic style combined drama, romance and satire.
1908—Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity is incorporated. The Black Greek-letter organization was actually founded, however, on Dec. 4, 1906. The “brothers of the black and gold” have included as members a host of distinguished men ranging from W.E.B. DuBois to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
1913—Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority is incorporated. It is the nation’s oldest Black Greek-letter sorority having been founded at Howard University in Washington, D.C., in 1908. The AKAs are currently headquartered in Chicago, Ill.
1954—Talk-show diva Oprah Winfrey was born on this day in Kosciusko, Miss. However, she was raised in Nashville, Tenn. Winfrey ended her popular “Oprah” show in 2011. She has already launched her own network, OWN.
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