Beyoncé honors dancer stabbed to death at Brooklyn gas station while dancing to her music

Baraka, Amiri

Baraka, Amiri amērē bərä´kə [key], 1934–2014, American poet, playwright, and political activist, b. Newark, N.J., as Everett LeRoy Jones, studied at Rutgers Univ., Howard Univ. In college he adopted the name LeRoi Jones. In the 1950s he moved to Greenwich Village, where he associated with writers

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Source: Fact Monster - Black History

Blacks, Puerto Ricans Boycott NYC Public Schools

School officials reported that 464,000 Black and Puerto Rican students boycotted New York City public schools. More than 267,000 were absent during second boycott, March 16.

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Feb

3

1964

Williams, Camilla (1919-2012)

Professional opera singer Camilla Williams was born October 18, 1919 in Danville, Virginia to Fannie Carey Williams and Cornelius Booker Williams. The youngest of four siblings, Williams began singing at a young age and was performing at her local church by age eight. At age 12, she began taking

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Source: Black Past

Jan

29

2012

Michael Jordan

Born: 2/17/1963 Brooklyn, New YorkMichael Jeffrey Jordan, also known by his initials, MJ, is an American former professional basketball player. He is also a businessman, and principal owner and chairman of the Charlotte Hornets.Business / Schooling: Awards / Achievements:

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Britton, Theodore R., Jr. (1925- )

Ambassador Theodore Roosevelt Britton, Jr. was born on October 17, 1925 in North Augusta, South Carolina. In 1936, he and his family migrated to New York City, New York. Britton was drafted into the U.S. Marine Corps out of high school soon after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Although he was unaware

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Source: Black Past

Countee Cullen, born

Born in 1903 in New York City, Countee Cullen was raised in a Methodist

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Source: Blackfacts.com

May

30

1903

Lena Horne

Actress-singer Lena Horne is born in Brooklyn, New York.

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Jun

30

1917

Lynch, Loretta Elizabeth (1959- )

Attorney and public prosecutor Loretta Elizabeth Lynch was born on May 21, 1959 in Greensboro, North Carolina. Her father was a Baptist minister and her mother was an English teacher and school librarian. Lynch received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts

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Source: Black Past

Jeter, Howard Franklin (1947- )

Howard Jeter, U.S. Ambassador to Botswana and later to Nigeria, was born in Maple Ridge, Union County, South Carolina on March 6, 1947 to James Walter Jeter, Jr. and Emma Mattocks Jeter. Howard Jeter first attended school in a one-room schoolhouse in Maple Ridge. The school had no

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Source: Black Past

Mar

6

1947

The first African American magazine, Mirror of Freedom, begins publication in Ne

The first African American magazine, Mirror of Freedom, begins publication in New York City.

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Aug

30

1838

Race riot in Harlem

A Race riot in Harlem spread to the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn.

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Jul

18

1964

Wyclef Jean

Name at birth: Nel Ust Wycliffe Jean

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Source: Fact Monster - Black History

Washington, Hercules (Enslaved Cook of George Washington) (1755?- ?)

Hercules Washington was the enslaved head cook at George Washington’s Mount Vernon plantation home where he prepared meals for decades for the Washington family and the guests who visit the mansion. Hercules was most likely born in 1755 somewhere in Virginia although the exact place of birth and

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Source: Black Past

Basie, Count (William Allen “Count” Basie) (1904-1984)

A jazz pianist and bandleader, Count Basie was one of the leading musicians of the Big Band “Swing” era. His Count Basie Orchestra was formed in 1936, and featured singers such as Billie Holliday, and notable musicians including Lester Young, Jo Jones, and Walter Page. The band lasted

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Source: Black Past

Arthur Ashe

Born: 7/10/1943 Richmond, VirginiaDied: 2/6/1993 New York City, New YorkArthur Ashe was an American World No. 1 professional tennis player. He won three Grand Slam titles, ranking him among the best tennis players from the United States.Ashe was the first black player selected to the United States

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Wilkens, Lenny (1937- )

Leonard Randolph Wilkens was born in Brooklyn, New York, on October 28, 1937, son of an African American father and white mother. He grew up in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section, one of the toughest sections in the city, where he endured many hardships, including the loss of his father at a young

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Source: Black Past

Shirley Chisholm

Name at birth: Shirley Anita St. Hill

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Source: Fact Monster - Black History

Lonnie Johnson

You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to come up with a great idea, but it certainly doesn’t hurt. For Lonnie Johnson, a lifetime of achievement and success at various levels on government and private sector projects could not prepare him for the success the he would ultimately achieve – by

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Source: Black History Resources

Nov

26

2012

Laurence Fishburne

Laurence Fishburne is an American actor, writer, director and producer. He was born on July 30, 1961 in Augusta, Georgia to Hattie Bell and Laurence John Fishburne, Jr. His parents divorced when he was very young and he moved to Brooklyn, New York with his mother while visiting his father once

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Source: Black History Resources

Jul

30

1961

Matthew Henson

Born: 8/8/1866 Nanjemoy, MarylandDied: 3/9/1955 New York City, New YorkMatthew Henson was the first African-American Arctic explorer, an associate of Robert Peary on seven voyages over a period of nearly 23 years. They made six voyages and spent a total of 18 years in expeditions.Henson served as

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Gibson, Althea (1927-2003)

Althea Gibson, a sharecropper’s daughter, entered the world of sports when segregation severely limited opportunities for African Americans. She eventually became the first black athlete to cross the color line of international tennis and

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Source: Black Past

Aug

25

1927

Garvey, Marcus

Garvey, Marcus, 1887–1940, American proponent of black nationalism, b. Jamaica. At the age of 14, Garvey went to work as a printers apprentice. After leading (1907) an unsuccessful printers strike in Jamaica, he edited several newspapers in Costa Rica and Panama. During a period in London he took

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Source: Fact Monster - Black History

Langston Hughes

Langston Hughes published more than three dozen books during his life, starting out with poetry and then expanding into novels, short stories, and plays. He is closely associated with the Harlem Renaissance, the flowering of African-American literature and music in New York City following World War

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Source: Fact Monster - Black History

Fourth Pan-African Congress met in New York City

Fourth Pan-African Congress met in New York City. (8/21-24)

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Aug

21

1927

Davy, Gloria (1931-2012)

Gloria Davy, a rich-voiced (lirico-spinto) soprano who “sang for the sheer joy of singing” had a four decade career as a concert singer. Early in her career she replaced Leontyne Price as Bess in the 1954 international tour of Porgy and Bess. In 1958 she broke color barriers when she

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Source: Black Past

Owens, Major Robert (1936- )

Former New York Congressman Major Robert Owens was born on June 28, 1936 in Collierville, Tennessee. He graduated from Hamilton High School in Memphis in 1952 at the age of 16. Owens received a bachelor’s degree from Morehouse College in 1956, and an M.S. in Library Science from Atlanta

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Source: Black Past

Jun

28

1936

Death of Ralph J. Bunche

Death of Ralph J. Bunche (67), Nobel Peace Prize winner and undersecretary of the UN from 1955 to his retirement in October, 1971, in New York City.

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Dec

9

1971

(1830) Rev. Peter Williams, Jr. “This is Our Country”

Fourteen years after its founding the American Colonization Society remained controversial among African Americans. By 1830 many of them opposed it and more generally the idea of forced or voluntary repatriation of blacks to Africa. One of these opponents, Rev. Peter Williams, Jr., the minister

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Source: Black Past

Jul

4

1830

W. C. Handy

Born: /6/873 Florence, AlabamaDied: 3/28/958 New York City, New YorkW. C. Handy was an American blues composer and musician. He was widely known as the Father of the BluesAwards / Achievements:

The Blues Music Award, widely recognized as the most prestigious award for blues artists was

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Inventor Granville T. Woods dies

Inventor Granville T. Woods dies in New York City on January 30, 1910.

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Jan

30

1910

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