I Believe I Can Fly
R. Kellys hit single I Believe I Can Fly win Best Male R&B Vocal, Best Song Written for TV or a Movie and Best R&B Song Grammy Awards.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Feb
25
1998
John Mercer Langston, considered the first African
John Mercer Langston, considered the first African American to be elected to public office is elected clerk of Brownhelm, Ohio township
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Apr
2
1855
Walter F. Craig
1986 Max Robinson
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Jan
0
1986
The first African American nursing school
The first African American nursing school opens at Spelman College in Atlanta, Ga.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Aug
13
1881
Arthur Ashe
Arthur Ashe makes history by becoming the first African American male to win the mens single title at Wimbledon, defeating Jimmy Connors.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Jul
5
1975
Karen Farmer
Karen Farmer becomes the first African American member of the Daughters of the American Revolution when she traces her ancestry back to William Hood, a solider in the Revolutionary War.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by Massachusetts Black Lawyers Association (MBLA)
Dec
28
1977
Congressman William Gray
Congressman William Gray is elected Democratic Whip of the House of Representatives, the highest ranking leadership position ever held by an African American in Congress.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Jun
14
1989
African American Captures British General
African American Captures British General Prescott: African Americans continued to serve in the colonial militias, and some, like Prince, an African American man in Lieutenant Colonel Bartons Rhode island army, showed great daring and bravery. Early in August 1777, Colonel Barton conceived a plan
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Aug
3
2002
Dorothy Dandridge, actress born
Dorothy Dandrige
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Nov
9
1922
Naval Frigate named after African American
The Navy frigate USS Jesse L. Brown was commissioned. The ship was named for Ensign Jesse L. Brown, the first African American naval aviator killed in combat over Korea.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Feb
17
1973
Mound Bayou
Mound Bayou, an all African American town in Mississippi is founded by Isaiah Montgomery
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Jul
12
1887
Frank Mingo, one of the pioneering advertising executives who specialized in tar
Frank Mingo, one of the pioneering advertising executives who specialized in targeting African American consumers, dies
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by BARBinc
Oct
30
1989
The Flip Wilson Show premieres on NBC. It is the first prime time variety show
The Flip Wilson Show premieres on NBC. It is the first prime time variety show starring an African American male since the Nat King Cole Show.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by BARBinc
Sep
17
1970
George H. White
George H. White, the only African American member of the U.S. House of Representatives, (1896) and the first to introduce an antilynching bill, born. He also founded Whitesboro, N,J, as a haven for African Americans escaping Southern racism.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Dec
18
1852
Charles Cooper joins the NBA and becomes one of the first Blacks to play in an N
Charles Cooper joins the NBA and becomes one of the first Blacks to play in an NBA game, 1950
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by Illinois Math and Science Academy
Oct
22
1950
Patricia Roberts Harris
Patricia Roberts Harris, the first African American U.S. Ambassador is named permanent chairman of the Democratic National Convention. She will later be appointed Secretary of Health and Human Services and Secretary of Housing and Urban development
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Jun
27
1972
Moneta Sleet becomes the first African American to win a Pulitzer Prize for his
Moneta Sleet becomes the first African American to win a Pulitzer Prize for his photograph of Mrs. Martin Luther King, Jr. and her daughter at her husbands funeral
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Source: Blackfacts.com
May
5
1969
Shirley Chisholm
Shirley Chisholm became the first African American Presidential nominee, with 151 votes from the delegates polled.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Jul
13
1972
The South Carolina Gazette reports that Cae
The South Carolina Gazette reports that Caesar, a South Carolina slave has been granted his freedom and a life time annuity in exchange for his cures for poison and rattlesnake bite. Caesar and the famous James Derham of New Orleans are two of the earliest know African American medical
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by Illinois Math and Science Academy
May
9
1750
Zena Garrison becomes the 1st African American player to win the junior singles
Zena Garrison becomes the 1st African American player to win the junior singles tennis championship at Wimbledon, England
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Nov
4
1981
MaliVai Washington
Former tennis pro MaliVai Washington was born on June 20, 1969 in Glen Cove, New
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Jun
20
1969
Bill Cosby
Bill Cosby becomes the first African American to receive an Emmy for best actor in a dramatic series, for his role in I Spy
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Source: Blackfacts.com
May
22
1966
Lawrence Douglas Wilder of Virginia is inaugurated as the first African American
Lawrence Douglas Wilder of Virginia is inaugurated as the first African American to be elected governor in the U.S. Wilder won the election in Virginia by a mere 7,00 votes in a state once the heart of the Confederacy.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by BARBinc
Jan
13
1990
Basketball star Walt Frazier born
Basketball legend Walt Frazier was born in
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Mar
29
1945
Norma Merrick Sklarek, the first licensed woman
Norma Merrick Sklarek, the first licensed woman architect in the U.S. and the first African American woman to become a fellow in the American Institute of Architects, born.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) Boston Professional Chapter
Apr
15
1928
Miss America
Vanessa Williams is the 1st African American Miss America to be crowned.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by APEX Museum
Sep
17
1983
William T. Coleman is named Secretary of Transpor
William T. Coleman is named Secretary of Transportation by President Gerald R. Ford. He is the second African American to hold a Cabinet level position
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Jan
14
1975
The first Kentucky Derby
The first Kentucky Derby is won by African American jockey Oliver Lewis riding the horse Aristides. 14 of the 15 jockeys in the race are African Americans.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
May
17
1875
David Ruggles
David Ruggles dies in Northampton, Mass. Often called the first African American bookseller for his bookstore established in 1834, Ruggles was an abolitionist, and a conductor on the Underground Railroad
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Dec
26
1849
Time, Inc. agrees to sell NYT Cable for $420
Time, Inc. agrees to sell NYT Cable for $420 million, to a group led by J. Bruce Llewellyn, the largest cable TV acquisition by an African American
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Jan
9
1989

Martin Luther King Jr. Facts

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