Funkmaster Flex calls out music industry friends for not doing enough to help DMX

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Feb

22

1950

Evelyn Ashford wins a gold medal in the 100-meter

Evelyn Ashford wins a gold medal in the 100-meter race and Edwin Moses wins a gold medal in the 400 meter hurdles in the Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Aug

5

1984

Wilt The Stilt

On this day in 1962, Wilt the Stilt Chamberlain scored 100 points in a single basketball game-a professional record that still stands today. He sunk 36 field goals and 28 foul shots. Chamberlain, who played for the Philadelphia Warriors and 76ers and then the Los Angeles Lakers, was the best scorer

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Mar

2

1962

Mary J. Blige

Mary Jane Blige is an American singer, songwriter and actress who has been making hit records for almost 25 years. She was born on January 11, 1971 in the Bronx, New York to Cora and Thomas Blige. She grew up in a very neglected and disastrous neighborhood and her childhood was marked by

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Source: Black History Resources

Jan

11

1971

Ex-football star O.J. Simpson is cleared today of murdering his ex-wife Nicole B

Ex-football star O.J. Simpson is cleared today of murdering his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman.

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Oct

3

1995

Thomas Bradley was elected mayor of Los Angeles at a time when Blacks represente

Thomas Bradley was elected mayor of Los Angeles at a time when Blacks represented only 15% of the LA electorate, becoming one of the first two Black mayors of city with over a million citizens, 1973

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Nov

6

1973

Coach John Thompson

Coach John Thompson of Georgetown University becomes the first Black coach to win the NCAA basketball tournament.

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Apr

2

1984

Dr. J.

Julius Erving scores his 25,000th career point, becoming the ninth professional basketball player to achieve this mark.

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Dec

20

1983

Lisa Leslie, basketball star born

Lisa Leslie

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Jul

7

1972

Bill Russell named head coach of the Boston Celtic

Bill Russell named head coach of the Boston Celtics, becoming the first African American to coach an NBA team.

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Mar

28

1966

Denzel Washington Born

Actor Denzel Washington was born on this day in Mount Vernon, NY. Washington will star in such films as Malcolm X, Glory, Much Ado about Nothing, and A Soldiers Story. He will have a start in television in his role on popular show St. Elsewhere. He will win an Academy Award for best supporting

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Dec

28

1954

Track star John Carlos born

Olympic track and field star John Carlos born in New York City. John Carlos would become famous at the 1968 Olympic Summer Games for raising a black gloved fist during the playing of the American anthem.

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Jun

5

1945

Perkins, Marvin (1963– )

Marvin Perkins is an accomplished recording vocal artist, a sought-after public speaker, and a leader in the effort to correct misunderstanding and incorrect assumptions about blacks, especially in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day

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Source: Black Past

(1875) Congressman James T. Rapier, “Half Free, Half Slave”

On February 4, 1875, Congressman James T. Rapier of Alabama, rose on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives to support the Civil Right bill then before Congress which when enacted later that year became the Civil Rights Act of 1875. His speech appears

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Source: Black Past

Feb

4

1875

Michael Jordan retires

Michael Jordan announce his retirement from the NBA and the most illustrious career of any professional sports figure to date.

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Jan

13

1999

(1987) Clarence Thomas, “Why Black Americans Should Look to Conservative Politics”

Much has been said about blacks and conservatism. Those on the Left smugly assume blacks are monolithic and will by force of circumstances always huddle to the left of the political spectrum. The political Right watches this herd mentality in action, concedes that blacks are monolithic, picks up

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Source: Black Past

A Chicago Picketing

Dont Buy Where You Cant Work campaign began in Chicago with picketing of Chain stores on South Side, fall. The campaign spread to New York, Cleveland, Los Angeles and other cities and continued throughout the Depression.

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Dec

30

1929

Harry Belafonte

Harry Belafonte was shown with actress Janet Leigh and film star Tony Curtis on the cover of Ebony magazine. It was the first time a black person and two Caucasians were seen together on a U.S. magazine cover.

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Jul

3

1953

Bill Russell

Bill Russell named coach of the Boston Celtics basketball team and became the first Black to coach an established team in professional athletics.

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Apr

18

1955

Six-day insurrection started in L.A.

Six-day insurrection started in Watts section of Los Angeles. National Guard was mobilized on August 13, Rebellion toll: 34 killed, 1,032 injured, 3,952 arrested, $35 million in property damage.

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Aug

11

1965

Reynolds, Melvin Jay “Mel” (1952- )

Politician, scholar and professor, Mel Reynolds was born on January 8, 1952, in Mound Bayou, Mississippi, to parents J.J. and Essie May Reynolds. Reynolds attended John Marshall High School on the Westside of Chicago where he developed impressive academic credentials. He then enrolled in Chicago

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Source: Black Past

Oct

1

1995

Barnett, Powell S. (1883-1971)

Powell S. Barnett was a child when his father arrived in Roslyn to work in the coal mines. Seeing no future in mining, Powell left for Seattle in 1906, and quickly found work. Years later, after working in construction and for hotels, he served as a clerk for State Senator Frank Connor. Barnett

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Source: Black Past

Nat Clifton joins the NBA and becomes one of the first Blacks to play in an NBA

Nat Clifton joins the NBA and becomes one of the first Blacks to play in an NBA game, 1950

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Oct

22

1950

Dorothy Dandridge, actress born

Dorothy Dandrige

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Nov

9

1922

Mel Franklin dies

Bass Singer Melvin Franklin of The Temptations died of complications following a brain seizure in Los Angeles. He was 53.

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Feb

23

1995

(1863) Rev. Jonathan C. Gibbs, “Freedom's Joyful Day”

African Americans throughout the North held meetings and church services on January 1, 1863 to celebrate the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation. Almost always the festivities revolved around a central speaker. One of those speeches was delivered by Rev. Jonathan C. Gibbs, pastor of the First

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Source: Black Past

Janet Jackson Born

Janet Jackson, of the famous Jackson family was born on this day in Gary, Indiana. Ms. Jackson will star in television shows such as Good Times, Different Strokes, and Fame. She will also become a celebrated songstress recording such albums as Rhythm Nation:1814, Janet, and the widely criticized

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Source: Blackfacts.com

May

16

1966

A Day of Elections

Edward W. Brooke elected attorney general of Massachusetts. Gerald Lamb elected treasurer of Connecticut. Otis M. Smith elected to a full term on the Michigan Supreme Court. Five Blacks, including one newcomer, were elected to the House of Representatives. The newcomer, Augustus F. Hawkins, was

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Nov

6

1962

Warren Moon

Warren Moon is a retired football player, who played for the Canadian and American football leagues. He was born in Los Angeles, California on November 18, 1956 and was the only brother of 6 sisters. His father was a laborer who died of liver disease when Warren was a young child and his mother was

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Source: Black History Resources

Nov

18

1956

Reginald Martinez Jackson is born

Reginald Martinez Jackson, Born May 18, 1946 is born in Wyncote, Pa. He will be better known as Reggie Jackson, star baseball player for the Oakland As and New York Yankees. He will set or tie seven World Series records.

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Source: Blackfacts.com

May

18

1946

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