Black History Month – Day 5 and Day 6

I must apologize to everyone for not posting anything on Tuesday February 5th for Black History Month. I was so geared and following everything for the primary election polls that I actually believed that I had sent it until I realized TODAY that I myself had not received anything that I claimed to have sent on on my own internet listserv. So when I checked in my sent files the last day I saw was for Monday February 4th, 2008. Since February 6th is not over yet I am still on time for Feb 6th. But again, I apologize for omitting the 5th.

With that said, in order to compensate for the lack of information for Black History Month for February 5th, I shall merely combine both days. So today you get 20 facts and not just 10 of them. Remember that it is Black History Month so “walk with pride.”

1. The FIRST African American to win a singles title at Wimbledon was Althea Gibson. She won BOTH the Wimbledon and US Open singles titles in 1957 and 1958.
2. The FIRST African American senator [PERIOD] was elected to the United States Senate in 1870 only 6 years after signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. His name was Hiram R. Revels and he represented the slave state of Mississippi.
3. The first open heart surgery was performed in 1893 by a black man by the name of Dr. Daniel Hale Williams at Provident Hospital in Chicago.
4. In African society slaves were taken from ALL classes. Upper class and lower class. Many nobles had become slaves as a result of inter-tribal wars.
5. The first African American to sing a leading role in the Metropolitan Opera Company of New York was Marian Anderson in 1955.
6. In 1857, the US Supreme Court decided a slave named Dred Scott was still a slave even though he had traveled with his master to a free territory and had resided in free Illinois.
7. The FIRST African American to coach an NBA team was Bill Russell in 1966. As the coach of the Boston Celtics he led the team to two NBA championships.
8. In 1880 at Storer College, Fredrick Douglas delivered a speech which declared “education means light and liberty.”
9. The African river named “The Congo” is the only river that crosses the equator twice and is 10 miles in width in “certain” areas.
10. The great Jazz musician whose signature tune was “Take the A train” was Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington. The song refers to a New York City subway train that stops in Harlem.
11. The Niagara Movement, which supported voting rights for African Americans, was founded by W.E.B. Dubois in 1905. It led to the creation of the NAACP in 1909.
12. Apartheid ‘officially’ ended in south Africa in 1991. It was the governmental policy of racial segregation.
13. The name that was given to the period of cultural rebirth that took place in Harlem, New York City was called The Harlem Renaissance, which emerged after World War I.
14. The famous song that Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie collaborated on was called “We Are The World” and the proceeds went to benefit African Famine Relief.
15. The FIRST African American to sit on the Supreme Court was Thurgood Marshall who served from 1967 to 1991.
16. The FIRST BLACK WOMAN to obtain a license to fly a plane was Bessie Coleman. She was prevented from entering a flight school in the United States so she studied aviation in France and returned to the United States in 1921 to get her license.
17. The pyramid at Giza were originally built as tombs. Built for the ancient Egyptian pharaohs, they are the oldest monumental construction on earth.
18. The governor who used the “stand at the door” tactic in his attempt to stop integration of the University of Alabama was George Wallace in 1963.
19. The major league baseball franchise which was the first to sign up a BLACK AMERICAN player was the Brooklyn Dodgers. They signed Jackie Robinson, who played his first big league game in 1947.
20. The FIRST Black Woman to ever run for U.S. VICE-President was Charlotta Spears in 1952. She was a member of the Progressive Party and ran on the same ticket with Vincent Halina.

There ya go. All 20 of them for February 5th and February 6th. I shall try to stay on top of things regarding Black History Month from here on out.