February 2

Jet Magazine, February 2, 1956: ...trumpeter Louis (Satchmo) Armstrong, recently returned from tour of Europe, tells actress Grace Kelly about his trip that "warmed up those Russian cats."

Birthdays

Edward "Sonny" Stitt (born Edward Boatner, Jr.; February 2, 1924 – July 22, 1982) was an American jazz saxophonist of the bebop/hard bop idiom. He was one of the best-documented saxophonists of his generation, recording more than 100 albums. He was nicknamed the "Lone Wolf" by jazz critic Dan Morgenstern, in reference to his relentless touring and devotion to jazz. Stitt was sometimes viewed as a mere Charlie Parker mimic, especially earlier in his career, but gradually came to develop his own sound and style - particularly when performing on tenor sax.

Martina Arroyo (born February 2, 1937), is an American operatic soprano who had a major international opera career from the 1960s through the 1980s. She was part of the first generation of black opera singers to achieve wide success, and is viewed as part of an instrumental group of performers who helped break down the barriers of racial prejudice in the opera world.




Events

On February 2, 1897, Alfred Cralle received the patent for his invention of the ice cream scoop. He was working at a Pittsburgh drugstore with a soda fountain and noticed that it was difficult for clerks to dish up a serving of ice cream. The basic design is still in use today.

On February 2, 1955, New York Representative Adam Clayton Powell, then one of only three African Americans in the U.S. Congress, gave a landmark speech to argue that his colleagues should support two pending civil rights bills then before the House of Representatives. The text of his remarks can be read here.

On February 2, 2009, Eric Holder was the first African American to be confirmed as United States Attorney General. He had previously served as a judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia and as United States Attorney for the District of Columbia.







Photo Gallery

The 1st contingent of African-American WACs to go overseas. February 2, 1945 at Camp Shanks, New York. 

The "Norfolk 17" -- On February 2, 1959, 17 African-American students entered six previously all-white middle and high schools in Norfolk, Virginia.

Michelle Obama  during her appearance on Ellen on February 2, 2012

Publications

Grace Kelly and Louis Armstrong in Jet Magazine, February 2, 1956

Sly Stone on the cover of Soul, February 2, 1976.

In the Shadow of Slavery: African Americans in New York City, 1626-1863 (Historical Studies of Urban America) by Leslie M. Harris. $21.24. 393 pages. Publisher: University Of Chicago Press; 1 edition (February 2, 2003).

TIME Magazine Cover: Commemorative Issue: President Barack Obama - February 2, 2009

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January 6

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January 6 is celebrated as Maroon Day in Jamaica to commemorate the 1738 Treaty of Cudjoe between Maroons (ex-slaves of the expelled Spanish colonists) and Great Britain

Harry Herbert Pace (January 6, 1884 – July 19, 1943) is best known for founding Black Swan Records in 1921, the first music publishing company owned by a African American. He had previously collaborated on song writing and publishing with W. C. Handy, and had also operated a printing business in Memphis with W. E. B. Du Bois. The first releases featured performances of light classical music, blues, spirituals, and instrumental solos. Black Swan’s first hit was a recording of “Down Home Blues” and “Oh, Daddy”, sung by Ethel Waters. Although Pace recorded many outstanding artists, the business failed, and Pace was forced to declare bankruptcy in December 1923. A few months later he sold Black Swan to Paramount Records. In 1925, Pace founded the Northeastern Life Insurance Company in Newark, New Jersey, which became the largest African-American-owned business in the North during the 1930s. Pace then moved to Chicago to attend the Chicago-Kent College of Law; he received his degree in 1933. He opened a law firm in downtown Chicago in 1942.

Birthdays

Charles Sumner (January 6, 1811 – March 11, 1874) was an American politician and senator from Massachusetts. As an academic lawyer and a powerful orator, Sumner was the leader of the antislavery forces in Massachusetts and a leader of the Radical Republicans in the United States Senate during the American Civil War. During Reconstruction, he fought to minimize the power of the ex-Confederates and guarantee equal rights to the Freedmen.

John Hanks Alexander (January 6, 1864 - March 26, 1894) graduated from the U.S. Military Academy ten years after the first African  American graduate, Henry O. Flipper. Alexander didn't experience the ostracism that Flipper and others endured, and was considered a model student and fought on the academy's boxing team. After graduation he served with the 9th Cavalry Regiment at Fort Robinson, Nebraska and Fort Washakie, Wyoming, and was the first African American officer to hold a regular command position. In early 1894 he was assigned to teach military science at Wilberforce University, and two months later he died of a ruptured aorta at the age of 30.

Moses Hardy (January 6, 1893/1894 – December 7, 2006) was, at age 112 or 113, the last black veteran of World War I and one of the last surviving American veterans of that war. The son of former slaves, Hardy was born in either 1893 or 1894 and lived a religious and farming life until he signed up to serve overseas in World War I in July 1918. He served in the segregated 805th infantry, which was assigned a variety of manual labor and support tasks. Hardy himself served as a scout, supplying the front line troops when necessary.

Jerome H. "Brud" Holland (January 6, 1916 - January 13, 1985) was U.S. Ambassador to Sweden after having served as president of Delaware State College and Hampton Institute. He held a PhD in sociology from the University of Pennsylvania, and as an undergraduate was the first African American football player at Cornell, where he was an All-American in 1937 and 1938. #

Leah Chase (born January 6, 1923) is a New Orleans chef, author and television personality. Known as the Queen of Creole Cuisine, Chase promoted African American art and Creole cooking. Her restaurant, Dooky Chase, was known as a gathering place during the 1960s among many who participated in the Civil Rights movement]; and, her restaurant was known as a gallery due to its extensive African American Art collection.

First Lieutenant Ruppert Leon Sargent (January 6, 1938 - March 15, 1967) was the first African American officer to be awarded the Medal of Honor. (In 1997, upgrades of DSCs awarded to Black heroes of WWII resulted in awards to three additional Black Officers from that war.) He was killed in Hậu Nghĩa Province in the Republic of Vietnam when he threw himself on two enemy hand grenades, sacrificing himself but saving the lives of two men nearby.

John Daniel Singleton (born January 6, 1968) is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer best known for directing Boyz n the Hood (1991). For the film, he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director, becoming the first African American and youngest person to have ever been nominated for the award.


Events

January 6 is celebrated as Maroon Day in Jamaica to commemorate the 1738 Treaty of Cudjoe between Maroons (ex-slaves of the expelled Spanish colonists) and Great Britain, which recognized free Maroon territory in the mountains. Singing, dancing, drum-playing and preparation of traditional foods form a central part of most gatherings.

On January 5, 1874, South Carolina Republican Representative Robert B. Elliott gave a noted speech in favor of the Civil Rights Act, delivered in the House of Representatives. The Act, which guaranteed equal treatment in all places of public accommodation to all people regardless of their "nativity, race, color, or persuasion, religious or political," was passed on March 1, 1875.



Photo Gallery

President Obama in the Green Room of the White House, January 6, 2010 (by Pete Souza)

Publications

Jet's Calendar Girls for 1955 - Jet Magazine, January 6, 1955

Shake Dancer Tequilla Wallace Tried Suicide in Detroit - Jet Magazine, January 6, 1955

Adam Clayton Powell and Wife Hazel Scott Caught Off Guard - Jet Magazine, January 6, 1955

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November 29

On November 29, 1781, the crew of the slave ship Zong began throwing a total of 142 captives overboard in the Caribbean after navigational errors caused them to run low on water and supplies, thus maintaining the profitability of the voyage since insurance claims would cover cargo jettisoned to save the ship or other cargo. The Liverpool syndicate owning the Zong won their claim in March 1783 but the decision was overturned on appeal by the insurers later that year. Although there was little in the public press about the massacre or the ensuing claims, the case came to the attention of British abolitionists Olaudah Equiano and Granville Sharp, who used the deaths of the slaves to increase public awareness about the slave trade and further the anti-slavery cause. In 2007, on the 200th anniversary of the British ban on the slave trade, a memorial stone was erected at Black River, Jamaica, near where the Zong would have landed.

Birthdays

Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., (November 29, 1908 – April 4, 1972) was an American politician and pastor who represented Harlem, New York City, in the United States House of Representatives (1945–71). Powell became chairman of the Education and Labor Committee, the most powerful position held by an African American in Congress. As Chairman, he supported the passage of important social legislation under presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson.

William Thomas (Billy) Strayhorn (November 29, 1915 – May 31, 1967) is best known for his successful collaboration with bandleader and composer Duke Ellington lasting nearly three decades. Strayhorn composed the band's best known theme, "Take the 'A' Train", and a number of other pieces that became part of the band’s repertoire. In some cases Strayhorn received attribution for his work such as "Lotus Blossom", "Chelsea Bridge", and "Rain Check", while others, such as "Day Dream" and "Something to Live For", were listed as collaborations with Ellington or, in the case of "Satin Doll" and "Sugar Hill Penthouse", were credited to Ellington alone.

Pearl Primus (November 29, 1919 – October 29, 1994) was an anthropology student at Hunter College when she took a job as an understudy in a National Youth Administration dance troupe. This led to a career studying choreographing African dance, beginning with her first composition, African Ceremonial, presented along with Strange Fruit, Rock Daniel, and Hard Time Blues, at her debut performance in 1943. In 1948 she received a Rosenwald Fellowship for an 18-month research and study tour of the Gold Coast, Angola, Cameroons, Liberia, Senegal and Belgian Congo.

Minnie Minoso (November 29, 1922 – March 1, 2015),began his baseball career in 1946 and became an All-Star third baseman with the New York Cubans and was signed by the Cleveland Indians after the 1948 season. He went on to become an All-Star left fielder with the Indians and Chicago White Sox. The first Black Cuban in the major leagues and the first black player in White Sox history, as a 1951 rookie he was the one of the first Latin Americans to play in an MLB All-Star Game. He left the major leagues following the 1964 season, but went on playing and managing in Mexico through 1973. He rejoined the White Sox as a coach, and made brief but highly publicized player appearances in 1976 and 1980.

María Elena Moyano Delgado (November 29, 1960 – February 15, 1992) was a Peruvian activist in in Villa El Salvador on the outskirts of Lima. She was president of the Federación Popular de Mujeres de Villa El Salvador (Fepomuves), a federation of women from Villa El Salvador. Under her leadership, it grew to encompass public kitchens, health committees, the Vaso de Leche program (which supplied children with milk), income-generating projects, and committees for basic education. In 1990, Moyano left her position in Fepomuves and shortly thereafter was elected deputy mayor of the municipality of Villa El Salvador. She was assassinated by the  Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso) insurgent movement.

Don Cheadle (born November 29, 1964) was nominated for an Academy Award for his role as hotel manager Paul Rusesabagina in the genocide drama film Hotel Rwanda (2004), and won an Golden Globe Award in 2013 for his work in the Showtime sitcom House of Lies. With George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, David Pressman, and Jerry Weintraub, he co-founded the Not On Our Watch Project, an organization focusing global attention and resources to stop and prevent mass atrocities. In 2010, he was named U.N. Environment Program Goodwill Ambassador.


Events

On November 29, 1758, John Wesley baptized the first two known black converts to the Methodism movement. He wrote in his journal, "he wrote in his diary: "I rode to Wandsworth, and baptized two Negroes belonging to Mr. Gilbert, a gentleman lately from Antigua. One of these was deeply convinced of sin; the other is rejoicing in God, her savior, and is the first African Christian I have known. But shall not God, in his own time, have these heathen also for his inheritance?"

On November 29, 1887, Granville T. Woods received U.S. Patent No. 373,915 for his Synchronous Multiplex Telegraph, a variation of the induction telegraph system which allowed moving trains to talk to each other as well as talk to train stations. By allowing dispatchers to know the location of each train, it provided for greater safety and a decrease in railway accidents. Woods held a number of patents and had previously worked as a railroad engineer.

On November 29, 1961, Freedom Riders were attacked in McComb, Mississippi. They had taken a Greyhound bus from New Orleans to McComb where they were denied entrance to the station’s waiting room because of a supposed gas leak. The Freedom Riders were eventually able to integrate the waiting room, but were attacked by a gang of whites. They were able to escape the attack without help from the McComb police or the FBI.


Photo Gallery

"A contingent of 15 nurses,...arrive in the southwest Pacific area, received their first batch of home mail at their station." 268th Station Hospital, Australia. Three of the nurses are Lts. Prudence L. Burns, Inez Holmes, and Birdie E. Brown. November 29, 1943.

Angel Price stands with her daughters Brielle (R) and Cache during the Original New Orleans Ladies, Kids & Men Buckjumpers traditional ‘Second Line’ parade November 29, 2009 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The tradition sprang from when African-Americans formed brass marching bands and fraternal groups to perform elaborate ‘jazz funerals’ for their associates. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Sasha, Malia and Bo waiting for the White House Christmas tree, November 29, 2013

Publications

Josephine Baker and Her $250,000 Wardrobe - Jet Magazine, November 29, 1951

Actress Linda Darnell Criticizes Jamaica - Jet Magazine, November 29, 1951

Coleman Young on the cover of Jet Magazine.  November 29, 1973

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November 14

On November 14, 1960, Ruby Bridges and three other children began attending previously all-white elementary schools in New Orleans after passing a rigorous admissions test. Leona Tate, Tessie Prevost, and Gail Etienne attended  McDonogh No. 19 Elementary School, where they became the only students as white parents withdrew their children. Classroom windows were covered with brown paper, and the girls had to have recess in the school theater because the school yard was too dangerous. Bridges was also alone at William Frantz Elementary but other children began returning the next day when 34-year-old Methodist minister, Lloyd Anderson Foreman, walked his 5-year-old daughter Pam through the angry mob, saying, "I simply want the privilege of taking my child to school....". Ruby remained alone in her classrrom, however, and Barbara Henry, who had moved to New Orleans recently from Boston, was the only faculty member willing to teach her. Federal Marshals remained throughout the school year to protect the girls from protesters. By the next year more white children had returned so she was in a class with 20 others, and by 1964, 809 African Americans had entered formerly white schools.

Birthdays 

Matilda Beasley (November 14, 1832 - December 20, 1903) was born in New Orleans to an enslaved Creole mother and Native American father. Possibly orphaned at an early age, she later moved to Savannah where she married and worked as a dressmaker. Upon the death of her husband she entered the novitiate in York, England, returning to Savannah to found the first community of African American nuns in Georgia and open an orphanage for African American children.

Mabel Fairbanks (November 14, 1915 - September 29, 2001)     worked as a domestic in a home overlooking Central Parkduring the late 1920s when she began figure skating after observing children at the park's ice rink. She performed in shows in New York until she relocated to Los Angeles and toured internationally, skating with Ice Capades in Mexico and later with Ice Follies. After retiring as a performer, she coached the children of celebrities and successful skaters such as Scott Hamilton, Kristi Yamaguchi, Tai Babilonia, and Debi Thomas. In 1997, she became the first African American inducted into the US Figure Skating Hall of Fame, and was inducted into the International Women's Sports Hall of Fame in October 2001.

Ellis Marsalis (born November 14, 1934) began his performing career as a pianist with fellow modernists including Cannonball Adderley, Nat Adderley, and Al Hirt, the few New Orleans musicians who did not specialize in Dixieland or rhythm and blues. He holds a BA in music from Dillard University and is one of the leading jazz educators in the country. Through his work at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, the University of New Orleans, and Xavier University of Louisiana, Ellis has influenced the careers of countless musicians, including Terence Blanchard, Harry Connick Jr., Nicholas Payton; as well as his four musician sons: Wynton, Branford, Delfeayo and Jason.

Condoleezza Rice (born November 14, 1954)  served as the 66th United States Secretary of State, the second person to hold that office in the administration of President George W. Bush. She was the first female African American Secretary of State, as well as the second African American Secretary of State (after Colin Powell), and the second female Secretary of State (after Madeleine Albright). Rice was President Bush's National Security Advisor during his first term, making her the first woman to serve in that position. Before joining the Bush administration, she was a professor of political science at Stanford University where she served as Provost from 1993 to 1999.

Events

On November 14, 1900, in Washington, DC, about 200 dentists met to form the Washington Society of Colored Dentists, the first society of African American dentists in the United States. The name was changed in 1907 to the Robert T. Freeman Dental Society after a merging with a similar group founded in 1901 at Howard University by Dr. Freeman. It affiliated with other local organizations around the country and became the National Dental Association in 1932, a part of the National Medical Association until it broke apart from the NMA in 1940. It still exists today to encourage dental careers among minority populations and to provide dental treatment and education to minority populations in the U.S. and abroad.

On November 14, 1934 William Levi Dawson's Symphony No. 1, Negro Folk Symphony, was presented by the Philadelphia Orchestra led by Leopold Stokowski. It was the first symphony on black folk themes by a black composer to be performed by a major orchestra. The symphony was later revised in 1952 with greater African rhythms inspired by the composer's trip to West Africa. Dawson said that the composition was an attempt to convey the missing elements that were lost when Africans came into bondage outside their homeland.

On November 14, 2009 the African American Library at the Gregory School in Houston opened. Located in the historic Freeman’s Town, the library is housed in the Gregory School, the city's first public school for African Americans. The first library of its kind in the city and one of few in the U.S., it serves as a resource to preserve, promote, and celebrate the rich history and culture of African Americans in Houston and the surrounding area.

Photo Gallery

On November 14, 1927, Fats Waller recorded "Bye Bye Florence as a tribute to
vocalist Florence Mills who had passed away earlier that month at the age of 31.

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., right, and Rep. Adam Clayton Powell at a news conference
at the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem, November 14, 1965. AP Photo David Pickoff

On November 14, 1984, Rosa Parks was presented the first “Eleanor
Roosevelt Woman of Courage Award” by the Wonder Woman Foundation.

November 14, 2014 "The President walks with Aung San Suu Kyi back into her residence following their
joint press conference in Yangon, Burma." (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza) 2014: Year in Photos

Publications

Jet Magazine, November 14, 1957

Jet Magazine, November 14, 1968

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