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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

Merlie Evers-Williams born.

3/1/1933: On this day Merlie Evers-Williams , who will become a civil rights activist and the first woman to head the NAACP, is born.

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Mar

1

1933

Defense Department limited electronic surveilance

Defense Department limited electronic surveilance after disclosure of civil disturbance information collection plan which directed the gathering of information on civil rights groups.

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Mar

1

1971

Young, Andrew (1932 - )

Andrew Young, Jr., came into prominence as a civil rights activist and close associate of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., during the modern civil rights movement in the United States. Young worked with various organizations early in the movement, but his civil rights work was largely done with the

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Source: Black Past

Mar

12

1932

Williams, Sidney (1942- )

Former professional football player, businessman, and diplomat, Sidney Williams was born in Shreveport, Louisiana on March 24, 1942. Raised in Houston, Texas, he attended the city’s Phillis Wheatley High School and upon graduation in 1959 enrolled at Southern University in Baton

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Source: Black Past

Morial, Ernest Nathan (1929-1989)

Born in New Orleans, Ernest Morial grew up in the city’s Seventh Ward. His father was a cigar maker and his mother was a seamstress. Graduating from Xavier University, a historically black Catholic institution, he became the first African American to receive a law degree from Louisiana State

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Source: Black Past

Walter F. White honored by NAACP

Walter F. White, an Atlanta-born writer and civil rights leader, was honored by the NAACP in New York City for his work as the organizations Executive Secretary, his investigations of lynchings, and his lobbying for a federal anti-lynching law.

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Jul

2

1937

Hubert Harrison: The Voice of Early 20th Century Harlem Radicalism

In the article below independent historian Jeffrey Perry discusses his 2008 book on early 20th Century Harlem activist Hubert

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Source: Black Past

North Carolina Central University (1910- )

North Carolina Central University (NCCU) is a public, four-year coeducational historically black liberal arts university located in Durham, North Carolina. The small urban campus is located 23 miles from Raleigh, North

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Source: Black Past

Michael Jordan leads Chicago to 1st NBA Title

Michael Jordan lead Chicago Bulls in win over L.A. Lakers in five games to capture his first NBA Championship.

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Jun

12

1991

First African Baptist Church, Savannah, Georgia (1773– )

First African Baptist Church, located in the historic district of Savannah, Georgia, is recognized as one of the nations oldest African American Baptist Churches. Although the church was not officially established until 1788, the original congregation of mostly enslaved individuals had been formed

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Source: Black Past

Jan

20

1788

Herndon, Wanda J. (1952- )

In 1978, Wanda J. Herndon launched her successful career in corporate America when she became the first African American exempt professional and external hire in the Communicator Development Program of The Dow Chemical Company. Later, she made significant contributions at other major

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Source: Black Past

Jul

31

1952

Grant Chapel AME Church, Albuquerque, New Mexico (1883- )

GrantChapel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church was the first black church in NewMexico and was organized during the state’s territorial period. Although New Mexico Territory had a few slavesbefore the Civil War, African Americans began arriving in the region insignificant numbers after

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Source: Black Past

Sharpton, Alfred Charles “Al” (1954- )

Born in Brooklyn, New York on October 3, 1954, Alfred Charles Sharpton, Jr., is an American Baptist minister and political, social, and human rights advocate. Known as “the Wonder Boy” as a youth, he was licensed and ordained as a Pentecostal minister and toured with the gospel singer

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Source: Black Past

Oct

3

1954

Spingarn Medal: Clarence Mitchell Jr.

Clarence Mitchell Jr., director of the Washington Bureau of the NAACP, awarded the Spingarn Medal for the pivotal role he....played in enactment of civil rights

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Dec

4

1969

Johnnie Cochran

Johnnie Cochran was a lawyer, who handled several high profile celebrity cases. He was born on October 2, 1937 in Shreveport, Louisiana. He received his Bachelors’ degree from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 1959. Initially selling insurance policies for a living, Cochran soon began

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Source: Black History Resources

Mar

29

2005

LeMelle, Wilbert J., Sr. (1931-2003)

Wilbert J. LeMelle, Sr., was a scholar, development specialist, and ambassador to Kenya and the Republic of Seychelles between 1977 and 1980. In both his academic and diplomatic work, LeMelle urged the United States to become more engaged in Africa, focusing on economic development and human

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Source: Black Past

Mary McLeod Bethune Born

Mary McLeod Bethune, educator and civil rights leader, born in Mayesville, South Carolina.

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Jul

10

1875

Jimmie Lee Jackson dies

Jimmie Lee Jackson, civil rights activist, died of injuries reportedly inflicted by officers in Marion, Alabama.

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Feb

26

1965

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

A challenger in Major League Baseball

On this day in 1997, former major league outfielder Curt Flood, who challenged baseballs reserve system and made possible todays megasalaries, dies at age 59.

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Jan

20

1997

Murphy, John Henry, Sr. (1840-1922)

Born on December 25, 1840, in Baltimore, Maryland, John Henry Murphy grew up as a slave and freed by the Emancipation Act of 1863. He enlisted in the military at age 24, during the Civil War and quickly progressed to the rank of Sergeant by the end of the conflict. When he returned home to

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Source: Black Past

Dec

25

1840

Civil Rights March in Alabama

Through the 25th, Alabama state troopers and sheriffs deputies dispersed Selma-to-Montgomery civil rights march with tear gas and billy clubs, Three white Unitarian ministers, including Rev. James J. Reeb, attacked on streets of Selma, Alabama. Reeb, who was participating in civil rights

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Mar

7

1965

The National Civil Rights Museum officially opens

The National Civil Rights Museum officially opens at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tenn., the site of the assassination of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr.

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Jul

4

1991

Fort Valley State University (1939- )

Fort Valley State University, in Fort Valley, Georgia, is a four year liberal arts land grant school that is part of the University System of Georgia. It was formed in 1939 when Fort Valley Normal and Industrial School merged with the State Teachers and Agricultural College of

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Source: Black Past

Jun

12

1996

Marches for the right to vote

James Meredith wounded by white sniper as he walked along U.S. Highway 51 near Hernando, Mississippi, on second day of 220-mile voter registration march from Memphis to Jackson. March was continued on June 7 by Martin Luther King Jr., Floyd McKissick, Stokely Carmichael and other civil rights

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Jun

6

1966

Andre Ware of the University of Houston becomes the first African American quart

Andre Ware of the University of Houston becomes the first African American quarterback to win the Heisman Trophy.

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Dec

2

1989

National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders (The Kerner Report), 1967

REPORT OF THE NATIONAL ADVISORY COMMISSION ON CIVIL DISORDERS

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Source: Black Past

Jul

28

1967

(1964) Fannie Lee Chaney, “Meridian Awakened”

Shortly after her son, James Chaney was murdered in Mississippi in the summer of 1964 along with Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner, Fannie Lee Chaney gave an address in which she vowed to continue the struggle for racial justice in her home state. She also announced that 12 year old Ben

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Source: Black Past

Washington Redskins quarterback Doug Williams

Washington Redskins quarterback Doug Williams, the first African American quarterback to play in a Super Bowl game, is named MVP in Super Bowl XXII.

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Jan

31

1988

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