January 21

On Monday, January 21, 2013, President Barack Obama was publicly inaugurated after being elected to his second term in office the previous November. 

Willa Beatrice Brown (January 22, 1906 – July 18, 1992) was the first African American woman to earn her pilot's license in the United States, the first African American woman to run for the United States Congress, the first African American officer in the US Civil Air Patrol, and the first woman in the United States to have both a pilot's license and a mechanic's license.  A lifelong advocate for gender and racial equality in flight and in the military, Brown not only lobbied the U.S. government to integrate the U.S. Army Air Corp and include African Americans in the Civilian Pilot Training Program (CPTP), but also co-founded the Cornelius Coffey School of Aeronautics with Cornelius Coffey, which was the first private flight training academy in the United States owned and operated by African Americans. She trained hundreds of pilots, several of whom would go on to become Tuskegee Airmen.

Birthdays

John Charles Frémont or Fremont (January 21, 1813 – July 13, 1890) was a surveyor for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and military governor of California, serving as a U.S. Senator after statehood. During the Civil War he was promoted to Major General and assigned as Commander of the Department of the West on July 1, 1861 but relieved of his duties on November 2 of that year after putting Missouri under martial law. freeing all enslaved people within the state, without the knowledge of President Lincoln. Frémont, the son-in-law of Senator Thomas Hart Benton, was the first presidential candidate for the newly-formed Republican Party.

Leonard Harmon (January 21, 1917 - November 12, 1942) was a Mess Attendant First Class serving aboard the USS San Francisco. During the Battle of Guadacanal he was assisting pharmacist's mate Lyndford Bondsteel in caring for the wounded and was killed when he deliberately interposed himself between Bondsteel and enemy gunfire. He was awarded the Navy Cross and two ships were named in his honor. The HMS Aylmer had been provisionally named USS Harmon but was transferred to the Royal Navy prior to completion. The USS Harmonserved from 1943 to 1947 and remained in the Reserve Fleet until 1967 It was the first US warship to be named after an African American.

Lincoln Alexander (January 21, 1922 – October 19, 2012) was a Canadian lawyer who became the first black Member of Parliament in the House of Commons, the first black federal Cabinet Minister serving as federal Minister of Labour, the first black Chair of the Worker’s Compensation Board, and the 24th Lieutenant-Governor serving Ontario from 1985 to 1991, and the first person to serve five terms as Chancellor of the University of Guelph, from 1991 to 2007. He was also a governor of the Canadian Unity Council.

Richie Havens (born Richard Pierce Havens, January 21, 1941 - April 22, 2013) had recorded five albums with limited success before appearing at Woodstock in 1969 where he was the opening performer and played for almost three hours because other acts were caught in traffic delays caused by the massive crowds. Having run out of tunes, he improvised a song based on the old spiritual "Motherless Child" that became "Freedom" and the subsequent Woodstock movie release helped Havens reach a worldwide audience. He continued to record and perform as well as educating young people about ecological issues.

Edwin Starr ( born Charles Edwin Hatcher, January 21, 1942 – April 2, 2003) is best known for his Norman Whitfield-produced Motown singles of the 1970s, most notably the number one hit "War". Besides "War", Starr's songs "25 Miles" and "Stop the War Now" were also major successes in the 1960s. Starr's career shifted to the United Kingdom in the 1970s, where he continued to produce music, living there until his death.

Eric Holder (born January 21, 1951) became the first African American Attorney General of the United States when he was appointed to the position by President Barack Obama in 2009. His father and materal grandparents are from Barbados and he holds a BA in history (1973) and JD (1976) from Columbia University. He has served as a judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, and Deputy Attorney General, and senior legal advisor to Obama's presidential campaign.


Events

On Monday, January 21, 2013, President Barack Obama was publicly inaugurated after being elected to his second term in office the previous November. A private swearing-in ceremony took place on Sunday, January 20, 2013 in the Blue Room of the White House. A public inauguration ceremony took place the following day at the United States Capitol building. The inauguration theme was "Faith in America's Future", a phrase that draws upon the 150th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation and the completion of the Capitol dome in 1863.

Photo Gallery

Marcus Garvey to James Weldon Johnson concerning the NAACP’s alleged interference with the Universal Negro Improvement Association, January 21, 1922. Typed letter. NAACP Records, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress (055.00.00) Courtesy of Dr. Juilus W. Garvey [Digital ID # na0055]

Black Panthers press conference, January 21, 1969

Actress Cicely Tyson at the National Society Film Critics Awards, January 21 1973.

Capt. John Rogers, Sr., a member of the 99th Pursuit Squadron during World War II, better known as the "Red Tails." Capt. Rogers died on January 21, 2014 at the age of 95.

Publications

Are the Prettiest Girls in Washington, DC Like Patricia Adams - Jet Magazine, January 21, 1954

The Making of African America: The Four Great Migrations by Ira Berlin. $12.26. 320 pages. Author: Ira Berlin. Publisher: Penguin Books; Reprint edition (January 21, 2010)

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January 2

Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander (January 2, 1898 – November 1, 1989) earned her Bachelor of Science degree in education in 1918, Master of Science degree in economics in 1919, and Ph.D. in economics in 1921, all from the University of Pennsylvania.

John Hope Franklin (January 2, 1915 – March 25, 2009) was a noted historian and past president of Phi Beta Kappa, the Organization of American Historians, the American Historical Association, and the Southern Historical Association, best known for his work From Slavery to Freedom, first published in 1947, and continually updated. More than three million copies have been sold. He was  the son of Buck Franklin, an Oklahoma civil rights attorney who defended the survivors of the 1921 Tulsa massacre, and named for his father's friend, educator John Hope, president of Atlanta University. Dr. Franklin was a graduate of Fisk University (1935), and held an MA (1936) and PhD (1941) from Harvard, He taught at Fisk, St. Augustine's College,  North Carolina Central University, Howard, University of Chicago, and Duke.


Birthdays

Oscar Devereaux Micheaux (January 2, 1884 – March 25, 1951) was an American author, film director and independent producer of more than 44 films. He is regarded as the first major African American feature filmmaker, the most successful African American filmmaker of the first half of the twentieth century and the most prominent producer of race films. He produced both silent films and "talkies" after the industry changed to incorporate speaking actors.

Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander (January 2, 1898 – November 1, 1989) earned her Bachelor of Science degree in education in 1918, Master of Science degree in economics in 1919, and Ph.D. in economics in 1921, all from the University of Pennsylvania.In 1927, she became the first African American woman to graduate from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and be admitted to the Pennsylvania Bar. From 1919 to 1923, She was the granddaughter of A.M.E. Bishop Benjamin Tucker Tanner and niece of artist Henry Ossawa Tanner. She was the first national president of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, serving from 1919 to 1923.

St. Clair Drake (born John Gibbs St. Clair Drake, January 2, 1911 – June 15, 1990) was one of the first African American faculty members at Roosevelt University in Chicago, where he taught for 23 years, before leaving to found the African and African American Studies program at Stanford University. He was a sociologist and anthropologist whose scholarship and activism led him to document much of the social turmoil of the 1960s, establish some of the first Black Studies programs in American universities, and contribute to the independence movement in Ghana.

Juanita Elizabeth Jackson Mitchell (January 2, 1913-July 7, 1992)  graduated, from the University of Pennsylvania with a B.S. in education in 1931. Four years later she earned a M.A. in sociology from the University of Pennsylvania as well. In 1950 she became the first African American woman to graduate from the University of Maryland School of Law, and the first African American woman to practice law in Maryland. From 1935 to 1938, she was special assistant to Walter F. White, NAACP Executive Secretary, serving as National Youth Director. During this time she organized and developed programs on race relations for the organization's Youth and College Division, and later did the same for the Methodist Episcopal Church.

Calvin Hill (born January 2, 1947) was the first graduate of an Ivy League college to be chosen in the first round of the NFL draft when the Dallas Cowboys made him the 24th overall pick in 1969. He was 1969 Rookie of the Year and played in four Pro Bowls and being the first Cowboys running back to rush for over 1,000 yards in one season, He played six years in Dallas and later with Washington and Cleveland before retiring in 1981. His son, Grant Hill, was a basketball standout at Duke University before being named (along with Jason Kidd) NBA Rookie of the Year in 1995.

Cuba M. Gooding Jr. was born Jan. 2, 1968 in New York to Barbadian parents. He is a successful actor, with an Academy Award for his performance in "Jerry Maguire". He also has performed in musicals and as a dancer. Recently, he has starred in "Red Tails" (as the CO of the Tuskegee Airmen) and in the historical drama "The Butler". In 2002 he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.





Photo Gallery

On January 2, 1966, Leontyne Price, received the 50th NAACP Springarn Medal for her outstanding achievements as a soprano singer and her continued crusade for equality and justice for all people.

Cicely Tyson, James Baldwin, Arthur Mitchell (dancer and founder,Dance Theatre of Harlem) and Harry Belafonte attend the “To Be Young, Gifted And Black” gala on January 2, 1969 at the Cherry Lane Theater in New York City. Photo by Ron Galella, Ltd./WireImage

U.S. President Barack Obama gestures on the second green at Marine Corps Base Hawaii’s Kaneohe Klipper Golf Course January 2, 2014 in Kaneoh, Hawaii

Publications

Black Pioneers of Science and Invention by Louis Haber. $6.95. Publication: January 2, 1992. Publisher: Sandpiper; 

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October 25

Elizabeth Van Lew (October 25, 1818 – September 25, 1900) became an abolitionist after attending a Quaker school in Philadelphia despite being the daughter of a prosperous Richmond, Virginia merchant. After her father passed away in 1843 she insisted that the family slaves  be freed, and she used much of her inheritance to buy families at the local slave auction and free them. During the Civil War she took food and clothing to captured Union soldiers at nearby Libby Prison, helped them to escape, and forwarded any information they had about Confederate troops to Union commanders through an elaborate spy network she devised, which included her former household servant Mary Bowser who managed to find employment with Jefferson Davis's family in the Confederate White House and pass information along to Van Lew.

Birthdays

Władysław Franciszek Jabłonowski (October 25, 1769 - September 29 1802) was a general in the Polish Army of English, French, and African ancestry who took the surname of his Polish stepfather. He attended the French military academy at Brienne-le-Château where he was a classmate of Napoleon and Davout. After graduation he joined the Régiment de Royal-Allemand where he attained the rank of lieutenant.  In 1799 he was made General of Brigade of the Polish legions. He was sent on his own request to Haiti in May 1802 (before the decision to send the rest of the Polish legions) and died there from yellow fever.

Irene McCoy Gaines (October 25, 1892 - April 7, 1964) was the first African American woman to run for a state legislative seat and was the first African American woman to run for the county commissioner’s office in 1950. Her husband, Harris B. Gaines, was a Republican Illinois State Representative (1928-1935), as was her son, Charles Gaines (1975-1981). She also served as President of the National Association of Colored Women (1952-1958). During her presidency of the NACWC, she led the organization into more assertive civil rights positions. Her office issued press releases in support of the Birmingham bus boycott and in behalf of Authurine Lucy’s efforts to gain admission as the first African American to attend the University of Alabama.

Louis L. Redding (October 25, 1901 - September 28, 1998) was vice principal of Fessenden Academy in Ocala, Florida and taught at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia. before attending Harvard Law School and becoming the first African American attorney in Delaware in 1929. He specialized in civil rights work, including a suit to integrate the state universities (1950) and Gebhart v Belton (1952) which became part of Brown v Board of Education. Redding also successfully argued Burton v. Wilmington Parking Authority before the US Supreme Court in 1961 which held that segregation in public accommodations was not permissible.

Bill Spiller (October 25, 1913 - 1988) was a Jim Crow-era golfer who helped to change PGA rules. Through his attempts to play in this lucrative circuit, in 1952 the previously all-white PGA began allowing a limited number of African Americans in each tournament although they were still not granted PGA membership.

Emmett W. Chappelle (born October 25, 1925) taught biochemistry at Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee, was a research associate at Stanford University, and worked at the Research Institute in Baltimore (a division of the Martin Marietta Corporation) before joining NASA at the Goddard Space Flight Center as a research chemist, and later a remote sensing scientist, studying natural systems to improve environmental management. He primarily studied the use of naturally occurring luminescent enzymes as a way of detecting extraterrestrial life. This technology also has applications in medicine and in environmental science.

Events

On October 25, 1940, Benjamin O. Davis, Sr. was promoted to Brigadier General, becoming the first African American general in the United States Army. He began his military career in the Spanish-American War and then as a member of the 9th Cavalry Regiment (Buffalo Soldiers) where he was mentored by West Point grad Charles Young. His first command was the 4th Brigade, 2nd Cavalry Division at Fort Riley, Kansas. His son, Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. became the first African American general officer of the United States Air Force in October 1954. The senior Davis is shown here after passing tests to enter Officer Candidate School in 1901, and below in France on August 8, 1944.

On October 25, 1968 The state of Illinois recognized Jean Baptiste Pointe Du Sable as the true founder of Chicago. Du Sable, a historic African American pioneer, was the first known settler to build a house and open a trading post in what is now the city of Chicago.

On October 25, 1976, Alabama Governor, George Wallace, pardoned Clarence Norris, the only one of the Scottsboro Boys sentenced to death in a 1937 retrial after the original 1931 death sentence for all but one of the defendants. Governor Bibb Graves of Alabama in 1938 commuted his death sentence to life. Given parole in 1946, he "jumped" and went into hiding. In 1976 he was found in Brooklyn, New York. Governor George Wallace pardoned him that year, declaring him not guilty. Norris published an autobiography, The Last of the Scottsboro Boys (1979). He died of Alzheimer's disease on January 23, 1989.

Photo Gallery

On October 25, 1958, Daisy Bates, head of the Arkansas chapter of the NAACP, and the nine
students (The Little Rock Nine) who integrated Little Rock’s Central High School ware awarded
the Spingarn Medal for their courage and leadership in the civil rights struggle.

On October 25, 1969, the Malcolm X Liberation University opened in Durham. Founded by black activist Howard Fuller and named for then recently-slain civil rights leader Malcolm X, the school was founded in response to protests by students at Duke University over the lack of an African American studies program there. 

On October 18, 1974, Al Green's girlfriend, Mary Woodson White, assaulted him before committing suicide at his Memphis home by dousing Green with a pan of boiling grits while he was bathing, causing severe burns on his back, stomach and arms. She then found his .38 and killed herself. In her purse, police found a note declaring her intentions and her reasons.

Maya Angelou at Ohio State University, October 25, 1976

Morgan Fairchild (left) and Cicely Tyson, for the Dallas Fashion Awards, October 25, 1987.

Publications

Jet Magazine, October 25, 2010 -- Michelle Obama

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