Celebrate the Day!: Diana Ross

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February 5

On February 5, 1990, Barack Obama became the first African American president of the Harvard Law Review. The first to serve as an editor was 1923 graduate Charles Hamilton Houston, and the first African American woman is ImeIme Umana, elected in January 2017.

Jermain Wesley Loguen (born Jarm Logue, February 5, 1813 – September 30, 1872) escaped from Tennessee to Canada before settling in Syracuse where his house became another major stop on the Underground Railroad. On October 1, 1851, Henry, known as "Jerry", was arrested under the Fugitive Slave Law. The anti-slavery Liberty Party was holding its state convention in the city, and when word of the arrest spread, several hundred abolitionists broke into the city jail and freed Jerry. The event came to be widely known as the Jerry Rescue. Loguen became an elder in the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church and took the middle name Wesley after John Wesley, founder of the Methodist movement. He held various church posts and was appointed bishop in 1868. His daughter, Amelia, married Lewis Douglass, the son of abolitionist Frederick Douglass, in 1869.

Birthdays

Jabez Pitt Campbell (February 5, 1815 – August 9, 1891) was elected the eighth bishop of the A.M.E. Church in 1864 after having served congregations in New York, Pennsylvania, and New England as well as general book steward of the denomination and editor of the its Christian Recorder newspaper. As a bishop, he set up both the Louisiana and California conferences in 1865, and the Ocean Grove Conference in New Jersey during in the 1880s. Both his grandfathers were soldiers during the Revolutionary War which was a rarity since fewer than 5000 African Americans in the Continental Army and he was born free in Delaware but later enslaved for four years.

Henry Beard Delany (February 5, 1858 – April 14, 1928) was the first African American elected Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States in 1918 when he became the suffragan bishop for Negro Work at the North Carolina diocesan convention. He had previously served as an archdeacon and on the faculty of St. Augustine's College in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Episcopal Church honors him, along with fellow African American bishop Edward Thomas Demby, who died on the same day in 1957, with a feast day on the liturgical calendar on the anniversary of their deaths, April 14. He was the father of attorney Hubert Thomas Delany and best-selling autors Sadie and Bessie Delany, and the grandfather of author Samuel R. Delany, Jr.

Georgia Gilmore (February 5, 1920 - March 9, 1990) was a cook and midwife who supported the Montgomery Bus Boycott by raising hundreds of dollars a week through the "Club From Nowhere" which sold sandwiches, chicken dinners, and baked goods to boycott supporters. Her home was often a meeting place for the Montgomery Improvement Association.

James E. Bowman, MD, FASCP, FCAP (February 5, 1923 – September 28, 2011) was an American physician was internationally renowned as a specialist in pathology, hematology, and genetics. He was a professor of pathology and genetics at the Pritzker School of Medicine at the University of Chicago. In 1972 Bowman declared that mandatory sickle cell screening laws were “more harmful than beneficial.” In 1973, he was named to two federal review committees designed to oversee sickle cell screening.

Henry Louis "Hank" Aaron (born February 5, 1934), nicknamed "Hammer," or "Hammerin' Hank," is a retired American baseball right fielder who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1954 through 1976. Aaron spent 21 seasons with the Milwaukee and Atlanta Braves in the National League (NL) before playing for the Milwaukee Brewers of the American League (AL) for the final two years of his career. Aaron is considered to be one of the greatest baseball players of all time. In 1999,

Deborah Willis (born February 5, 1948) is a contemporary African American artist, photographer, curator of photography, photographic historian, author, and educator. named among the 100 Most Important People in Photography by American Photography Magazine, Dr. Deborah Willis is Chair and Professor of Photography and Imaging at Tisch School of the Arts, New York University where she also has an affiliated appointment with the College of Arts and Sciences.

Trayvon Martin (February 5, 1995 - February 26, 2012) was seventeen years old when he was shot and killed in Sanford, Florida, by George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer. Zimmerman was charged with Martin's murder but acquitted at trial on self-defense grounds. The incident was reviewed by the Department of Justice for potential civil rights violations, but no additional charges were filed, citing insufficient evidence.

Events

On February 5, 1945, the State of Georgia abolished the poll tax, one of many roadblocks thrown up to keep African-Americans from exercising their right to vote. This was one of many reforms progressive governor Ellis Arnall introduced after being elected in 1942.

On February 5, 1994, Byron De La Beckwith was convicted of killing civil rights activist Medgar Evers after thirty-one years. On the morning on June 12, 1963, Evers was getting out of his car at his home when he was shot in the back. Though Beckwith was arrested for the crime, two all-white juries could not reach a verdict in 1964. Beckwith was finally convicted of the murder. He remained in prison until his death in 2001 at age 80.

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A patent was issued on February 5, 1884 to Willis Johnson for a new, improved egg-beater

Diana (1981, CBS) The first Diana Ross TV special not produced by Motown. This show (produced by Steve Binder in association with Diana Ross Enterprises) combined footage from a concert held in L.A. on February 5, 1981, with studio footage. Guest stars included Michael Jackson & Larry Hagman.

“Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.” ~Barack Obama, speech, February 5, 2008

Publications

Fan Dancer Jean Idelle - Jet Magazine, February 5, 1953

Arthur L. Lane Dies in Elevator Accident in Philadelphia - Jet Magazine, February 5, 1953

The Hidden Cost of Being African American:How Wealth Perpetuates Inequality by Thomas M. Shapiro. $12.06. Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (February 5, 2004).

January 28

Indigo Rhythm by LaShun Beal (born January 28, 1962), a native of Detroit who now resides in the Houston area. He has no formal art training and considers himself to be a self-taught artist.

Richmond Barthé (January 28, 1901 – March 5, 1989) had his debut as a professional sculptor at The Negro in Art Week exhibition in 1927, while still a student of painting at the Art Institute of Chicago, which led to commissions such as busts of Henry O. Tanner (1928) and Toussaint L’Ouverture (1928). After leaving the Institute he relocated in New York City where he became one of the leading sculptors of the Harlem Renaissance, although he worked from a studio in Greenwich Village. He was the first African American artist to be represented, together with the painter Jacob Lawrence, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's permanent collection and in 1945 was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters. In his later years, Barthé lived in Haiti and Europe before settling in Pasadena, California, where he worked on his memoirs and most importantly, editioned many of his works with the financial assistance of the actor James Garner until his death in 1989. Garner copyrighted Barthé's artwork, hired a biographer to organize and document his work, and established the Richmond Barthé Trust.

Birthdays

Louise Cecelia (Lulu) Fleming (January 28, 1862 - June 20, 1899) was a graduate of Shaw University and taught near St. Augustine, Florida until she was sent by the Women’s Baptist Foreign Missionary Society as a missionary-teacher to the Congo in 1886. Illness forced her return to the United States in 1991, and because of the limited health care available in the Congo she enrolled at The Women’s Medical College in Philadelphia, becoming its first African American graduate in 1995. She returned to the Congo where she was the provided medical care and training for women until hear death from sleeping sickness at the age of 37.

Sam McDaniel (January 28, 1886 – September 24, 1962) appeared in over 210 television shows and films between 1929 and 1950. He was the only African American to ever appear in I Love Lucy playing "Sam the Porter" in a 1955 episode called "The Great Train Robbery", and he played Doc in the 1937 film Captains Courageous. He was the older brother of actresses Hattie McDaniel and Etta McDaniel. Their father, Henry McDaniel, fought in the Civil War with the 122nd USCT and their mother, Susan Holbert, was a singer of religious music.

William Walker (January 28, 1917 - January 4, 1992) appeared in over 100 films and television shows, and is best known for his role as Rev. Sikes in To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), He was elected to the Screen Actors Guild Board of Directors in 1952, and used his position to lobby studio executives for more and better roles for African American actors. He also worked with the NAACP to negotiate for the SAG’s Theatrical Agreement to include a non-discrimination clause.

LaShun Beal (born January 28, 1962) is a native of Detroit and now resides in the Houston area. He has no formal art training and considers himself to be a self-taught artist. LaShun's subject matter mostly revolves around female characters and his style depicts the many differences of African American women. Over the last few years he has developed his signature Universal Women character which has come to be associated with his name.

Events

On January 28, 1856, Margaret Garner and her family escaped across the frozen Ohio River from Kentucy to Cincinnati. When they were captured by slave catchers she killed her daughter rather than to return her to slavery. Her story is the basis of Toni Morrison's novel Beloved. (Painting by Thomas Satterwhite Noble.)

On January 28, 1958, Roy Campanella was involved in an automobile accident that ended his baseball career and left him paralyzed. After a year's rehabilitation, the Brooklyn Dodgers named him assistant supervisor of scouting for the eastern part of the United States and special coach at the team's annual spring training camp in Vero Beach, Florida, serving each year as a mentor and coach to young catchers. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1969.

On January 28, 1963 Harvey Gantt enrolled in Clemson University, making him the first African-American student to attend a formerly all-white school (of any grade level) in South Carolina. His application had been turned down three times. He was finally admitted as the result of a suit he filed against the college with the help of NAACP lawyer Matthew J. Perry.

On January 28, 1986, Ron McNair was killed when the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded after launch from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida. Dr. McNair held a PhD in physics from M.I.T. and had flown one mission before losing his life in the Challenger disaster. He was an amateur saxophonist and had worked with the composer Jean Michel Jarre on a piece of music for Jarre's then-upcoming album Rendez-Vous. It was intended that he would record his saxophone solo on board the Challenger, which would have made McNair's solo the first original piece of music to have been recorded in space (although the song "Jingle Bells" had been played on a harmonica during an earlier Gemini 6 spaceflight).

Photo Gallery

Frederick Douglass addressing a crowd of about 200 Samaná Americans in Samaná, January 28, 1871. Most of the Samaná Americans are descendants of African American who, beginning in 1824, immigrated to Hispaniola—then under Haitian administration—benefiting from the favorable pro-Black immigration policy of president Jean Pierre Boyer.

Charles P. Bailey in the cockpit of his P-40. Bailey was one of the 99th's "Top Guns" scoring his first victory in a battle over the Anzio beachhead on January 28, 1944.

Muhammad Ali vs Joe Frazier, Philadelphia January 28, 1971

January 28, 1996 – Diana Ross performs as the featured halftime performer at Super Bowl XX in Tempe, Arizona

Benjamin O. Davis Sr. Issued: January 28, 1997 Benjamin O. Davis was the first African-American general in the U.S. Army and a driving force in the eventual integration of the U.S. armed forces.

President Barack Obama kisses First Lady Michelle Obama following his State of the Union address at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., January 28, 2014. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Publications

Alligator Bait. While actual incidents likely were rare, images and objects showing caricatured African American children as alligator bait were widespread. A January 28, 1900 Washington Times reflected on the "Phenomenal success of a photograph styled 'Alligator Bait'." It told how the photograph got its name, its popularity from "coast to coast", and reported that "sales from this one negative have reached nearly $5,000"

Jet Magazine, January 28, 1954

The Death of Sweet Daddy Grace - Jet Magazine, January 28, 1960

January 14

On January 14, 2017, President-Elect Donald Trump tweeted that John Lewis was "talk, talk, talk -- no action and no results" in response to Rep. Lewis's statement that Trump was an "illegitimate president" because of purported Russian interference in last November's presidential election. During the 1963 Selma March, SNCC leader Lewis suffered a concussion when beaten by State Troopers, and was jailed 45 times during the civil rights movement. The remarks were made at the beginning of the MLK weekend observance.

Julian Bond (January 14, 1940 – August 15, 2015) was a founder of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) while a student at Morehouse College, and later with Morris Dees worked to found the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) and served as its first president. He was also chairman of the NAACP from 1998 to 2010. He served four terms in the Georgia House of Representatives (1967–1974) and 6 terms in the Georgia Senate (1975–1987). After leaving politics he taught the history of the civil rights movement at the University of Virginia from 1990 to 2012. He was the son of Horace Mann Bond, the first African American president of Lincoln University in Pennsylvania.

Birthdays

Dudley Randall (January 14, 1914 – August 5, 2000) founded Broadside Press in 1965, which published many leading African-American writers, among them Melvin Tolson, Sonia Sanchez, Audre Lorde, Gwendolyn Brooks, Etheridge Knight, Margaret Walker, and others. His most famous poem is "The Ballad of Birmingham," written in response to the 1963 bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church. Other well-known poems of his include "A Poet is not a Jukebox," "Booker T. and W.E.B.," and "The Profile on the Pillow." He earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Wayne State University degree in English in 1949 and a master's degree in Library Science at the University of Michigan in 1951.

John O. Killens (January 14, 1916 – October 27, 1987) was a founder of the Harlem Writers Guild along with with John Henrik Clarke, Rosa Guy, and Walter Christmas. He taught writing at Fisk University, Howard University, Columbia University and Medgar Evers College. where he founded the National Black Writers Conference. His novels Youngblood and And Then We Heard the Thunder were nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in fiction.

Vonetta Lawrence McGee (January 14, 1945 – July 9, 2010) was best known for her roles during the 1970s, which included blaxploitation films such as Hammer, Melinda, Blacula, Shaft in Africa and 1974's Thomasine & Bushrod alongside her then-boyfriend Max Julien. She was a regular on the 1987 Universal Television situation comedy Bustin' Loose, starring as Mimi Shaw for its first and only season (1987-1988). In 1987, she married actor Carl Lumbly.

Carl Weathers (born January 14, 1948), is best known for playing Apollo Creed in the Rocky series of films. He also played Dillon in Predator, Chubbs Peterson in Happy Gilmore, and Little Nicky, and an exaggeratedly frugal fictionalized version of himself in the television series Arrested Development. He played football at San Diego State University and professionally with the Oakland Raiders for one season and three seasons with the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League.

Events

On January 14, 1930, Ernest E. Just was elected Vice President of American Society of Zoologists. He was the first African American admitted to the organization, and the first to serve in a leadership position. Dr. Just had chaired the Department of Zoology since 1912 and was a researcher at the prestigious summer program of the Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole, Massachusetts, specializing in the study of cell permeability, cytology, and parthenogenesis. He was also a founder of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity and recipient of the first Spingarn Medal.

On January 14, 1972, the NBC sitcom Sanford and Son debuted, running until March 25, 1977. The series was adapted by Norman Lear and considered NBC's answer to CBS's All in the Family and has been hailed as the precursor to many other African American sitcoms. In 2007, Time magazine included the show on their list of the "100 Best TV Shows of All Time".

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