September 8

On September 8, 1964 public schools in Prince Edward County, Virginia reopened after being closed for five years to avoid desegregation. Most white students remained in private "segregation academies" funded by grants, donations, and tuition, and often held in church basements. The area had a history of educational inequality, with 117 of the 167 student plaintiffs in Brown being from Prince Edward County, many from Robert Russa Moton High School.



Birthdays

Horace King (September 8, 1807 – May 28, 1885) was born enslaved in South Carolina and purchased his freedom in 1846. He was a master bridge architect and construction manager in the Chattahoochee Valley Region of Georgia and Alabama and was commissioned to build homes and bridges throughout the South. He served as a Republican member of the Alabama House of Representatives from 1868 to 1872.

Dr. Ionia Rollin Whipper (September 8, 1872 - April 13, 1953) was one of four women in her 1903 graduating class at Howard Medical School. After a brief time with the U.S. Public Health Service training midwives throughout the south she practiced obstetrics in Washington DC. With the help of 7 other women from St. Luke's A.M.E. she founded a home for unwed mothers in 1931 which is still in use today.

Walter Fenner "Buck" Leonard (September 8, 1907 - November 27, 1997) was a first baseman for the Homestead Grays in the Negro League, batting cleanup behind teammate Josh Gibson. He had a career .321 batting average and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972.

John Withers (September 8, 1916 - October 7, 2007) risked a dishonorable discharge and the loss of his academic career in order to hide and save two dying Jewish teens he liberated from the Dachau concentration camp while serving in the Army during World War II. They were reunited decades later, sharing their experiences with their families. Lt. Withers went on to earn a PhD in international relations was one of the first African Americans in the foreign service.

Vantile Emmanuel Whitfiled (September 8, 1930 - January 9, 2007) studied theater at Howard University, receiving a BA degree in 1957. After graduation he enrolled in the master's degree program at UCLA Film School, becoming one of the first African Americans to study there. Whitfield designed sets, lights, and costumes for the Silvera's production of the of the James Baldwin play The Amen Corner, becoming the first African American production designer to work on Broadway.

Guitar Shorty (born David William Kearney, September 8, 1939) developed an acrobatic, flamboyant style of playing blues guitar in house bands around the country in the 1950s and 60s. While in Seattle he was a major influence on Jimi Hendrix and also married Jimi's half-sister Marcia. Although recording little while he was younger, he has had several successful albums since the 1980s and continues to tour for much of the year.

Willie Tyler (September 8, 1940; Red Level, AL) is a ventriloquist, comedian and actor. Mostly, he is credited as Willie Tyler and Lester or Willie Tyler & Lester. He has appeared in many television commercials, sitcoms, and movies. He got his first big break in 1972 on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In.

Ruby Bridges (born September 8, 1954) became the first black child to attend an all-white school in the South when she enrolled at William Franz Elementary School in New Orleans on November 14, 1960. She was escorted by Federal Marshals; Barbara Henry from Boston was hired to teach her when no other teacher would. She was the only child in her class for over a year. She now lives in New Orleans with her husband Malcolm Hall and is chair of the Ruby Bridges Foundation.

Events

On September 8, 1925 Dr. Ossian Sweet bought a bungalow in a previously all-white section of Detroit. Later that week a crowd of over 500 gathered, throwing rocks and shouting "Get the n*****s". Shots were fired from inside the home, killing one man and wounding another. All were arrested and charges with first degree murder. Clarence Darrow and the NAACP's Walter White participated in their defense.

On September 8, 1986 Oprah Winfrey hosted the first national broadcast of The Oprah Winfrey Show, becoming the first African American woman to host a nationally syndicated  TV show.


Photo Gallery

This photo was taken in a school in Fort Myer, Virginia on September 8, 1954, the fall
 after the the U.S. Supreme Court issued a unanimous ruling that “separate educational
facilities are inherently unequal”  in Brown v Board of Education (May 17, 1954).

September 8, 1968: Saundra Williams, nineteen, becomes the first winner
of the Miss Black America contest. Sponsors create the pageant in protest
 of what they call "the white stereotype" of the Miss America contest.

September 8, 2007, Oprah Winfrey hosted a fund-raising event for presidential hopeful
Barack Obama in the meadow of her estate in Montecito, California.

Publications

Jet Magazine, September 8, 1955

Opportunity Denied: Limiting Black Women to Devalued Work by Prof. Enobong
Branch. $17.21. Publisher: Rutgers University Press (September 8, 2011). 208 pages

Search For Date [coming soon -- please use index tab until operational]

January  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
February  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29
March  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
April  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
May  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
June  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
July  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
August  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
September  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
October  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
November  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

December  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31