| 1865 Atlanta University was founded. 1868 White Democrats attack demonstrators, who are marching from Albany to Camilla, Georgia, and kill nine African Americans. Several whites are wounded. 1931 Benjamin Franklin Peay was born in Camden, South Carolina. He will become a rhythm and blues singer better known as Brook Benton. He will amass 16 gold records and be best known for the songs “A Rainy Night in Georgia” and “It’s Just a Matter of Time.” He will join the ancestors on April 9, 1988. 1942 Freda Charcelia Payne was born in Detroit, Michigan. She will become a singer whose hits will include “Band of Gold” in 1970. She will also be an actress in musicals and film, as well as the host of a TV talk show, ‘Today’s Black Woman.’ In 1974, she made the cover of Jet magazine, after she is made a Dame of Malta by the Knights of Malta. She is the older sister of former Supreme Scherrie Payne. 1947 Lawrence “Larry” Brown, Jr. was born in Clairton, Pennsylvania. He will become a Washington Redskins’ running back and the third NFL player to rush over 4,000 yards in his first four professional seasons. He will play for the Washington Redskins for his entire NFL career. He will finish in the top five of the league for rushes five times, rushing yards three times, yards from scrimmage three times, and total touchdowns twice. He will be the first Redskins running back to gain more than 1,000 yards in a single season. He achieved that feat twice in a career that will run from 1969 to 1976. In an eight-year career, he was selected to play in the Pro Bowl in 1969, 1970, 1971, and 1972. He will be voted one of the 70 Greatest Redskins of All Time. He was selected as the Washington, DC Touchdown Club Player of the Year in 1972. He will carry the ball 1,530 times in his career gaining 5,875 yards. His best seasons were in 1972 when he gained 1,216 yards and in 1970 when he gained 1,125 yards. He rushed for 100 yards or more 21 times and rushed for 100 yards or more in six games in 1970 and six games in 1972. He also scored four rushing touchdowns in one game against the Philadelphia Eagles on December 16, 1973. On October 29, 1972, he ran for 190 yards in a game against the New York Giants. He will write an autobiography entitled “I’ll Always Get Up”. His career will be cut short due to numerous injuries. His jersey number, 43, while not officially retired, has not been issued to any other Redskins player since his retirement. The first international conference of Black Writers & Artists meets at the Sorbonne, in Paris, France. 1965 Debbye Turner (later Bell) was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. She became Miss America in 1990, becoming the third African-American woman to wear the crown. She will earn a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture degree from Arkansas State University, and attend the University of Missouri. She will also spend a couple of years honing her public service skills working for Safeway Stores. In 1991, she received her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine. She will become a spokesperson for Purina and pursue a career in veterinary medicine before going into television. Her first hosting job was at St. Louis’ NBC affiliate KSDK, on a show called ‘Show Me St. Louis’ in 1995. Six years later, she will join CBS News as a feature correspondent and then become their “resident veterinarian” and a fill-in anchor. She will also be a fill-in anchor on the CBS Morning News. She will leave CBS in 2012. She’s currently the host of Arise America, on Arise News. 1981 – More than 300,000 demonstrators from labor and civil rights organizations protest the social policies of the Reagan administration in a Solidarity Day March in Washington, DC. 1989 – Gordon Parks’ film “The Learning Tree” is selected among the first films to be registered by the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress. The National Film Registry was formed by an act of Congress the previous year to recognize films that are “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.” Parks’ 1969 movie joins other classic films such as “Casablanca,” “Gone With the Wind,” and “The Wizard of Oz.” 1989 – The first issue of Emerge magazine goes on sale. Emerge, founded by Wilmer C. Ames, Jr., covers domestic and international news and issues from an African-American perspective. 1994 – U.S. troops peacefully enter Haiti to enforce the return of exiled President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. |